Sections of this topic
Things You Must Do in Your Next Email Campaign
Email Marketing is so important that you should have this checklist at your fingertips when you create your next email campaign. According to Vertical Response, they are the ‘commandments’ of email marketing – to improve your delivery, open and response rates.
___ ALWAYS use recipient email addresses that have opted in to receive your materials. If you send spam (unsolicited email), you risk harming your relationship and reputation. It’s not worth it.
___ Use a FROM label that is clearly recognizable by the recipient. If they don’t, you may be automatically unsubscribed.
___ Recipients must see an easy and obvious way to opt out or unsubscribe. It’s the law and the right thing to do.
___ Your subject line must always reflect the content. People resent being ‘tricked’ into spending their valuable time on a promise that’s not delivered.
___ Include your snail mail and phone contact information. In addition to being required by law, it’s helpful in relationship building as well as adding legitimacy.
___ Don’t send everyone everything. Send your recipients only messages in which they are likely to be interested. We live in information overload. You don’t want to be viewed as a waste of their time.
___ People often forget why they’re on your list. Remind them where or when they opted in for information. This is especially important if your communications are sporadic, or if it’s been awhile since you sent the last one.
___ Try to email them regularly in order to build a meaningful relationship with your recipients. Give them something they consider valuable. Do it every time you touch them.
___ Your messages will be recognized if your recipients add you to their address book. Otherwise, they may end up in the junk folder. Ask them to add you.
___ TEST your email campaigns by segmenting your list, changing subject lines, and mailing on different days. Track your responses to determine best open rates.
___ Use images in your emails, and always include text to describe them. That way, if the image doesn’t come through, the reader has an idea of what’s missing.
___ Use a spam filter to test each word in the email. If any get caught in the filter, replace them. It’s easy and quick – and a great way to increase delivery rates.
Email Best Practices Evolve
Email marketing Best Practices continually evolve, but they can make or break the success of your campaign. You put a lot of time into its strategy, messaging and list maintenance, so take these steps to optimize the delivery rate, open rate and response rate.
(Many thanks to Vertical Response, Inc., San Francisco, CA, for the checklist.)
Have you had an email campaign crisis that taught you helpful lessons?
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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.
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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:
Ms. Chapman’s new book, How to Make Money Online With Social Media: A Step-by-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
