4 Key Factors to Email Marketing Success

Email Marketing has fast become one of the most cost effective ways to communicate to your existing and potential base of clientele. When compared to other forms of media such as printed newsletters or TV advertising, email marketing is considerably less expensive.

The instant delivery of email messages allows for “HOT NEWS” to be delivered to the inboxes of thousands if not millions of eager readers making the old postal delivery an antique and almost forgotten method of news distribution.

Second only to search marketing forms such as Pay-Per-Click Advertising and Search Engine Optimization email marketing has proven to be a high Return On Investment when executed appropriately and managed well. Email marketing allows the marketer to go to their audience with a message unlike a website which only lays in wait for the customer to come to it.

There are 4 major points to remember with Email Marketing. Effectiveness in each of these areas will guarantee that you execute a successful email marketing campaign:

1. Build and Manage your Mailing Lists

Your email mailing list is your most powerful tool to make a connection with potential and current clients.

Always remember to grow your mailing list so that you can create a wider base to which you target your emails. A great way to add more subscribers to your newsletter is to include a sign up link on your website. Buying an email list is also a constructive option which will build your contact list.

Also remember to ask your customers for email information when you communicate with them! It is essential to maintain your mailing list in quality condition. The Key to keeping your mailing list tidy:

A. Remove Duplicate Client Records
You don’t want to be sending multiple emails to the one address if you have accidentally placed it on your list more than once or your subscriber has submitted their address to you on a few occasions. This could lead to potentially loosing your valuable clients. To avoid this, always remove duplicate addresses from your list before you send.

B. Remove Unsubscribed Client Records
When a customer request to be removed from your mailing lists it is important to do so, otherwise you run the risk of getting customer complaints or blacklisting by ISP’s. To avoid this, ensure you keep an updated record of all unsubscribed clients and remove these addresses from your new mailing list.

C. Keep the List Up-To-Date
If you are wanting to reach all old and new customers, it’s important to keep updating your mailing list with new subscribers and clients. It is recommend to merge your new client records with the existing mailing list to ensure you have a refreshed list! Note: Once you have added new addresses, ensure to remove any duplicated addresses.

2. Create Relevant Emails

The most important part of your email is your “Subject Line”. Many people receive numerous emails in their inbox everyday. Your email is competing with all of those emails for the readers’ attention. In order to do this your subject line should use attention grabbing words in order to generate curiosity and lead the reader to open the email, such as “Secret to…” or “Guaranteed Ways to…”.

Avoid using Spam words in your subject line such as “FREE” because your email may be sent to their Spam Folder instead of their Inbox in which case your email will not be read.

Personalizing the Subject line is also a great attention grabber. You may want to start with “Hello John Smith,…” This also gives your email a more personal touch and will make the reader feel more comfortable in opening the email.

3. Sending your Emails

There is a fine line between communicating with your customers and spamming them. Email marketers must be conscious not to email their customers too frequently as this can lead to higher rates of unsubscribing and lower open and click through rates. You might also be considered as a spammer and your IP address may be blacklisted by ISP’s (Internet Service Providers).

Although the acceptable rate of emailing will depend on each different mailing list a good start is about once every two weeks. This way you are still keeping in contact with your customers so that they don’t forget you exist but your not becoming annoying and irritating so much that they unsubscribe.

4. Evaluate your Campaigns

It is all well and good sending emails to hundreds of customers but if you don’t know how many people opened the email, what your click through rate is or if you received any conversions then how will you know if you have executed a successful email campaign.

Not all emails will include a sales promotion. Many emails you send may only be offering information so without proper evaluation you will not know how many customers actually received and acted on receiving your information.

It is crucial to assess each email marketing campaign through the use of an analytics tool, preferably one that is complementary to the Email Marketing software that you use to send your emails.

Proper evaluation of your email marketing campaigns will allow you to make changes and improvements for your future email marketing strategies to better achieve a more successful campaign whether it includes sales or not. This information will also help your sales as you can “follow up” on those customers who have opened the email.

Email marketing is by far one of the most effective means of internet marketing these days and if you start by following the tips which is outlined above you can be sure that you will execute a successful email marketing campaign guaranteed to bring you increased sales and ROI.

Barbara Mesar

Apex Pacific Marketing Manager

How to Keep in Contact with your Clients

If you don’t use Email Marketing then you definitely aren’t keeping in contact with your customers as well as you could!

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• Yahoo! Search Marketing International are getting ready to upgrade Australian, New Zealander and UK markets on to the new Panama Platform. PPC BidMax 4.0 now supports Yahoo Panama platform. For more information on how you can manage your PPC campaigns on this new platform click here.

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How to Write a Headline to Your Email

The headline is one of the most important parts of your email. You see, without the headline, no one would know what your email was about and care to open it. Your headline can often dictate the difference between a few people opening your email and a large portion of your list opening your email. It is really your first opportunity to convince your subscriber that your email is worth opening. Of course, a good headline cannot take the place of developing a strong relationship, one in which the subscriber will want to read every email you send.

Here are some headline ideas:
Benefit Headlines: A benefit headline will let the subscriber know what the benefit of opening and reading this email is. For example, here are some benefit headlines:
Lose 10 Pounds This Month
How You Can Learn to Train Your Puppy to Sit
Discover the Secrets of Selling Handicrafts

Guarantee Headlines: Guarantee headlines offer your subscriber some sort of guarantee for reading your email, for example:
Guaranteed! Lose 10 Pounds in 30 Days!
Train Your Puppy to Sit in 10 Days Flat, Guaranteed!
Discover the Secrets of Selling Handicrafts, Guaranteed.

Problem Headlines: Problem headlines indicate a problem and presume to offer information to help the problem, within the email.
Are You Embarrassed by Your Lack of Hair?
Are You Struggling With Weight Loss?
Are You Stressed Out and Need Relief?

Question Headlines: Question headlines are pretty straightforward: you are asking a question which you will presumably offer a solution to in your email.
How Long Have You Tried to Lose Weight?
How Long Have You Been Trying to Train Your Puppy?
Do You Need Help in Your Relationships?

Offer Headlines: An offer headline is a headline which states some specific offer:
Free Shipping Today!
20% of Your Order Today.
Buy One, Get One Free, Today Only

Expert Author: Sean Mize