Even though we are bombarded with thousands of emails per week, email marketing has not become obsolete. In fact, email marketing is one of the most effective ways to stay in touch with existing customers as well as attract new customers if it used correctly.

However, many business owners waste countless hours putting together email marketing campaigns with weak copy, bad graphics, and inadequate offers, which end up in the trash bin. So what’s the point of spending countless hours and money on marketing that isn’t going to work?

To prevent your emails from getting tossed in the trash bin, keep the following tips in mind:

1. Build a subscriber list. To get started collecting email addresses, offer a sign up page on every page your website or blog. Offer a newsletter, a promotion, or an exclusive offer. Once you develop a robust list of subscribers, you can send as many offers as you want. You can also offer affiliate products to increase scalability.

2. Deliver thought-provoking and informative content- People don’t like to feel like they are being sold to, so it is important that to provide resourceful and valuable information. The whole point is to differentiate your business from the rest of the competition.

3. Don’t get in trouble for SPAM. To make prospective and existing subscribers feel like they are protected, post a privacy policy. Prospects may get turned off if they feel that you might sell their information.

4. Personalization – Personalizing your emails makes your subscribers feel special. You can customize emails by greeting subscribers by their first name. You can personalize the layout – with pictures, the header of the email and the colors of the background. Most auto responders (email marketing companies) offer a variety of template options for no additional cost. However, if you want to have a template customized, these companies will design the template to match your brand for an additional cost. (Check out www.aweber.com, www.constantcontact.com and www.getresponse.com for more information).

5. Call to Action/ Special offer- If you are pushing a promotion or special offer, a strong call to action is necessary. Make it clear and simple such as “Click here for a 25% discount off your next purchase.” You have to tell your subscribers exactly what they should do in order to join in on the special offer or promotion.

6. Unsubscribe – Make the unsubscribe button visible in every email. You don’t want to frustrate your readers by making it difficult to unsubscribe to your newsletter or email promotions.

7. Getting Prospects to Subscribe – Offer a bonus if they sign up. Offer an e-book or coupon for their first purchase.

If email marketing is used correctly, you can keep existing customers in the know of the latest trends or styles; offer your latest promotions and sales, and anything else that is relevant, just as long as prospects and customers don’t feel like they are being sold.

For help on designing your email campaign, contact Kristin at km@marquet-communications.com.

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