Is email marketing dead? It’s a question that many businesses and marketers are asking today with good reason. While social media has certainly taken the lead in terms of online marketing, it is important to recognize that there is still a place for email marketing. Knowing how to make the most of it can help you to take your business to the next level.
Begin by taking advantage of brand recognition. Subscribers are automatically wary of the potential for email spam. Work around that by building on the relationship you have already established with your clients by positioning your company’s logo predominantly on the email. Also, include your company’s website to allow for consistent navigation to your site. Keep in mind that the more easily a customer is able to recognize that a communication is from your business, the more likely they are to actually open it and read it.
Keep the design of your email easy to digest. Readers are more likely to focus on information located at the top of the email than at the bottom. Take advantage of this by placing your call to action closer to the top of the page.
Remember that your readers are taking time out of their day to read your email. In recognition of that, offer something of value. This could be a piece of valuable or interesting information, industry insight, promotion, or something else that your reader will not find anywhere else. Whatever it is, make sure that you focus on the needs of your readers. The more appealing your communications are to readers, the more likely they are to actually take action.
One of the most common mistakes that many people make with email marketing is not understanding what they should do once they have actually triggered a reader’s interest. The key is to make the most of the relationship that you have established with readers. When utilizing email marketing, the goal is to encourage your readers to take action. Make sure that your emails always have a purpose. Know what it is that you want your readers to do and make it clear through a strong call to action.
Many people also make the mistake of thinking that including images in emails will encourage readers to take action. This is actually not the case. Surprisingly, the majority of clients will actually block images automatically without even processing them. For this reason, it is important to design your emails without any images. Instead, use fonts that are web safe and HTML text. Wide templates should be avoided as should embedded style sheets and JavaScript.
As is the case with any type of marketing campaign, it is also important to ensure that you test your email marketing campaign. Make sure you know how your email communications will work on various email clients. Statistics indicate that most subscribers view emails in a client that utilizes a preview pane, so ensure you know what part of your message will appear in the preview pane before you send it. Additionally, due to the increasing number of subscribers who now read emails on mobile devices, you should also make sure that your emails are properly rendered for digital devices.
Along with paying attention to how your emails look, it is also important to pay attention to how you proceed in building your email marketing list. Whenever possible, provide your customers with every available opportunity to opt-in to your email marketing list. Organic growth is just as important to email marketing as other types of Internet marketing. In promoting your email marketing list, make sure you highlight the value offered by opting into your list. Your customers should never feel as though they have been tricked or coerced into signing up for your list. This will completely defeat the purpose. Instead, make sure your clients know what is in it for them when they sign up for your email list.
Finally, make sure that every message you send out to your subscribers is packed with value. Your emails should never come across solely as a sales pitch, but should instead provide your subscribes with information that is truly valuable.