The Do’s and Don’ts of Email Marketing
Tuesday, January 1, 2013 0:52
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Marketing through online avenues such as emails is a good way to attract customers and build awareness on your brand or product. Email marketing is a digital tactic where you share messages via email to individual parties. If you’re starting a business off and you want to venture on this digital tactic, here is a guide of the things that you should and shouldn’t do.
The Do’s of Email Marketing
- Choose user friendly software (also called an online email client). This is a major, practical step. Don’t choose something that is hard to learn or get by, it would just waste your time and it could leave staff frustrated. Also choose software that is cost effective and scalable. It is also important to take note that not all email marketing platforms are equal. You can scour the web for the best ones or you can ask trusted people for their recommendations.Some of the most popular choices are Mailchimp and Aweber.
- Avoid poor execution; use a modern and clean email template. Most email marketing services have free templates included in their service. You can also create your own templates by finding inspiration from great looking newsletters, or if you can’t get the creative juices running, you can always hire a designer or head up to digital market places.
- Give the consumers the opportunity to communicate with your firm on their own preferred terms. Make communication lines open; provide links to your website or to your social media page.
- It is also a must to make an email marketing calendar or a content plan that coincides with the company’s new product or service launches, latest news, branding or educational communication. Use company blogs for immediate content.
- To refine your communication lines over time use A/B testing. Test the landing pages, subject line headings and content as well.
- You can cross promote social media outlets in the body of the emails
- It is also important for your company to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act, let the people have the option of discontinuing the delivery of emails from your company. As the business owner, you must also know the penalties for not complying with this act.
Don’ts of Email Marketing
- It is an absolute no-no to use @gmail, @yahoo or imgorgeous@ as email addresses. Personal emails are for personal use and it is inappropriate to use them for business purposes. Communicating professionally is a key to establish a good business relationship with potential clients.
- For your market list, avoid adding people who chose not to be in to your list, it is against the law and it is actually annoying. First give the people the chance to opt in then establish your conversation.
- Check your email content twice or even thrice if necessary. If you are not adept with checking contents hire a freelance copywriter. This is to make sure your content is clear and concise, it must not be a jumble of things that you want to say, keeping it simple is also a good strategy.
- Avoid sending emails without unsubscribe links; again, give the people the option not to subscribe especially if they are not interested. It is also a no-no to force customers to send you an email saying they are no longer interested.
- It‘s a don’t to send emails too often or too frequently. It is also a “don’t” not to send any emails at all. To find a good frequency of sending emails, determine the type of business operated the amount of current news, the preferences of the customers and the available content.
This article is written by Shelly Grey, an online writer of articles on business and entrepreneurship. Shelly particularly writes on ways to maximizes business and establish good customer relationships, this includes the right ways on how to do promotions such as Email Marketing.
2013-01-01 00:33:37
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