Email marketing is one of the most effective and fastest-growing marketing channels. One of the first steps in a successful email marketing campaign is to build an email distribution list of potential customers. A business can build an email list from various sources, including its website.
Managing a substantially large email marketing campaign will require a well-planned strategy and may involve the services of a professional marketing company. If you do not have a large email list, it can be purchased easily from a direct marketing company specialising in email list management. A business can also collect potential customers' email addresses via a website newsletter registration form.
Following are some 12 email marketing tips for a small business:
1. Start building an email marketing list of customers
If you do not have an email marketing list, you can start building one now. Whether you have a small or a large client base, you can start by first including your existing customers on your email marketing list, which you can build upon with time. A small business can start an email marketing campaign from a relatively small list which can expand with time. As new enquiries are received, the list can be expanded. It is a common practice to purchase a targeted email list from a professional marketing company.
2. Email registration on your website
Offering customers a way to register via your website is probably one of the easiest ways to build your own email list. A registration form can be added to your website with ease. The placement of the email registration feature on your website is important and has an impact t on conversion rates. It should be placed in a prominent place on the website. The newsletter registration feature will most likely be built in if your website uses a content management system.
3. Start a Marketing Newsletter
Sending newsletters to customers is one of the most effective email marketing techniques. You can start a newsletter on a topic related to our industry. The newsletter can be weekly, monthly or even quarterly. A newsletter provides an excellent opportunity to communicate with your customers regularly. You can use the newsletter to subsequently market your own products or services.
4. Improve awareness of your email marketing list
You can take some simple steps to increase the popularity of your email marketing newsletters and grow your email list. Creating a quality marketing email or newsletter requires time and effort, so it is best sent out to as many people as possible.
Following are some simple methods to improve awareness about your marketing newsletter or email list and encourage people to register:
- Include a link to register for emails in all email correspondence.
- Include information about your email newsletter in invoices, purchase orders and other company documents.
- Include an email registration link in a prominent place on your website and blog.
- Tell your team to inform customers about your marketing newsletter at every opportunity.
- Create an incentive to subscribe to your email or company newsletter, e.g. discount coupons or prize draws.
You must respect customers' privacy and take all steps necessary to protect customer data collected by your email marketing campaigns. You should not share information without prior consent from the customer. Your email marketing list should be opt-in. When customers register their email addresses, they agree to receive marketing emails from you. If you purchase opt-in email marketing lists, you should only do so from reliable sources.
6. Send quality marketing emails
Nothing can be worse for your branding than sending a poorly designed marketing email to customers. You should research the content of your marketing email and plan your marketing campaign in advance. The content of the marketing email should be well researched and offer value to customers. Promoting your products and business in your emails is OK, but you should try and offer a variety of information. A well-balanced email is more likely to succeed than a purely promotional email. If the email you send is full of self-promotion and does not offer real value, then customers are likely to unsubscribe or opt-out from receiving emails. Focus on quality over quantity.
7. Select an appropriate subject for the marketing email
A good subject for the marketing email plays a vital role in deciding how many emails are opened and read by customers. Choosing the subject of the email with careful thought and consideration is important.
8. Design and Layout:
You should plan the structure of the email with care. The layout should be clutter-free and easy to read. The design should be clean and minimalist. Use images carefully. Any images used should be optimised for fast loading time. The design should reflect your brand. You should also include your logo and contact information.
9. Clean up your email marketing list from time to time:
You should perform basic list maintenance tasks periodically to maintain your email list. Any un-subscribed user should be removed from the list immediately. Similarly, all old or not working email addresses should be removed. It is better to categorise your list into different categories so you can pan your emails and send specific information to specific groups. At the same time, any new contacts should be added, so they are not left out in the next email you send.
10. Test your marketing campaigns
Whether you send out regular emails or less frequently, you must test your email marketing campaign properly before sending them out. A spell check should be performed. Any links in the email should be checked to see if they are not broken. A good technique is to send a copy to yourself first.
11. Measure the performance of your Email Marketing campaigns
It is important to measure the success or failure of your email marketing campaigns. There are many ways to monitor performance. The ultimate measure of success is the number of enquiries you receive directly from your marketing emails. Statistics related to your campaign can provide useful insight. Most email marketing software will allow you to monitor delivery, response, and click rates. You can find out how many emails were delivered, how many were opened and even how many links in the email were clicked. You can use this information to judge each email's effectiveness and plan and improvise on future campaigns.
12. Call to action
An effective marketing email should encourage users to take action. Including a call to action statement in your marketing emails can improve the chances of conversion. A call to action can be anything from a request for more information to a link to buy a product.
The Internet marketing blog discusses email marketing techniques and other ways to market your website.
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/K_Singh/164993
