Why email marketing works

Email marketing is often misunderstood and usually misused, which is a pity, because done properly it can be one of the most profitable marketing solutions you can use to grow your business.

Email marketing works for a variety of reasons...

• It allows specific targeting
• It’s data driven
• It creates direct sales
• It builds relationships, loyalty and trust
• It supports sales through other marketing channels

One of the beauties of email marketing is the speed in which you receive data feedback about how your campaign is performing: the number of bounces, the number of opens, who is clicking through to your website and so much more to help you refine your approach and messages.

Email promotions and offers generate immediate action: sales, downloads, enquiries, registrations, etc. Informative email newsletters and other emails send people to online and offline stores and events, prepare the way for follow up direct mail campaigns, build awareness, contribute to branding, strengthen relationships, encourage trust and cement loyalty.

Getting the best from your email campaigns

So, to help you out, here are some proven email tips that will boost your enquiries and sales.

1. Focus on your target audience

It may sound obvious, but who is your target audience? For example the timing of your email could be critical if you are sending to business people. A B2B audience are most likely to open their email during office hours. Think how you or your work colleagues deal with your email in-box. Some like to deal with emails first thing in the morning, some as each email arrives, and yet others may have a set time of the day to open email. There is some evidence that small business owners are so caught up in the day to day running of their businesses that they prefer to open emails in the evening. In general terms Tuesdays to Thursdays are considered better than Mondays and Fridays.

However, if your target market is consumers (B2C), don't rule out the weekends when many people, busy at work during the week, settle down to empty their personal email in-box.

Oh, and if you are sending email abroad, don't forget to take into account different time zones.

2. Test it, test it, test it

There is only one way to find out what works and doesn't work when it comes to email and that's to test it. The simplest method is a split-test, where you simply divide your data in half and test two emails against each groups. You can test just about any element of an email, such as headings, content, design, time of send, personalised or non personalised. But the real key is having a dedicated email system that will provide you with detailed information and results about what happens to your emails.

3. Use follow up emails

Even with a successful email campaign there will still be a significant number of your emails that remain unopened. Don't despair! These are another great opportunity for you to try a different type of test. There may be several reasons why your first email wasn't opened, one of them being the day or time it was sent. So use your unopened emails as an opportunity to send a follow up.

A good email system will allow you to automatically send a second email if the first one wasn't opened. It is perfectly reasonable to send the same email again on the day and time of your choice. So simply send the second email on a different day and at a different time and see how the open and click-through results compare with the first email you sent.

4. Consider the type of email

The type of email you send and when you send it should reflect your target audience. If you are sending a monthly newsletter, or other subscribed to content, it is not unreasonable to send your email on or around the same date and time each month. Special offers, promotions or sales emails may not always be suitable for existing customers, especially if they purchased the same goods or services at full price.

5. Content is King

Important though the first four points are, what really makes the difference is the content of your email. Make sure the content is interesting and relevant to your target audience. And don't forget to write a compelling subject line that entices people to open your email in the first place.

6. Don’t be a spammer

We’ve all suffered from spam. We hate it and it’s what gives email marketing a bad name. To avoid being a spammer there are some points to follow. Here are just a few essentials:

• Use a proper email marketing system which will do most of the points listed below.
• Don’t send unsolicited emails – either create your own permission (opt-in) email list or buy one from a reputable data company.
• Don’t send to ‘dead’ email addresses – you should remove any hard bounce email addresses from your list.
• Always provide an unsubscribe or opt-out option on your emails.
• Don’t send attachments – use embedded links in your email to provide further information.
• Have a clearly identifiable email address where your email has been sent from.
• Avoid spammer language like – Free, limited time (it’s a long list!)
• Use a spam filter on your emails before sending them.