With all of the mixed advice floating around regarding email marketing, merchants just want to know, what works and what doesn’t? This article helps you sort through the hype to get straight to the facts, and it offers some practical tips to make your email marketing campaigns stand out from the crowd.
Statistics Abound
You don’t have to look very far to find a variety of statistics supporting both the pros and cons of email marketing, and often the statistics can seem more negative than positive. For example:
Email marketing for the retail industry: If you send an email to 100 recipients, it is expected that just 3.7% of them will actually visit the website (Source: http://bronto.com/stats/?industry=1).
A full 34% of consumers do not trust advertisements mentioned in emails. (Source: emarketer.com)
So Is Email Marketing Worth the Effort?
The answer is yes. While fewer than 5 in one hundred recipients might actually arrive at your site as a result of your email marketing, email marketing to a large audience could pay significant benefits. That is, provided you put in that extra effort to make your emails stand out.
Following are five tips that can help your email communications pack more punch.
Use the Subject Line Effectively
You should use the subject line to communicate the central idea of your email messages.
Most people delete emails right after reading the Subject. Try using simple but attractive words that provide the main attraction or the central idea of the email.
Choose Your Recipients Wisely
All types of emails might not be of interest for some receipts. Use opt in email methods, categorize your lists, and send customers only the emails that are of the most interest to them.
Craft Content Carefully
Content rules in email communications. Make sure that the content is as per the level of interest and of understanding of your target audiences.
Offer Compelling Reasons to Buy
Simply promoting or hard selling your products can make your email communications dull. Spice up the content and provide solid rationale that validates the message. You can use customer testimonials, client case studies etc. to help improve your conversions.
Broadcast the Emails Via a Reliable Medium
The last thing you want is for your email to get blocked by your recipients’ email provider. Make sure you use reliable and well-recognized email management software such as Constant Contact. Also provide an opt-out option as per the CAN-SPAM Act—which also mandates mention of proper date and address.
For more info about the Can-SPAM act, see http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm
