Email Marketing Strategy

By Author: Justin Bryce
Total Articles: 35
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In today's world it is vital to find inexpensive marketing tools that get your message directly to your target audience. Such a tool already exists in e-mail. Chances are good that you are using email in your marketing efforts. But if you're not, now is the time to make it a regular part of your marketing efforts. If you are already using this fantastic tool, then make sure you are getting the most out of it. Done well, e-mail marketing can be one of the best tools in your marketing tool box.

The first place to start is to beef up your e-mail list. Your efforts won't stretch very far with a puny list. Your web site is a great resource for building your e-mail distribution list. Don�t just put a "join our list" button on the front page though. Each and every page of your site should have a nicely crafted ad promoting your list. Many folks will find you through a search engine and won�t ever see the home page. Don�t miss easy opportunities to grab these folks. Your existing customers are another great resource. Since your customers already know you, they probably want to hear from you occasionally ...
... as well. Every point of contact is an opportunity to ask for an e-mail address. When you send messages to your e-mail list, include an chance to join the list. Hopefully, your subscribers will forward your messages to their friends and family. You'll want to capture these new folks too.

E-mail marketing should become part of a coordinated effort. Because e-mail is so easy, it is tempting for everyone with access to your list to send out messages. Pretty soon your subscribers become bombarded and then drop off. Make sure that your e-mail marketing efforts are really integrated into the rest of your marketing. Set up strict rules about who has access to the list and how it can be used. This ensures that your messages are consistent and thought out. Decide whether you want this to be an ongoing effort, like a newsletter, or part of a shorter campaign. Your quarterly newsletter will look very different from a sale ad. Time your messages to correspond to relevant and interesting information and events. Don�t abuse your list by sending messages out too often.

Just like you use audience segmentation in your other marketing efforts, you should take the time to analyze your e-mail list subscribers. This allows you to target the best message to your different audiences. When subscribers receive messages that match their interests, they�re much more likely to read it and then take action. Your customer that comes in three times a year for jewelry gifts for his wife isn�t as likely to be interested in your new clothing arrivals. But he will want to know about the hot new jewelry designer you just picked up. A great way to find out where subscribers� interests lie is to ask them when they sign up.

Tracking your e-mail marketing efforts is crucial in order to make sure you are meeting your goals. You ideally would like your efforts to increase your subscriber list. If it has the opposite effect, you certainly want to find out what happened. Are you sending too many messages? Are your messages not relevant? When people unsubscribe ask them to fill out a short questionnaire to find out where you went wrong and what you can do better. A certain number of people will opt-out and it won't have anything to do with you. But you want to find this out for yourself. As they say, the best defense is a good offense. Making sure your put the effort in up front to plan a good campaign and target your messages is the best way to avoid losing members of your list.

You can find lots of resources to help you with the more technical and aesthetic aspects of e-mail marketing. However, use common sense to plan your efforts. Gather all the e-mail addresses you can. Use your web site and your customers to build that list. Really make sure you integrate e-mail into your marketing and be intentional about how your use it. Use good judgment in deciding when to send messages and make sure they look good. Target efforts to segments that make sense are the best way to keep people on your list. You want people looking forward to your e-mails, not sending them to the spam folder. Find out why people unsubscribe. With a little effort and planning e-mail marketing can become a powerful tool to get the word out about your business.