A Short Guide to Creating Successful Email Marketing Campaigns
16 July 2010
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach a large number of customers without investing a lot of time or money. With a little bit of writing talent, a relatively good computer and a few hours a day to invest, even a novice can create a successful email marketing campaign in a matter of weeks and it is, doubtless, a crucial part of
Internet marketing for any business.One of the most important aspects of an email marketing campaign is the order in which you proceed. It's imperative that you start out with your contacts and build from there. You have to know that you're able to reach people before investing time into building emails.
Step One: Get a ListThis is where having contacts in the business world can come in handy. Getting a good email list isn't so easy to come by always. You can also browse around and purchase an email list from various e-companies operating online, but you don't really know if all the emails are active. The best route to go is to try and get in touch with a company that collects email addresses of people in your particular market.
If you send your email to just anyone, it's going to come across as spam. If you're sending your email to people expecting these types of emails, then they're more likely to be taken seriously. So it's important that you find a good email list source and then work to build your campaign from there.
Step Two: Get the SoftwareYou're going to need a mass mailer with an auto respond feature. A mass mailer is simply a software device that will send the same email to numerous addresses at once. You can't really accomplish this with the CC option in your email compose/send box, so finding the software to handle the task for you is a crucial step.A good mass mailer won't cost much at all (and may even be free), and you won't have to worry about your responses not being sent later down the road. The mailer should have a clean and easy-to-understand interface. It should work fluently and shouldn't take up a lot of room on your computer.
Step Three: Compose the EmailThis is where it all happens. You want to compose an email that comes across as friendly and informative without appearing to be overtly selling a product. You want to get a reader interested in clicking a link.Remember, this email isn't about selling people a product. What you're trying to accomplish is an interest in your product and/or traffic to your site. You will tell people what they want and need to hear from you and about your business and product. Be clear and concise and focus only on getting their attention here. You could even start out sending a series of newsletters or
press releases to people with a link at the bottom.
Step Four: Don't SpamOnce you've sent your emails, wait patiently for the replies. You won't get 100% - you won't even get close to that number. A 10% response would be an anomaly, and even that's going to take time. Stick with your plan, send everyone on the list one email, and hope for the best.
