You Didn't Know These Things About Email Marketing?‏

By Chris Crum

Tips that will help you achieve a successful campaign...


There's not an exact science to email marketing (or marketing in general for that matter). If there were, everyone engaging in a campaign would be successful. Unfortunately, that is just not the case.

There are however, some things to consider that can significantly enhance your chances of having a successful one, and it's not just about staying out of the spam folders. Although, that is certainly part of it.

Avoiding the Spam Filters

It's not the only factor in a successful campaign, but it's certainly a vital one. I talked about this in more detail the other day, so I'm not going to rehash the entire article here, but suffice it to say, you need your messages to reach your audience before they can convert into any kind of monetization or brand awareness. Also remember: DON"T BE SPAM. Make sure you are in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.

The Subject Line

Perhaps second only to avoiding the spam filters, in terms of importance, is the subject line. Just because your message managed to avoid getting dumped into the recipient's spam folder doesn't by any stretch of the imagination mean that they are going to open it and read it.

You need to hook them in before you have any hope of them reading your message or clicking on any ads within. You've got to say something here that sparks their interest. There are a variety of approaches to make your subject line more interesting. EmailLabs has a good article on tips for improved subject lines that I suggest reading over. It's four years old, but I think it still pretty much holds up today.

I should also note that the "from" line can be of significant importance. If nothing else, at least make sure it is recognizable to the recipient. Make sure they know and trust who they are receiving the email from.

The Content

Ok, you've managed to avoid getting flagged as spam, and you've included a subject line that was enticing enough to get the recipient interested in what lies inside. You've gotten into their house so to speak. Now like any good salesman, you have to win them over before they kick you out, or close/delete the message.

When choosing the content for your email marketing campaign, keep the audience in mind. Think about why they would have signed up to receive messages from you in the first place. Are you providing them with something that will be of use to them? If not, you might as well forget it. Even if you usually provide interesting content and slip something in there one time, that is only sub-par or not interesting at all, there is a good chance you will lose some subscribers just like that.

Patience is not something that is prevalent among email users. There is just too much garbage coming into pretty much everyone's inboxes. The average user will have no qualms about dropping you like a hot potato.

Do your best to keep it interesting and relevant to your audience.

Ads and Audience

If you are including ads in your campaign, especially if they are for your own clients, the content is of the utmost importance. And just like with content, you need to think about whether or not your ads are relevant to your audience. Of course not every reader is going to be interested in the ads, but it's all about targeting.

From the advertiser's perspective, for example, you might not necessarily want to pay to advertise the latest 50 Cent CD in a newsletter about doilies.

And from the sender's perspective, if you offer a variety of publications, try to steer the advertiser toward one that is more of a right fit for their product. After all, if they're reaching the wrong target, it's not going to be of use to anybody involved. Sure, you may have gotten their money one time, but if they don't get any results, they're not going to want to advertise with you again. Think about the long term.

A couple of other things to keep in mind when it comes to ads are calls to action and frequency. Much like the email's subject line, the ad should have a call to action - something to hook the reader in. The sender and the advertiser should also realize that they are likely to be more successful, by frequently appearing in messages, rather than just expecting "instant gratification" from one campaign. Staying in front of the audience will not only increase brand awareness, but raise the chances of conversion.

Timing

Timing can be a factor in a successful campaign. Not only marketing based on events or holidays, but also the time of day. If you are targeting an audience in the UK, for example, but you are sending from the US, you need to take time zones into consideration, and depending on who you are hoping to reach, try to get your messages sent at the right time of day. Are you hoping to catch people at the office? Get your messages out early. Are you hoping to get them after work? Maybe later is fine. It's just an issue to consider. It can have an effect on your conversion rates.

Are you Prepared for Success?

Are you prepared for a successful campaign? If you are an advertiser running an ad, do you have the resources to manage a lot of incoming traffic? It's not going to reflect well on your brand if a potential customer clicks your ad only to find that your server is down. There's no telling how many sales you could miss out on if this were to occur.

This also applies to the sender if they are just promoting their own website through an email newsletter. Always be prepared to handle a big wave of traffic. This should to an extent correspond with how many people you are sending to.

Before this turns into a book, I will leave you with that. May these tips help you on your way to a successful email marketing campaign. Please share with us any other advice or comments you have regarding this subject.