Email marketing — making it the best it can be.

Email marketing is one of the least expensive means companies have to communicate with their customers. But if you approach it as an opportunity to sell, you are likely to be disappointed in your results. Email marketing is more about talking than selling. If you think talking doesn't sell, think again. It does, if it's done right. Here are some tips to make your email communications effective.

1. Get personal.
Emails are very personal and specific, and email marketing should be, too. Your email marketing should communicate narrowly targeted messages to sub-groups in your list. Even if your message is of general interest, you should be framing it to increase its applicability and relevance to small sub-groups in your audience list. The more specific you are, the more personal the email feels, and the more likely it is to receive a response.

2. Respect the Recipient.
Be considerate. People hate to receive unwanted or unsolicited email. It isn't worth the risk. Make sure people on your list have truly opted-in. Before sending a campaign, send an invitation email asking each new person if they want to receive it. Tell them honestly what they'll be receiving and how often, and express it in terms of how they can benefit. Give them assurance that you never share email addresses and you honor 100% of your opt-out requests. With that assurance, if you are even remotely relevant to them, they're like to stay in just to see what it's about. Those that do opt out, are not likely to be promising prospects anyway. So respect it.

3. Provide Valuable Information.
Much of the talking needs to be about educating the reader, providing useful information, focusing on the "what's in it for me" benefits of reading on. When you are educating and informing in your area of expertise through a newsletter or announcement, your reader will begin to look forward to the next installment, associate your name and brand with your particular subject matter, and keep you top of mind when a potential opportunity to work together arises.

                             — by Chris Quinn


4. Be persistent and patient.
Before the internet, the rule of thumb was 7.3 touchpoints — you needed to make contact with a prospect on average 7.3 times to make a lasting impression. With the internet in play, now, it's more like 12 or 15. So, it's really important to send emails at least once a month. Research from OgilvyOne Worldwide suggests that the first three emails are the most critical, and that they are best sent shortly after someone agrees to sign up. Ideally, the first email should the invitation to subscribe, the second one a thank you for signing up, telling them about the benefits they will receive, and the third one a first delivery of what they signed up for — a newsletter, whitepaper or discount offering. But don't make your invitation or benefits emails sound hokey, or used-car-salesman-like in any way. Use direct, truthful language that focuses on practical benefits to them.

5. Subject Lines
The most common mistake in writing subject lines is trying too hard to make them interesting. Open rates are highest when a subject line is factual, not salesy. If you're sending a newsletter or whitepaper, say so. Don't try to write a sales message out of it. It may seem boring, but your open rates will be higher. For example: "[Company Name] Newsletter — February 2011" will have a higher open rate than "[Company Name] Pioneers in Technology", or "Now Offering Technology Services." Never use the words "free," "lifetime," or "opportunity." Those are stop words that will alert your recipient's spam folder. If subject lines is an area of interest you want to know more about, click here for a free whitepaper about it.

~