1) Know Your Ideal Clients
There is no substitute to knowing your ideal clients. Who are they? What do they want? What do they need?
You have unique skills and services that only you can provide and your target market requires. That should be the prime focus.
Before you begin with any marketing campaigns, email or otherwise, it’s essential to know everything you can about your ideal client.
Craft your email messaging (and marketing in general) specifically to your target market. Beyond helping you achieve your goals faster, it will save you time by not having to respond to unqualified leads.
2) Provide Exceptional Value
These days we’re all inundated with email messages and likely can’t even remember the last time our inbox showed zero unread emails.
To stand out above the rest, there’s no substitute to providing valuable information through your content.
When opting-in, leads are immediately curious about what they will receive. To inspire them to enter their information, the content you provide must be targeted and strong.
Know your clients. What information can you provide that will have exceptional value?
3) Get Attention with Your Subject Line
You’ve built your lists and are ready to start marketing… Don’t forget that your lists are only the first step. You still need to ensure your emails actually get read!
In the email marketing world, your subject line is your face and the first impression you’ll make.
Grab immediate attention by including your key messaging and offers in the subject line.
Every target market is unique. Know your clients and test what resonates best with them to make the most impact.
4) Keep It Simple
How many emails do you read, really read, each day?
Consider this when crafting your message. Email can become overwhelming. Realize your message may only get a quick skim.
Make your messaging short, sweet, and to the point to ensure you achieve your goals.
If your messaging requires providing detailed information, consider posting full details to your blog and only the key highlights in your email message.
5) Don’t Forget the Call to Action!
Keep your goals in mind when crafting your messaging. A big mistake email marketers often make is forgetting to include one or more strong calls to action. What is the point of your email? What are the goals you want to achieve? Tell your reader specifically what to do so he or she will do it.
There is also a thin line between being too ‘salesy’ and not ‘salesy’ enough. It boils down to knowing your market and what your leads need. You’re providing a beneficial service or product! If you need to try too hard, the client probably isn’t the right fit.
Believe in yourself and your product/service and others will too!
6) Make It Shareable
Social media is a huge driver for email lists! Ensure you provide information leading to your opt-in web page via social media.
Similar to the subject line, it’s best to make the biggest impact with the least amount of words.
Create hype by sharing with your affiliates, clients, colleagues and friends. Given you’re providing valuable, useful information, they will become an immediate referral network, spreading the word on your behalf and helping to build your list.
Include easy sharing links for Facebook, Twitter, forwarding to a friend, click here , etc right in your email. Doing so also drives traffic to your webpage through increased Google rankings.
7) Test, Test and Test Again!
These days you don’t need market research to survey your market. Test subject headlines, send dates, keywords and messaging.
There are numerous tools to track everything from open rates to clicks for most programs – even more capabilities depending on your budget.
As long as you’re providing valuable content, people will remain on your lists and you can gain valuable insights from the statistics you receive through tracking.
The more you test, the more you learn and the insights can be utilized for all of your marketing materials.
