Sending emails that your readers can’t resist replying to
How does one go about getting an email strategy in place that does not include stinkers from people who did not cherish receiving the email one so lovingly fabricated? After all, your labor of love needs to be presented and sent, to quote an oft repeated cliché, at the right time to the right place. What does one do to make your time and investment in email marketing worth the while? A few handy tips:
1: Ask the all-important question: You may have a great email marketing deal your partner came up with, but the question is, are your customers regular readers and recipients of email? It will not help your cause, if most of your customers turn out to be people who check their email once in a while, probably to post the latest family development on their favorite Yahoo groups. If, on the other hand, your product is the toast of always online, always connected users who believe that life without a Blackberry is not worth living, give email marketing a shot. For example, email marketing would work great for a seller of Blackberry phones.
2: Where small is big: Now, we all love to tell everyone everything about our business, so much so that with just a few sittings you have given a crash course in your business, but have you realized how much your recipient wants to see? Keeping it short and sweet as a concept works great not only for mini-skirts, but also for emails. They should be simple enough to be read on all devices.
3: Is it useful? A typical business email user gets close to 200 mails per day. You don’t want your email to be the proud 201st delivery into his mailbox, that clamors for attention. What if your email were actually useful to him. For example, the Blackberry seller would probably like to send a “Tip of the week” for using the phone and then tantalize the viewer with some cool accessory pics.
4: Don’t give the viewer yet another decision to take: Most of us despise taking decisions, especially those that have no immediate bearing on one’s life. Such as an unsolicited mail which forces the viewer into another decision. “How soon to send this mail to the trashbox”, wasn’t exactly your original plan of email nirvana. Instead, help them with tips to take other decisions.
5: Package it well: Once you decide that email is the way to go, it is better to get professional help. Get hold of a creative writer who can help fabricate your email. Get hold of a designer who can make it look presentable. It is your brand which is at stake out there.
6: Opt-in lists: If you pinned your marketing hopes on the “1 million guaranteed contacts” CD which you recently purchased from your friendly neighborhood software vendor, the only thing that is likely to come your way is a barrage of spam-angry responses. Do not get a generic database; procure an opt-in list instead. Opt-in customers are those who have chosen to receive mails on selected topics.
7: Organize your campaigns: Any email campaign has to be sustained in order to be successful. Use professional emailing programs to get your campaigns organized.
8: Build mechanisms for tracking: You need to know how your emails are doing. Are they opened, viewed or trashed? Important insight that will help you refine your campaigns further. Get a good emailing software or use an on-demand online model to give you reports.
9: Plan in advance: You should have clarity for at least 6 months with respect to your email campaign. It is not good enough to run just one or two campaigns and wait for results. A consistent brand is a good brand. For example, a mobile phone user may not have an immediate requirement for a Blackberry, but he may need one after 6 months and if your email is not there in his inbox at that time, your competitors will be more than happy to engage him.
10: Prepare a response mechanism: And wonder of wonders, if your email marketing does hit bull’s eye and customers revert back, plan your response. If you are left in the lurch without a proper response mechanism, the whole email investment may go down the drain.
Good luck and happy emailing.
MP Hariharan