Email Marketing On Your Side…

Since the early nineties businesses have known the value of using email to promote their products to new and past customers. Whether promoting products, searching for new customers, up-selling, or simply strengthening our brand, email marketing is an important business tool that needs to be mastered and used properly to be effective. Used incorrectly, email marketing can be a huge waste of time at the very least.

1. Stay on target -
Know your target market and don’t allow yourself to stray off course. Some marketers randomly send emails to people who have absolutely no interest in what is being advertised. Not only will this type of desperation deliver a very low response rate it can increase your spam complaints. Ask every customer and site visitor if they are interested in receiving e-mail advertisements and promotions from you.

Samples of asking for subscribers:

• Would you like a FREE Subscription to our weekly newsletter that’s filled with news, tips and other relevant information?
• Are you interested in receiving announcements and information by E-mail about our products and company news?
• Would you enjoy an occasional email from us with information and news about our products?
• May we update you by email when we have news and information about products that may be of interest to you?
• We can keep you informed about all the new products we offer in our monthly newsletter.

Always allow your list’s subscribers to decide on their own to opt-in. Never ‘trick‘ them into subscribing. If they choose not to subscribe then don’t add them to your data base that’s used for email marketing. You must have the permission of the consumer to send future emails and you are required by law to include an opt out link in the event the consumer no longer wishes to receive such emails from you.

2. Know When to send -
I’ve seen different statistics that show different days and times that are most effective when sending your mailings. Many believe that just before a weekend is best and others feel Tuesday and Wednesday are the most effective days to send out marketing emails. Others think Mondays are best. Times to mail are not any clearer. Some research shows in the middle of the night is best so the consumer will see it first thing in the morning. Some say to send during office breaks or lunch hours and others insist it’s best to send in the early evening! Here’s my advice - Don’t accept anyone’s advice and do your own research. It’s very easy if you’re using a quality third-party list management service. The better services keep very detailed stats that will let you know everything from how many emails were opened to which links were clicked. They can tell you how long it took your subscribers to confirm their emails to what country or zip codes they are from. Some even make split-testing a piece of cake. With a quality list management service you can quickly decide when it’s best to send to your list. Play around with the days and times until you achieve the best possible results and then watch closely to stay ahead of the trend, or at the very least to keep up with it.

3. Quality Content Is King -
Send only what is of interest to your target market. Don’t send a bunch of junk as filler and don’t send junk because you have nothing of value to share. It’s better to send nothing than to generate a ton of unsubscribes. Give your subscribers a reason to look forward to opening your emails. Special offers that are only available to them or an occasional freebie are good examples. No one cares that your sales are down and you want them to buy something, you need to make them want to read your message and want to act on it. Split testing can do wonders when it comes to knowing what your subscribers want and expect.

4. Leave Out The Fluff -
Keep your emails short and to the point. Most internet users like to go through their emails very quickly. If yours is too lengthy it will more than likely get deleted or saved to be read later. Your goal should be for the reader to open and read the entire message at one time and to act on the content. Keep in mind your subscriber may have hundreds of other emails and your message should be clear within seconds of opening. Newsletters and Ezines are a little different. Quality content should be a newsletter’s goal and going a little long is ok if the topic demands and earns it.

5. Select Your JV Partners Carefully -
Joint Ventures are a great way for marketers to share their lists while still protecting their subscriber’s privacy and information. Marketer ‘A’ launches a new campaign and offers Marketer ‘B’ a percentage to send the offer to their list. This as a very effective form of marketing and should be encouraged.

We’ve all seen recently an over-abundance of joint venture email when it comes to the heavy hitters of internet marketing. When one of the big players launches a new affiliate program we suddenly see dozens of nearly identical emails from dozens of marketers. I try to avoid jumping on that bandwagon whenever possible. Sure, I may pass on a little quick cash but I like to think my subscribers appreciate one less sales pitch about the same product they’ve seen ten times that day.

One more thing about choosing your joint venture partners. Too many marketers are selling their souls, so to speak, when they promote every single piece of junk that flies their way. I’m even seeing this from people that I thought were well respected and professional marketers. It’s obvious they didn’t even look at some of the stuff they send much less test the product they’re promoting. This builds distrust very quickly and I recommend you only promote the products that you would personally recommend. If you’re not that impressed with a product then simply pass on the joint venture and earn some respect.

6. The Subject Line Is The First Impression -
Think about all those unopened emails you delete everyday. You delete many because you’re not interested in the sender but what about those subject lines? I try to notice the great subject lines that grab my attention and get me to open the email. I even go as far as to add them to a personal database that I keep and use. It will probably be released as an eBook someday but I use it often when considering my next subject line.

Always be truthful. Stay on subject and leave the trickery to the spammers. If you are offering a fifty percent discount then don’t be afraid to state it in the subject line but be sure it’s accurate.

A quick note about subject lines and spam filters. Many spam filters will delete or tag your email due to the content of both the email body and the subject lines. I use and highly recommend Aweber and I’m in love with their online content grading tool that actually tests and grades the e-mail’s chances of getting through the spam filters before I send them.

7. Plan For Holidays And Special Occasions -
Many marketers cash in big on holidays. There is a great deal of competition in the world of e-commerce and planning an effective holiday email marketing campaign will help you compete. Start early and build the campaign up a little. Watch the pros and learn from them.

8. Subscribe To Yourself -
It is important to test your marketing email in the various email programs including Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, Hotmail, and AOL. They all work differently, especially if you’re sending in HTML format. It’s simple to sign up for these various free email accounts and send your ezine to yourself to see what your list will see.

9. Show You’re Trustworthy -
Privacy and confidentiality is very important to most consumers. Make sure your email sign up pages clearly state that you will not sell their information and that it will be safe with you. Many people won’t give their email to those that don’t offer this bit of information. Never trade lists with other marketers or sell your list for quick cash. Those low-brow tactics are very damaging to the entire industry.

10. Ask Them What They Want -
Don’t make the mistake of assuming you know what your consumers want. Take the time to ask and then consider the answers. Offer an easy way for your subscribers to send their comments, questions and suggestions. Letting them know you are available for such customer service is a great way to earn their loyalty.

10+. Know The Laws and Rules -
Many marketers have had the misfortune of watching their online business fall to it’s knees when they suddenly can’t even send a simple support email because they’re on every black list imaginable and the spam filters wipe their mail off the web before it hits most of their list’s inboxes. Make sure you are familiar with the various rules and laws that regulate email marketing.

Well, there you have it. My top ten plus tips for effective email marketing. Email marketing is a very effective and useful strategy for building your e-business and one that can offer rewards bigger than our wildest dreams - if we learn quickly and know what we’re doing.

Good luck with your next email marketing campaign,
Brian Hawkins

Resources:

• Federal Trade Commission’s Spam Page
• CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003)
• SpamLaws.com
• Secure Your Server
  http://www.ftc.gov/secureyourserver/
  http://spamlinks.net/prevent-secure.htm
  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/secureyourserver.shtm
• Federal Communications Commission Consumer Facts
• OnGuard Online
• Spam Links
• Spam Abuse .net