If you want to send out regular marketing messages then email could be a good option for you. It’s quick, low or no cost and you can target the right audiences at the right time.
Responses to emails tend to be higher than postal direct mailers because email is so immediate. Measuring results will show you what is working well and what isn’t so you can adjust your message accordingly to get a better response.
For any organisation that uses its website as a key part of its marketing email is a crucial part of communicating with their audience. Email can be a good way to quickly respond to marketing needs such as offers or special deals with a call to action to visit the website,
There are some issues to be careful of when sending out emails though. The first thing is not to overdo it. As you probably know an email every day even from your favourite online store can get irritating. You need to be aware of GDPR regulations too and work within their guidelines and avoid acting illegally. Finally, if you want to get a good positive response it’s best to send out messages that you are confident will be of interest to your target audience.
Your email marketing database
A good database of contacts email addresses and their information is essential for email marketing. You can either build this from existing customers so long as they have given their permission for you to contact them by opting in on a form. A place where they can subscribe on your website is also a very useful tool.
Once you have a decent sized database and have collected the relevant data you can begin to segment your database according to previous purchases and target them with specific messages. Don’t forget that some things will be of interest to all your customers and that they may be interested in new of different products.
Email marketing legal requirements
You are allowed to contact customers who have agreed to be contacted by you by email and that you have a record of them giving you permission. Sending an email to a person without permission is illegal and could be subject to a high penalty.
You must not reveal details of other recipients to anyone you send a marketing email to so it is important to send a blind copy to recipients. It must be clear that your email is for commercial purposes and you must not conceal your identity.
Lastly, it is important to include an unsubscribe option so that the recipient can opt out and you must act on any unsubscribes.
If you are at all unsure do get expert advice.
Creating your email
Put together the text keeping it simple but compelling. Think of an attention grabbing subject line that is relevant to the content. A good image or more will add interest but don’t forget many recipients will not see the image/s, especially initially, unless they choose to. Make sure there is a call to action and add somewhere they can click to reach your website. The content will need to be assembled in html so you might needexpert help. One of the top online platforms that will help you create and send emails is MailChimp which is free at a basic level.
Once you think you are ready, check the content thoroughly for errors and that the images look good thinking of the recipients viewpoint. Will they be happy to receive your email?
Measuring the response to your emails
Keep a record of how many emails that were sent, how many were opened, how many clicked on the email for more information and how many asked to unsubscribe.
The average response you can expect is around four percent. Make sure you are ready to act on any responses to maintain your brand reputation.