With all the advances of the Internet and the hype for social networking it’s easy to forget some of the original online marketing methods. Email gets a bad rap sometimes because of aggressive spammers and over-zealous product advocates who constantly attack your inbox. But in today’s economy email marketing can be extremely effective if done right – it’s cost effective, targeted, has a great reach for potential customers and current ones, and can even help establish your company as an expert in your industry.

Email marketing techniques

We all get tons of email every day, so it’s important to take a second and consider what has worked in your own inbox to pull you in. The source and reason of the email plays an important role in deciding if it gets opened or sent to the spam folder. You will have to think like a marketer and try to understand what your customers are looking for and unify that with the goals of your email campaign.

Here are 6 email marketing strategies to keep in mind:
• Start with a strong subject line. If you can’t capture your reader’s attention in an interesting subject line then they they probably will not go any further when viewing your e-newsletter. You have just a few words to grab their attention and ensure they continue reading.
• Two most important words: Design and Content. Is your design user-friendly? Does it encourage your reader’s eye to move down the page? Does it take into account different email viewing platforms and image filters? Once you get over the visual hurdles, remember that your content is responsible for engaging people and giving them a reason to keep reading.
• Include a call-to-action. Whether you want readers to visit the website, pass on information or download a whitepaper, make sure your email has a purpose. Even consider offering a promotion to your subscribers. It shows you appreciate their readership, and will encourage them to keep reading and forward your email to their friends and family.
• Make sure the links work. This seems basic, but your audience can’t pass on your great deals and stellar product message if they can’t forward your email or connect to your website.
• Respect your readers. This one can come in many forms. It might seem easy to skip a couple of these tips to increase email list volume, but remember that finding new members is much harder than keeping current ones:
  - Don’t sell their email addresses
  - Don’t bomb them with emails that are not relevant to them
  - Don’t assume everyone views their email the same – account for smart phones and PDAs
  - Don’t make the unsubscribe process more complicated than necessary
• Set goals and track results. It’s hard to see if you’ve made progress if you don’t know where you started or what you’re reaching for. You also can’t tell what works if you can’t see where your users are clicking.

These tips seem pretty basic, but they can be easily overlooked. Also, remember to incorporate your email campaign with other marketing endeavors, offline and online. Promote it on your brochures by mentioning additional savings or information that comes directly through your newsletter. Add a form on your website so that visitors who might be interested in your services can easily stay in contact with you.  And the mantra to any marketing effort is “test and track”. Test out different designs, content styles, special offers, etc. to see which gets the most responses. Track clicks and visitor patterns not only for the email but for the website as well. Think of metrics as the unspoken message from your visitors – where they click, what they search for, and where they are coming and going.

For more information on creating an email marketing campaign, or revamping your current one, contact Media Genesis for more information at inquiry@mediaG.com.

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