Boost your sales through effective email marketing

With market conditions becoming increasingly tough, email marketing could be one way of keeping your business fed with enquiries at a low cost. Many businesses have discovered that email newsletters can become a powerful and cost-effective addition to their marketing toolkit.

The statistics tell the story. The current Datran survey of two thousand industry leaders discovered that 82% of businesses would be increasing their spend on email marketing this year. The poll also showed that more than 68% believed that it had helped boost sales through other channels. As the Direct Marketing Association simplistically puts it, a great email campaign is about getting 'the right message to the right person at the right time'.

Six tips on creating the perfect e-newsletter

1. Content, content, content

Always aim for topical, engaging and relevant content - you should try to give recipients something of value to them - this could be knowledge or advice, it might be financial advantage or perhaps even entertainment. Chances are though if you find the content dull, they will too. Look on this as a great opportunity get an ongoing dialogue with your customers and, in turn, raise your profile so make sure it's good. If the delivery can form part of a coordinated marketing campaign, the effectiveness is further multiplied.

2. Willing Subscribers

Be sure to work with a current and legally obtained database. With the cost of delivery being so low the temptation to go for quantity over quality is very inviting. However, no one likes unsolicited junk mail - it damages the credibility of the sender, it is usually illegal and it could get your mail server blacklisted. List Hygiene is a vital component of good email marketing policy. Subscribing should always be intentional not an oversight. Therefore, the subscription forms for your mailing list should always be 'opt-in' and not 'opt out'. And be sure your emails contain an unsubscribe link. These and many other standards are outlined in the Direct Marketing Association's Best Practice Guidelines. There are many ways to build your own legitimate mailing list. However, buying one from a third party is not recommended unless written warranties can be provided as to its compliance with the guidelines.

3. Robust Construction

To get a consistent look and prevent your email going a bit 'Picasso', your HTML emails need to be created to cope with a wide variety of recipient programs (Entourage, Lotus, Mail, webmail... there are dozens on the market). This can be avoided by coding them to conform to the lowest common denominator and then testing them with each one. Use a delivery system that can detect if your customer prefers 'Plain text' emails so it can send them an alternative version. Try to avoid overly salesy wording such as 'click here', 'buy now' and even 'Dear so and so'. These phrases are among more than 300 key words that spam filters look for when filtering out junk mail. Cut out sentences in CAPITALS and cut down on excessive use of exclamation marks!

4. Tactical Scheduling

Not surprisingly sending emails at the right times and on the right days will improve response rates. Whilst there are different schools-of-thought on this matter, most experts agree that Mondays and Fridays are less favorable and early morning deliveries can get caught up in the overnight mail. So what about frequency? Too many will be counter-productive, too few ineffective. The right amount will depend on your audience and the subject matter. Current news clearly needs to be delivered as quickly and regularly as possible whilst knowledge-based content is best left to monthly or bi-monthly scheduling. Like any publication, a regular schedule is best, based on a realistic assessment on your organisation's capacity to create good quality content.

5. Utilising Performance Metrics

One of the benefits of email marketing is the quantity of feedback data that is at your fingertips. A campaign statistical package combined with a web analytics system, such as that provided by Google, is an immensely powerful combination. These packages have become very user-friendly and provide enough graphs and charts to satisfy the most committed 'statto'. How can this information be of benefit? Use your statistical data to monitor the types of stories or offers that interest your customers to further improve your offering. Track their performance over a chosen period. Find out who, when and how often customers view your newsletters - all in real time.

6. Website Link-backs

Whilst well-produced email campaigns can raise your company's visibility and promote products and services effectively, where they really excel is in driving traffic to your website. Links back to your website allow your customers access to substantially greater content than can be included in an email and more comfortably too. In fact email content should really be limited to just enough to entice the reader to click through. Sharp increases in enquiries and sales invariably follow a successful email campaign. News stories should consist of a headline, an intro paragraph and a link back to the story online. Sale items need not be much more than a picture, a title, a price and a link. Frequently accessed areas of your website such as utilities or customer areas can also be linked to.