Staying e-Connected

Many times people put email marketing on the back burner and only send out emails when they have a bit of time to throw something together.  It may seem like you’re keeping in touch with your customers and prospects, but this approach can actually do more damage than good to your overall marketing approach.

One of the most important things in email marketing is setting and meeting the expectations of your subscribers.  When people sign up to receive email newsletters and correspondence from your company, they are expecting to get these emails on a consistent basis (not just every now and again).  One way to help set this expectation is to send out a verification email once they have opted to receive your emails.  This verification email should include exactly what it is that they signed up for and how often they will be receiving emails.  Once you set the expectation, you will need to meet it as well….no more back burner for email marketing!  You have to make email marketing an integrated part of your multi-faceted marketing approach.

Often times, people don’t know what to email their customers and prospects about.  There are so many topics you could cover: big client wins, events you will be attending, news releases, new marketing collateral (white papers, case studies, etc.).  The goal of email marketing is to not only keep your company “top of mind” among customers and prospects, but also to create some sort of “call to action.”  This call can be something as simple as reading the email, or as involved as attending an event or making a purchase with your company.

Also keep in mind that no one likes to receive text heavy emails.  Emails should be aesthetically pleasing.  Include relevant graphics, charts, and links in your email to enhance them.  Send the type of email that you would like to receive!

Building nice looking emails doesn’t have to be expensive either.  There are a number of reasonably priced email software platforms that you can use:

Constant Contact
Exact Target
Emma
iContact

These platforms let you build HTML emails easily and quickly.

For more information on how to make email marketing an effective part of your marketing approach tweet, call or email us!