With Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn being all the rage for electronic communication, sending e-mails to your (opted-in) client base may seem passé. And for a certain generation, it is. As Mark Zuckerbug, CEO at Facebook has said, email is too much of a cognitive load for youngsters.
However, at The REFUGE Group, we don’t believe that email is completely dead. Marketers continue to employ this messaging medium to alert consumers about in-store and online deals, raising awareness for social causes and for staying in touch with their client base.
Besides, email and e-newsletters have quite a lot more flexibility with design options and they can integrate links to social media. Since email marketing campaigns continue to be crafted, knowing how to make them effective and efficient is a good idea.
1. Determine Your Purpose This is the mainstay of any effective form of communication. What are you trying to do with with your email campaigns? Educating? Informing, which covers sales and special offers? Too many marketers launch an email marketing campaign with a vague view of why they want to do it. Understand your purpose for sending emails before you send them. By the same token, develop content that is relevant to your demographic and your business.
2. Get Permissions If you’ve ever received spam email, you know that the experience can be frustrating. And it works the same way with your clients. Make sure you begin your email campaign on a good note by getting permissions from your clients, either through an opt-in form or through an in-store sign-up sheet.
3. Develop Creative Subject Lines Creativity can’t be over-stated because of the direct relation between catchy subject lines and the increased likelihood of opened emails. Spend some time developing a subject line that is short and contains relevant information. For instance: “Who’s Who in the Design World”.
4. Use Your Domain Name You want to be perceived as a genuine company that people can trust and feel at ease with. According to Mashable, “a Gmail or Yahoo address is a tip-off that a company is small-time.” Send your emails using an address that carries your company’s domain name.
5. Opt-out Option Email marketing is a great way to build a relationship with your client base, and one of the easiest ways to make this happen is by making them feel safe. Give your clients an option to opt out from your email campaign at their prerogative to give them freedom from feeling locked-in.
