Improve your Email Marketing with 5 Tips

[Rick Howell]

This is a digital world, and we’re all just trying to figure out how to get the most out of it. With more ways to reach potential customers and partners and more competition in the industry, we must work harder to get their attention. Mobile devices rule the digital world; email campaigns let us reach our audiences wherever they are. This doesn’t mean we can just send off a few emails and expect the responses to roll in. Rather, we need to pay attention to everything from the subject line to the quality of the content and how it appears to the end user. Follow these five tips to get more out of your next campaign.

Get Attention

The first part of your email anyone sees, aside from who sent it, is the subject line. This is your billboard. Make a statement. Subject lines need to entice the receiver to open the message. Strike a balance between completely off-the-wall and boring. You can be creative, but you don’t want to be offensive, condescending, or confusing. Your campaign starts here, so put the time into creating catchy and effective subject lines.

Add Value

Email open rates are great, but the real magic is in conversion—getting a transaction to occur because of that email. To make that transaction happen, you need to demonstrate the value you can provide. Creating value can mean providing a discount on a service, or it can mean including a free eBook that corresponds to your content and service offerings. Be clear and concise about what you have to offer, what your value-add is, and why the recipient should want to respond to you.

Have a Call to Action

Once the recipient can see why he or she should want to work with you, you need to cross the finish line and get that person to respond to your email. Ask permission to contact the recipient for a follow-up conversation or a face-to-face meeting. When you get a response from your campaign, reply to that response as quickly as possible. However, take the time to craft a well-worded email, free of spelling and grammar errors. You always want to put your best foot forward.

Plan Ahead

At this stage, your email campaign has done its job and you are now preparing for that next meeting. Do your homework and prepare for it. This is where you can close the deal—or where you can blow your one shot with this contact. Do your research. Look up anything you can find about this person’s company, likes and dislikes. If you have mutual acquaintances, consider reaching out for insight on how best to approach your meeting. Treat each opportunity as if it’s the one that will change the course of your business.

Follow Up

Not every response you receive will be a definite “yes” to your request for a meeting or conversation. However, every response you get deserves a reply. Create several email templates that serve your most common response needs, so you do not have to start from scratch on every reply. Most importantly, don’t give up after the first meeting or email. Persistence will pay off.

Email marketing is a key component of any marketing strategy. It is relatively inexpensive, it reaches your target audience, and it provides a platform for you to quickly show them why they should want to work with you—or at least open a dialogue. With sound strategy and great follow-up, you can maximize your return on your email campaigns.