Internet Marketing Success Center The Internet's Leading Education Center For Online Entrepreneurs 
Many companies today believe the email marketing is dead, and so they don’t put any effort into it. They don’t send out newsletters, offers, or anything of the sort via email, losing out on a whole area of marketing that could bring more business and visitors to their website. The truth is that email marketing is still alive and well and can be a good investment if done properly.
Recent studies have shown that email marketing, when combined with social media can actually net you an increase in click-through’s upward of 15% to 20%. This might not seem like a lot, but it actually is. If 15% of your current customer click the link in the email and purchase something, that’s 15% more sales. Which can make a huge difference in revenue for your company. That isn’t to say that it is easy to get people open you emails and click on the links. It isn’t, but there are steps you can take to improve your emails and chances of having a successful email campaign.
One thing that many business owners and SEO experts get carried away with when working on an email campaign is writing good content. An email marketing campaign should not be focused on the quantity of content. Instead, the message in your email should be short and concise. It should tell the consumer what the email is about, what they will get for responding, and include at least 2 links to your website or the promotion.
Creativity and Value are Everything
Your email campaign should be based in the heart of creativity. That means finding the most intriguing titles for your emails, and making sure the content inside of the email satisfies the mystery of the email’s title. The email itself should offer the reader something for clicking the link. For instance, a free trial of a product, a discount, or an offer that works with a social media site like Facebook or Twitter. It could also be an interactive quiz or a giveaway, anything that will set your email apart from everyone else’s.
You also want to make sure that your email contains value. While you shouldn’t get carried away with quality content writing, the information in the email should be informative. You can handle this in a variety of ways like giving information on unique ways to use your product, how it can be combined with other products, or something as simple as a “little known fact” about the product or service. Anything that will draw in your customer’s attention and make them want to visit your website.
Targeted Emails
Avoid sending the exact same email out to all of your customers. This is a cheap method of doing things that won’t get you many results. Instead you want to take a look at analytics to find out what your customers are buying, then group them together by their past purchases. EBay is an excellent example of this; they use buying history as well as their customer’s favorites and watch lists to generate useful and interesting emails that contain deals on products they think the individual customer will like.
If a customer thinks an email was created specifically for them and it reads as if it were, the more likely they are to pay attention to the call to action. If they sent an inquiry about a specific topic, then send them an email with a deal on that item or accessories for it if they purchased the item. If they called your customer service department with an issue, send out a customer service feedback email that includes a deal or freebie for completing the survey.
Be the Customer
When you are designing an email campaign, put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Think about the email advertisements you get and which ones you actually open and respond to. Then design your email campaign accordingly, but make sure it isn’t identical. It also isn’t a bad idea to have someone in your company that isn’t working on the project to look at the project. This way you can get feedback from someone who isn’t directly involved.
Understanding is Key
Make sure the email is easy to read and understand. This way your customer knows what the email is asking of them. The email should answer 3 questions:
- What is the email about?
- Is it interesting?
- Do I need to respond?
Answering these questions will make the email much more approachable. When people receive an email that is vague, it often gets pitched into the trash folder, never to be seen again. This is what you are trying to avoid. So, it is imperative that your customers understand what you are asking of them and respond accordingly.
Urgency
Often in marketing you will hear the phrase “create a sense of urgency”. What this means is that you need to create a scenario where the customer needs and wants to act right now. Studies show the longer someone waits to do something, the less likely they are to go through with it. This is especially the case when it comes to purchases.
A good way to create a sense of urgency is to include a time sensitive deal in the email. There are several ways to go about this, whether you offer a freebie, a steep discount, free shipping, or something else, it often works to get customers to check out the deal.
Conclusion
Email marketing can seem like a huge waste of time and somewhat intimidating. In reality, it isn’t either of these things. It can help you boost sales, attract more visits to your website, and help you draw in new customers. The latter is especially true if you host a referral program via an email campaign. There are of course other ways to attract clients to your website, but adding this type of advertising to your arsenal of marketing tools can help you to boost your sales and click-through’s in a way you might not have expected.
