When a business owner first sets up an email marketing campaign, he or she may unknowingly breach established standards of etiquette. There is an accepted way to professionally handle email marketing, making your customers look forward to receiving further communications from you. Continue on for some great email marketing tips on proper etiquette.
Utilize the least amount of graphics in your email as you can without making it look bland. Some email programs may block graphics, so if your email is heavily dependent on pictures some of your audience won’t be able to read your email. Additionally, several email programs tend to send graphic-laden emails to a recipient’s junk folder.
It is important that you obtain subscriber consent before you begin emailing them. If you spam your customers you will find that you will never be taken seriously. In some cases, recipients will be so irritated that they could discontinue their relationship with you.
One way to improve an email marketing campaign is to organically build a list. You should not send out emails to customers on purchased email lists who are not interested in your products. Instead, collect the information yourself and create a list that is specific to your business.
The only way to create and build an opt-in email list is to give your readers a chance to sign up! You can provide people the opportunity to sign up for an email listing directly on your site.
Your opt-out link should yield immediate results. If you continue sending emails after someone has opted out, they will be very frustrated and potentially complain to the BBB.
Always get customer permission before you begin contacting via email marketing. People generally see unwanted emails like spam and delete or ignore them without taking the time to read them. You are also taking the risk of being reported as a spammer, and violating the policies implemented by your ISP, resulting in your address being blacklisted.
Don’t add any email address to your mailing list without getting permission first. Increasing your email list with people who haven’t directly subscribed through your website can be bad for both the client as well as your business. You might also find that the service that provides you with your email address can ban you for violating spam policies.
If your email marketing campaign isn’t generating the returns you expected, try pairing your emails with text messages. The immediate nature of SMs messaging is a perfect compliment to your email campaign and will keep your customers well informed. This technique raises the awareness of your business.
In order to make customers excited about your emails, try giving special discounts or promotions through newsletters. This will tell your customers that they are special, you care about their business and that you want to reward them for staying loyal by signing up for your opt-in list. This will even nudge them towards letting their friends see the emails through forwarding. A good referral program can increase your number of customers.
Make sure you let your customers know what kind of emails you will be sending them when you are setting up your subscription form. Tell them exactly what kinds of emails they’ll be getting and when they’ll be getting them. This will help your new subscribers know what to expect, with no surprises.
Grab their attention with your title. The subject line is often the determining factor in whether or not a customer will even open your email, so it needs to grab their attention. This will boost the effectiveness of your campaign and increase profits.
Your messages should remain as brief and on the point as possible. If it is longer than two paragraphs, the excess will likely go unread. They don’t have that much time nor are they extremely interested in what you’re saying. If you make your point quickly and clearly, your readers will be willing to look at the next mailing you send out.
If you ask for a date of birth on your subscription page, use it to send a birthday message to your subscribers. Set up things so that happy birthday messages are automatically sent to readers on their big day. Discount or coupons are also great ideas for subscriber birthdays.
See how your emails appear using the variety of methods your customers are likely to use. Once your marketing message is perfected, test it using all of the major operating systems, email clients and browsers. Emails can vary on how they appear in different email clients, such as Linux Gmail or Windows Hotmail.
When you decided to follow up with clientele, think about an email that reminds them of the particular benefits you have to offer. Also, offer them the chance to look around and ask questions about products or services. Put a money back guarantee at the conclusion of your email.
Be consistent with your email layouts. Be consistent in your emails, using the same colors, and always including the company logo. The font used in your emails must be easy to read. With enough exposure to them, your subscribers will come to find your consistent emails distinctive and start paying more attention them. It’s important for any business to have familiarity. The same holds true for email marketing.
The layout of your emails plays an important role. You may want to use images, but it is better to avoid them because of spam filters. This is why your information should be in text form. You can add links to your site so your customers can see your graphics.
Remember that in each passing day, your readers are likely to read your emails using a mobile device or even a smartphone. Since the resolution is lower on these devices, you won’t have as much space. Educate yourself about the constraints of these small displays, and test your emails for readability on such devices.
As evidenced above, proper marketing protocol is an important practice. When you don’t respect your clients, they will leave your email list. Use this advice to avoid annoying your happy customers.
