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- Put an opt-in form (or even better, opt-in forms) on your webpages. If you’re at a trade show then get opt-ins some other ways. But the point of email marketing is that people have AGREED to receive your emails. You will want to put a tick box on your order form or online checkout stating that customers will be adding to your emailing list.
- Become familiar with the email marketing legislation in your part of the world. Generally speaking, provide opt-outs at the bottom of your email…in other words – a way of unsubscribing.
- Setup an Auto-Responder. Lots of people don’t do this or don’t know what one is. Once someone has signed up to your email list they’ll receive the first email in the set. Existing email subscribers will be at a different stage to your new subscribers so will be receiving emails that are further on in your series of Auto-Responder. I’m sure you can see how powerful this method is. Almost like a new subscriber being a cinema goer who walks in half way through the build up to an offer but the movie can’t be rewound for that new subscriber so they walk into the start of a later viewing.
- Don’t just send offers all the time! Send 5 or 6 information emails for every offer.
- Test subject lines. Many email marketing providers will offer a split testing service to see which subject lines work better for your emails. If your email list is 5000. Perhaps send half of your list one particular subject line and the other half a slightly different one. Then check out which has the highest open rate. Test test test!
- Provide both HTML and plain text emails and an option to view online. Sometimes plain text emails work better so mixed up which you send but whenever you send HTML emails, also provide a plain text alternative in the same email campaign.
- Use standard marketing rules of having timely offers, use scarcity, give people a reason to buy now and treat your list well.
- Send partner offers that your list might appreciate. You’ll get paid for this!
- The money’s in the list. Remember this. You’ll hear it a lot. You need to maintain your list well. Look after your subscribers. Find a balance between them not forgetting about you and not annoying them with poor quality emails.
- Don’t insult your list members’ intelligence whilst breaking the law. Don’t use misleading subjects with things like “RE: your meeting with such and such” (RE: should only be used when responding to an existing email conversation.
