Here are some email marketing tips for small business:
1. Start building an email marketing list of customers
If
you do not have an email marketing list you can start building one now.
Whether you have a small or a large client base, you can start by first
including your existing customers on your email marketing list which
you can build upon with time. A small business can start an email
marketing campaign from a relatively small list which can expand with
time. As new inquiries are received, the list can be expanded. It is a
common practice to purchase targeted email list from a professional
marketing company.
2. Email registration on your website
Offering
customer with a way to register via your website is probably one of the
easiest ways to build your own email list. A registration form can be
added to your website with ease. The placement of the email registration
feature on your website is important and has an impact t on conversion
rates. It should be placed on a prominent place on the website. If your
website uses a content management system then most likely the newsletter
registration feature will be built in.
3. Start a Marketing Newsletter
Sending
newsletters to your customers is one of the most effective email
marketing techniques. You can start a newsletter on a topic related to
our industry. The newsletter can be weekly, monthly or even quarterly. A
newsletter provides an excellent opportunity to communicate with your
customers on regular basis. You can use the newsletter to subsequently
market your own products or services.
4. Improve awareness of your email marketing list
You
can take some simple steps to increase the popularity of your email
marketing newsletters and growing your email list. Creating a quality
marketing email or newsletter requires time and effort so it is best
sent out to as many people as possible.
Following are some simple
methods to improve awareness about your marketing newsletter or email
list and encourage people to register:
o Include a link to register for emails in all email correspondence.
o Include information about your email newsletter in invoices, purchase orders and other company documents.
o Include email registration link in a prominent place on your website and blog.
o Let your team know to inform customers about your marketing newsletter at every opportunity they get.
o Create an incentive to subscribe to your email or company newsletter e.g. discount coupons or prize draws.
5. Follow data protection act
It
is vital that you respect customer's privacy and take all steps
necessary to protect customer data collected by your email marketing
campaigns. You should not share information without prior consent from
the customer. Your email marketing list should be opt in. When customers
register their email address they are agreeing to receive marketing
emails from you. If you purchase opt-in email marketing lists, you
should do so from reliable sources only.
6. Send quality marketing emails
Nothing
can be worse fro your branding than sending out a poorly designed
marketing email to customers. You should research the content of your
marketing email and plan your marketing campaign in advance. The content
of the marketing email should be well researched and offer value to
customers. It is OK to promote your products and business in your emails
but you should try and offer a variety of information. A well balanced
email is more likely to succeed than a purely promotional email. If the
email you send is full of self promotion and does not offer real value
then customers are likely to un-subscribe or opt-out form receiving
emails in future. Focus on quality over quantity.
7. Select an appropriate subject for the marketing email
A
good subject for the marketing email plays a vital role in deciding how
many emails are opened and read by customers. It is important to choose
the subject of the email with careful thought and consideration.
8. Design and Layout:
You
should plan the structure of the email with care. The layout should be
clutter free and easy to read. The design should be clean and
minimalist. Use images carefully. Any images used should be optimized
for fast loading time. The design should reflect your brand. You should
also Include your logo and contact information.
9. Clean-up your email marketing list from time to time:
If
you are maintaining your own email list then you should perform basic
list maintenance tasks periodically. Any un-subscribed user should be
removed from the list immediately. Similarly all old or not working
email addresses should be removed. It is better to categorize your list
in to different categories so you can pan your emails and send specific
information to specific groups. At the same time any new contacts
should be added so they are not left out in the next email you send out.
10. Test your marketing campaigns
Whether
you send out regular emails or send then less frequently, it is vital
that you test your email marketing campaign properly before you send
them out. A spell check should be performed. Any links in the email
should be checked to see if they are not broken. A good technique is to
send a copy to yourself first.
11. Measure the performance of your Email Marketing campaigns
It
is important to measure the success or failure of your
email marketing campaigns. There are many ways to monitor the performance. The ultimate
measure of success is the number of enquiries you receive as a direct
result of your marketing emails. Statistics related to your campaign
can provide a useful insight. Most email marketing software will allow
you to monitor deliver rate, response rate, click rate and so on. You
can find out how many emails were delivered, how many were opened and
even how many links in the email were clicked. You can use this
information to judge the effectiveness of each email that is sent and to
plan and improvise on future campaigns.
12. Call to action
An
effective marketing email should encourage users to take an action.
Including a call to action statement in your marketing emails can
improve the chances of conversion. A call to action can be anything
from a request for more information to a link to buy a product.