E-Mail Marketing Campaign Guide
Technological progression made it possible for people to communicate online aside from the more traditional direct mail method, which people also referred to as ‘snail mail’. Electronic Mail (E-mail) is today’s primary means of online communication, which is one of the reasons why e-mail marketing has turned into an extremely popular method of online advertising. According to Wikipedia, researches show that United States firms spent approximately $400 million on e-mail marketing in 2006.
E-mail marketing is a direct marketing method wherein written and electronic forms of advertisements are spread out through e-mail. Every e-mail exchanged between you and a potential customer has the potential to be considered a form of e-mail marketing. Your e-mail, to be considered a part of your e-mail marketing campaign, should have the following factors:
· Intention to strengthen the bond between you and your current or previous customer
· Intention to convince a potential customer to purchase your products
· Advertisements from related and affiliate companies
· The use of internet e-mail as opposed to network e-mail or FIDO.
For those who delete the advertisement e-mails in their inbox, it might be hard to understand and appreciate the importance of e-mail marketing. However, that does not change the fact that there are several good reasons why a good e-mail marketing campaign is greatly beneficial to your company and give a good impression to your customers:
· You can share information with a broad range of clientele for free or at a very low cost.
· E-mail is less expensive than direct mail and newsletters.
· E-mail marketing is considered to be the most effective online marketing strategy, next to search marketing.
· E-mails are delivered faster than mailed advertisements.
· E-mail advertisements get the message across stronger since they are delivered straight to the user’s inbox as opposed to a website which the user has to visit to find out more about your products and services.
· E-mail messages are automatically included in your archives.
· Regular correspondence with your audience is convenient and affordable.
· Most internet users check their e-mails everyday.
· E-mail marketing is paper-free.
· The results of your e-mail marketing campaign are very easy to track.
How do these advantages and benefits come to play? Your e-mail marketing campaign will not live up to its full potential if you are not prepared enough for it. Planning will save you time, keep you in budget, and will ensure your decisions and actions are consistent with your company goals.
1. Observe your competitors – It is always worth it to check out what they are doing. Learn what you can from their campaigns before you brainstorm about your own. Analyze the pros and cons of their methods so you can come up with even better ones. To apply this technique to e-mail marketing campaigns, it will be good for you to subscribe to their mailing list using an account that will not give away too much information about your company.
2. Ask for permission from the members of your mailing list – Permission-based e-mail marketing lists mean a positive response because the subscribers are truly interested in the information your company is distributing. When you ask for contact details, make sure you let your target users know why you are doing so. It is only common courtesy to give them the option of whether or not they want to receive messages from you.
3. Screen your advertisers, partners, and subscribers – Do not expose yourself to spammers. Verification might take time but it will keep your reputation reliable. It will also decrease the chances of your e-mails ‘bouncing’ back to you.
4. Be creative with your design – Advertising via e-mail does not really limit you to black-and-white paragraphs. You can research on more attractive design templates. Just don’t forget to make sure that your layout is user-friendly and artistic. You can also include visual aids (pictures of your products, etc.) in order to give users a better idea of what you have to offer.
5. Make sure everything about your e-mail comes across as a powerful message – Your audience should not regret subscribing to your mailing list. Give them a reason to look forward to receiving more information from you.
6. Aim for a well-worded subject line – That is the first thing the users see when they check their inbox so think of a subject that would compel them to click on it.
7. Take advantage of e-mail marketing tools – Research on various e-mail marketing templates. Learn from the experts and modify those techniques to make them your own.
8. Do not pressure your prospects with follow-ups – One of the most important facts to remember is that people do not like to be nagged. Instead of asking for feedback repeatedly and risk annoying your prospects, it will be better for you to include a short note at the end of your e-mail asking nicely for feedback, no matter how short.
9. Avoid including large files – There are times that it has to be done but as much as possible, avoid attaching large files especially when it comes to compressed files because they increase the possibility of having your e-mail marked as spam. Just give users the address to your website portfolio or include a few pictures of your best works.
10. Use a consistent, professional e-mail address and sender’s name – Do not confuse your audience. Many of them are probably not patient enough to keep up with changes. Pick an e-mail address and sender’s name that they would easily identify as yours, which means not using vague e-mail addresses like “admin@yourdomain”, or aliases that would only make sense to your family and friends. Using your real name, without numbers or symbols, as a sender’s name is the best way to go.
11. Never put a link before important information – Do not distract them from your e-mail. Once you make them go to another page that they are not familiar with, you face the risk of them not going back to your e-mail or worse, deleting it and marking it as spam.
12. Test the effectiveness of your e-mail campaigns – Try changing one element at a time and see which changes produce the best results.
13. ‘Snail mail’ is best used for follow-up – Sending a ‘snail mail’ follow-up and referencing your e-mail is a great way to stay in contact with your subscribers.
In summary, effective e-mail campaigns are characterized by (1) powerful and relevant content, (2) well-planned strategies, (3) permission-based mailing lists, (4) credible company reputation, and (5) good relationship with subscribers.
Somni Creative, Inc., rich media marketing professionals from Los Angeles, California, specialize in providing online customer retention services, such as Direct e-Mail Marketing. Call us at (310) 6973199 or visit www.somnicreative.com.
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References:
E-mail Marketing Strategy: Shortcuts to Success
Best Practices for Bulletproof E-mail Delivery
4 E-mail Marketing Strategies: Improve Your Sales or Traffic Via Effective E-mail Marketing
Effective E-mail Marketing Campaigns