Email marketing is in many ways the answer to the marketing man’s prayer.
- It’s immediate
- You can tailor your message directly to the recipient
- It can be very quick to prepare
- You can repeat it as often as you choose
- To all intents and purposes it’s free
However in the wrong hands email marketing just becomes spam. It goes straight into the junk mail box, is not read and is a source of aggravation to the recipient.
To get a good result from email marketing, there are certain rules you need to adhere to:
Rule 1
Write down what you want to achieve with email marketing. Are you looking for an immediate response, are you looking to educate, are you trying to drive the reader to your web site?
Whatever response you’re looking for, make sure you’re very clear in your own mind what reaction you want and that you’re prepared for that response.
Rule 2
Decide who you are writing for. Identify a niche audience who will have a real need for your product or service.
Rule 3
Ask your target audience if there are subject matters that they really want you to provide them information on. If your content fulfils a need that your audience has, then the chance of you getting good readership of your email increases dramatically.
Rule 4
Launch your own ‘ezine’ (email magazine). Ezines and newsletters are useful as long as you fill them with information which you audience are going to find of interest and of value.
Rule 5
Keep everything simple. Don’t use technology (i.e. html) for the sake of it. Some people enjoy technology but the majority of business people want to receive their information in the simplest way possible.
Rule 6
Tailor your content to the recipients of the email. You may well have segmented your database into special interest groups or at least grouping with shared interests. Tailor your content to these audiences so that you always give them something they’re interested in.
Rule 7
Adopt a permission based (‘opt-in’) approach to your subscribers. To comply with the data protection act you should only email people who have specifically requested to hear from you. If you do this you know that your messages are reaching enthusiastic readers.
Rule 8
Automate the sign-up process. Let technology do your admin for you, leaving you free to focus on the message and the offer you make.
Rule 9
Include a call to action. Whether that action is to buy something there and then, to visit a web site, to pick up the phone or even just to look out for the next communication, make sure you’re clear what action you want them to take and that you tell your audience what you want them to do.
Rule 10
Promote your ezine both on your web site and in other places, where your target audience hangs out.
