1) The right tools make all the difference.
Selecting an email application that allows you to design engaging emails without having to know complex code can make email marketing more efficient. Two of the best applications available are MailChimp and Constant Contact. Both are great tools.
2) Content is King, even in Emails.
If you want someone to open your email you have to have a compelling subject. Focus on 1 – 3 topics with at least 1 clear call-to-action. Use images and limit the copy to what is needed to convey your message. Make sure the content is relevant to the list you are sending to. Sending donation requests to a mixed list that includes 16 year old students will most likely produce a small response financially. Which leads us to our next tip…
3) Is it worth segmenting your audience?
By targeting segments of your audience/subscribers you can create specific interest emails and optimize your engagement strategy. They can be segmented by geo location, interests and just about anything. By tagging them appropriately when setting up their contact in the address list, segmentation is easy.
4) Tick tock, when is the best time to send your email?
Do a little research and see what is trending in regards to what days and what time of day it is best to send your emails. There are tons of variables. Statistics lean towards weekdays as the best days and 10am as the best time. It also depends on your target audience. Business related Emails are great during the week and recreational focused emails do well on the weekends.
5) Analyzing the opens, clicks and unsubscribes/bounces.
Tracking the life of your email will help you plan for future Emails and give you metrics on the effectiveness of your Email campaign. Open rates will help indicate if your subject title got your message through and gave the receiver motivation to open the email. Knowing how many clicks were made will let you know if the content was interesting enough for them take the next step. Reviewing your unsubscribes/bounces can assist with cleaning up bad emails and learning what your audience does and does not like. If you “spam” your list and get multiple unsubscribes you will know immediately that you need to rethink your strategy.
At Westchester Marketing Cafe email marketing is close to our heart. We do it very well!
We would love the opportunity to help you set up economical, compelling email marketing campaigns to drive traffic to your website, blog posts, or custom landing pages promoting new products, customer surveys, or special sales. Schedule a free consultation using our online calendar.