Email marketing basics

The holy grail of email marketing are ‘opt in’ email contacts but you must give a clear way to opt out when you email them. So wherever possible engage in a dialogue and get consent to email again.

1.    Start with the result you want and focus on it. What is it you want? but more importantly what’s in it for the recipient of your email?
2.    What is the call to action and does it support the objective of the email?
3.    Subject line or heading will get the right attention or the delete button.
4.    Check your email works! Check a whole range of different email readers and get every possible part of the email tested and then do it again just in case.
5.    Focus the message to the recipient. If possible make it personal but always make it relevant. The temptation to send or ‘blast’ the same message to all is cheap and tempting but the results will not be as good as a specific, personal and relevant message.
6.    ‘Deliver your email successfully’ may seem obvious but there are many services that get blocked without you knowing so be sure you use a reputable broadcast service. Don’t be tempted just to BCC because it’s cheap. That’s the message your customers will get – you’re cheap and don’t value them or their time.
7.    Testing is easy and important. So think; test, wait, refine and then test again.
8.    Links can be tracked so use links and track them so you can see what your customers are looking at. Analyse, think, refine and then try again.
9.    Don’t freak people out by contacting them immediately saying ‘hey – you just looked at my email. What do you want to buy?’ Engage in a dialogue if possible by asking questions or route people effectively to be able to buy. Try sending a follow up email some hours later or a specific special offer that’s relevant.

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