Email represents one of the most cost-effective advertising mediums for companies in many sectors, but you need to make sure you approach this medium with ethical and effective strategies to avoid having the opposite effect intended, which could serve to drive loyal customers away from your websites.
Email marketing needs to be handled sensitively. To avoid coming across as 'spam' or unwanted junk mail, your newsletters, promotions and other direct emails need to help build a trusting relationship between your company and prospective customers. By establishing your name as one to be trusted, and targeting customers with information of real and personal interest, you can look forward to generating increased sales and profits without spending a great deal to do so.
Whatever promotional material you're sending in email form, you need to be aware of how the medium is different from others, and that what may be appropriate for a website or billboard won't necessarily translate well to a customer's inbox. You should also learn how to avoid automatic spam filters, and can request that recipients add you to their 'safe senders' list.
Remember that the subject line of your email is all you have to rely on at first, so this needs to be suitably eye-catching and relevant for the customer to click on it and open the email. Keep your subject line short - maximum 45 characters - and think of it more as a headline to attract attention. The specific details, including your company name, can be included later in the body of the text.
Alongside the title of the email, recipients will also see who the email is from. This should also be handled sensibly and intelligently, avoiding loaded terms like 'advertising' or 'promotion' and using an employee's real name, if possible, for a more human touch.
There are many ways to build your customer base, and email marketing is just one of them - especially when you use email marketing software to manage databases of email addresses and ensure the details are as up-to-date as possible, so you don't send out messages to old or deleted emails or to people who have since requested that they be removed from your list.
Of course, the customers who will be most receptive to your emails are those who requested them in the first place. Be sure to include the option to sign up for your newsletter or latest promotions on all your relevant web pages, so interested visitors will be reminded to return to your site in the future.
The author of this article is a part of a digital blogging team who work with brands like Experian. The content contained in this article is for information purposes only and should not be used to make any financial decisions.
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