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If your small business has an impactful email marketing campaign, chances are your return on investment will be good. If you have an ineffective campaign going, chances are you need to study up on how to improve it.
The bottom line is email marketing is a winning strategy that allows you to clearly communicate with your targeted audience, but it must be properly implemented in order to have the best chance at succeeding.
Along with being cost-effective in most cases, email marketing can outdo both direct mail and telemarketing when effectively put to use. One of the other advantages to email marketing is that it can be planned out well in advance, and then delivered in just a matter of minutes.
In order to successfully implement an email marketing campaign, the necessary steps will include:
· Having a plan/goal in place that you want to put in motion. The plan should include the targeted audience you’re going after so that you are not left spinning your wheels and wasting money;
· Obtaining a list of email addresses for the individuals you want to market to (you can purchase or rent a list). As noted in the previous tip, know your targeted audience. If you are marketing a campaign for exercise equipment for senior citizens, it obviously should not be directed towards seniors in college who participate in athletics;
· Having a compelling message that is full of fresh content. There is no one size fits all when it comes to email marketing. Be sure that your content is not from a prior campaign and that it grabs the recipient’s attention. The sources who are receiving your email marketing campaigns get endless other pitches on a daily basis, so you need your copy to stand out;
· Selecting the proper technology to deliver the message. Be sure you select the right email service provider in order to have the best chance at a successful campaign.
These are but a few of the tips to help your small business develop a compelling email marketing campaign, allowing your company to reach out to current and potential customers.
While your email marketing campaign may be well planned out, there are certain things to keep in mind to make sure things run as smoothly as possible. They include:
· Users need an outlet. Be sure to give users the ability to unsubscribe from your company’s list. Users need to have an “opt out†option when it comes to future mailings. Keep in mind that ISPs review the amount of email sent and the failure rates. In the event you have large volumes of both, your domain could be targeted since you will be viewed as providing spam;
· Be personable. It is important that your emails are personalized, as response rates to such efforts are reportedly increased when there is a personal touch. Personalizing the emails, of course, assumes that you have all the pertinent information on the respondent;
· Tests are the norm. It is also important for your email marketing efforts to be regularly tested. Among the things to check on are the links within the email to be sure they are correctly formatted and work. When testing, send the tests out to an amount of people that is comparable to the group who will be receiving the real thing;
· Finally, be sure to track and study the results. There is no sense doing an email marketing campaign if you have no plans of following up on the results. Whether it is using Google Analytics or another product, be sure to analyze such things as click-through pass-along and conversion rates.
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With the right email marketing campaign, you can track the results to what should be a good return on investment and more customers coming your way.
