Email Marketing Best Practices

The business world that is running the world now is obsessed with getting the most customer intelligence to further their businesses. Businesses need to know what customers need, how and what they think, what services or products are they looking for, etc. And they turn to all sorts of media blitz and campaign in order to get more customers for their business. Big businesses’ spending on TV and print ads and Internet advertising are staggering and unbelievably huge. And the advertising industry absolutely enjoys every bit of it.

One marketing technique that has not been maximized is email marketing. Compared to all the other popular marketing strategies and techniques, email marketing does not cost much. The investment will probably be on Internet subscription, minimal human resource, desktop computer and electricity bill. Hence, email marketing is deemed the most cost-effective advertising technique there is today.  

In order to get the best results from email marketing, the following lists down some of the known and proven email marketing practices which you can use as a guideline when doing your email marketing campaign.

• Create Incentives-oriented line opener for your email. This will increase the open rates of your email. Recipients are likely to open their email if they read something like, “Get an iPad free by signing up for a demo”, or “Free shipping for first order.” Don’t just do this for the sake of converting; make sure you can deliver what you promised.
• Keep your email clutter-free. Sending an email full of junk will not likely end up in a conversion.
• Highlight call-to-action above the fold. Putting your main message and call-to-action towards the end of the email will most likely result to them being ignored or not read by the recipient. Call-to-action should be repeated throughout the email the least of which is 3 times.
• Put your logo where it can be easily seen – at the upper left hand side of the email. Studies have shown that people look for the logos at this particular and specific area.  
• Create eye-catching and compelling subject lines. Like the email line opener, you can write a subject line of 30 – 50 characters with a sense of urgency. This line should give the readers an idea of what the email is all about.
• Tie your email to landing pages. Craft your email such that it will be able to link to landing pages which should have the same headline, copy and content. Use tracking tools to monitor the email and landing pages for performance.
• Use auto-responder for Opt-ins. It’s normal for recipients to forget they opted in. You need to set up auto-responder to remind them and it should be sent out in 1, 5 and 10 days after the opt-in registration. Auto-responder email should contain additional content or bonus material for opting in.  
• Make your email with a personal touch. This is where the power of email lies – the recipient needs to feel that the email was sent on a personal capacity and as such deserves a response. Use email as your way of reaching out to your customers and making them feel important.
• Timing. Know exactly when you need to send the email, which is when the recipient is around to read it right away or almost immediately. Studies and surveys showed that more people are using their lunch hour to check their email, Facebook and Twitter accounts. This should be about the right time to send your email.  

Email marketing is still a great way to generate leads and eventually more conversion prospects for your business, if done the right way. Compelling email marketing campaigns still get high success rate. People abhor getting junk and suspicious looking email marketing materials. Just follow the simple guidelines presented above to elicit chances of your marketing materials ending up in junk mailbox.

Email marketing is just part and parcel of online marketing. You have to understand online marketing as a whole to have holistic approach and have a more effective campaign. You can take a look at The Do’s and Don’ts of Online Marketing for better guidance.