Treat your email subscribers like gold. Only ever send them high quality, high value email communications.

Sending an email to a list of “opt-in” subscribers is a relative cheap way to market your business. Often, getting the email ready takes more work than you planned and you get to the point of “we just need to get this sent out”.  If that’s the case, take a mini break and then have a fresh look to make sure you’re preserving the quality of your email communications.  

An email marketing campaign needs:

1. A strong, interesting, short subject line – people have a choice about whether or not to open your email.  Your subject line needs to make them want to read more. Does anyone get value from those subject lines that seem to go on and on and on?
2. Quality Content – What you write about in your email is what will keep people opening your future emails and stop them from unsubscribing.  Ideally, include a time based offer that encourages your readers to click through to find out more.
3. To comply with anti spam laws in the relevant countries – This includes being clear about who is sending the email and giving people an easy way to unsubscribe.
4. A database of recipients who have agreed to receive your emails.  Add subscribers to your list every chance you get by making the sign up form prominent on your website, meeting people at networking events and making it easy for your readers to forward your emails to their friends.
5. An email marketing tool that allows you to create a great looking email, manage your list and track your results.  At Grassroots Internet Strategy, along with our clients we use Mail Chimp. It’s easy to use and forever free if your list is less than 500 people.

Once you get this part right, here are some tips to fine tune your email marketing campaigns:

1. Link your header image and other images to a relevant part of your website.  This can increase your click through rate.
2. Use the email to increase your web traffic. If you’re including an article, put an enticing snippet in the body of your email, with a link to the full article on your website.  People who click through then become your web visitors and increase your website traffic.
3. Add key messages as text rather than as part of an image. Some email programs, like Outlook, block images in emails by default.  The recipient has a choice about whether or not to display the images. For this reason, if you include text in an image, make sure you include the same information in the text area, so that your email reads clearly when the images are turned off.
4. Summarise key messages at the start of the email. Some people read their emails in the reading pane, with out actually opening the email.  The reading pane has a limited amount of space so state your key messages clearly at the start of the email.
5. Include social media links. If you’re active in social media, like Twitter and LinkedIn, include the links in each email you send, to give your readers additional ways to connect with you.

And of course, always aim to have someone with a “fresh pair of eyes” proof read your email before you send it and check that all your links are working correctly.

Happy emailing. Hope the tips are helpful.

Search-Mel

Next you might like to read 7 Targeted Ways to Market Your Website Online 

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Melinda, generally known as Mel, is half of the Grassroots team. She is a Google Qualified Advertising Professional and a SEO Web Copywriter. Mel's aim is to make the web world a better place.

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