Make it Sell

Step 5
Well that is the whole point isn't it? Even your relationship building emails should have an element of sell to them. This doesn't mean you should bombard your loyal customers with gimmicks and free steak knives. It means you should never be afraid to ask them to do business with you again, and you should do so confidently.

Here are some ways you can increase the "sell" in your emails:

From Line
The first thing most people look at when checking their email is the "From" column. If they don’t know you, there’s a good chance the next button they click will be the delete button. There are three options that work:

1 The name of a person they know and trust (Account manager, sales rep etc)
2 A group they belong to ("XYZ Rewards Club", "ABC Frequent Flyers" etc)
3 A company they trust ("DEF Accountants", "ROI Investments" etc)

Once you have chosen which approach you will take, you should stick to it so your recipients can recognise your emails, and so you have a better chance of avoiding Spam filters.

Make it Personal

Step 4
Bulk email can look like junk mail, or it can look like a personal message from you to your customer. It depends on how you use it.

Here’s how you can personalise your email campaigns:

1. Greet them by name: "Hello John,"
2. Tailor offers to the needs of different customer groups
3. Ask for feedback
   

Personalising your emails is simple with our system. It may seem like a small thing, but greeting your customers by name, and sending them information that shows you understand their needs will make a big difference to the ongoing success of your campaigns.

Make it Relevant

Step 3
The most important part of getting email marketing right is to get the right information to the right people.
Ask yourself this question each time you plan a new campaign: "Would I be happy to receive this email".

Making your campaigns relevant is important for two reasons:

1. It will increase your response rate
2. It will increase the life-span of your email list by reducing your unsubscribers
   

Some things to consider when planning your campaigns:

• What’s in it for the customer (benefit, offer, information)
• Is this useful for every customer, or specific customers?
• What’s new?
• Has this approach worked in the past?
• How can I gather feedback about this campaign?

Make it Useful and Usable

Step 2
Stay focussed on your customers when creating your campaigns because email is easy and cheap to use. Many businesses fall into the trap of sending any old junk and expecting it to work. Remember, while email is very convenient, it is also very heavily used, and very easy to dispose of.

Some things to consider:

1. Provide content that is relevant and valuable to your customers
2. Use short paragraphs and lots of sub-headings
3. Include links to all relevant sections of your website for more information
4. Be specific, offer real solutions not generalisations
5. Proof Read: there is no quicker way to damage your credibility than with typos and misinformations
6. Test that all web links work and go to the correct page (broken links are embarrassing and highly unprofessional)
   

Our system allows you to add any content you want and in any way you want. This makes it even more important that you think about your customers and what they want when you are planning your campaigns.

Cutting through the clutter of email is a challenging task, and one that can only be achieved by sending high quality, relevant, and valuable emails to your distribution list. In short, you have to make your contacts want to respond to your current email, and want to receive your next one.  Here are some steps to ensure your emails are as effective as possible:

Make it Look Good

Step 1
The design of your email template has a significant impact on the way in which your campaign is perceived, and the rate at which your audience will click through to your website. Some key factors to consider in your template design:

1. Use high quality images and graphics
2. Create a strong brand image with your email templates and stick to it
3. Don’t overload it with too much content or too many graphics
4. Remember that only a small part of the email is viewable in the Preview Pane of many people’s email browser - use this space for branding and to get your main message across
   

While our system is designed to make and create your email template quick and easy to do it yourself, you should consider having a professional designer create your initial design for you. Quality graphic design is a specialised skill, and the perception created by professionally designed templates is worth the small investment.

If you want to build a list of potential customers, you generally have to be a little bit more strategic, and be prepared to invest a little money to "buy" your list. As a rule, people will only be willing to give you access to their inbox if there is something in it for them.

Many options for collecting new contacts exist from running small in store promotions to large scale advertising where entrants go onto your potential customers list.

As an example, a resort might run a promotional campaign in a newspaper, offering the chance to go into the draw for 3 nights accommodation simply by going to their website and signing up for their Accommodation Specials Newsletter.

New and existing customers are the easiest source of email addresses for your database. You should never let a customer leave your place of business without at least asking for their email address. Depending on the nature of your business, this can either be done at the point of sale, or through in store promotions.

Your website can be a lucrative source of email addresses from potential customers. You can do this in a number of ways, including email subscription forms, enquiries forms, order forms and feedback forms.  Always make sure that permission is given before any emails are sent.

For some businesses, the best way to build your list is to go out and ask for email addresses one at a time.

This is particularly true for business-to-business (B2B) markets. Your emphasis here is on getting permission to send information through via email.

This can be done over the phone (either by yourself, sales staff, a professional telemarketer, or in person).