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Email marketing is considered one of the most effective forms of online marketing today, and with good reason. Just think about it. Practically everyone with access to the Internet is likely to have an email account. Think of the marketing possibilities!
Before you carry out an email marketing campaign however, be sure to familiarize yourself with the major dos and don’ts.
1. Do Not Purchase Email Lists
Never make the mistake of purchasing email lists. Seriously, do not do it.
While the contact addresses on these email lists are usually from people who agreed to receive third party adverts, things never work out as they should. Most of these people will not be amenable to your email marketing attempts to reach them once they get your message. Most likely, they will not even remember having opted in for the third party adverts.
Not everyone wants to hear what you have to say, so never impose your products and services on them. By not purchasing email lists and first getting permission from your intended target audience, your message is more likely to be received properly.
2. Do Specify the Nature of Your Email Content Beforehand
No one likes being hoodwinked. Today’s Internet users are very perceptive and hate being treated like fools. The last thing they want is for you to get their email contacts under the impression of getting one type of content and then receive a different type of content altogether.
If you persuade people to opt into your marketing emails in the form of informative newsletters, give them what you promised. You are better off not sending any marketing email than sending something very different—like sending them a catalog when they signed up for a newsletter. Some of the recipients of the email you send may end up punishing you by declaring your emails as SPAM. You can be sure that they will not be interested in anything that you have to offer after that.
3. Do Take Time Tt Familiarize Yourself With Your Target Audience
Email marketing is usually effective because it is highly customized. You need to be very aware of your target consumers, what they want, as well as what they don't want.
For example, if your target audience members are high income earners, the last thing they want to see is an offer for cheap products. Such offers would be highly annoying and possibly insulting to their egos. What such people want are emails looking to appeal to their egos by offering them things like exclusivity and luxury.
If you have no idea of who your ideal target consumers are, your marketing attempts will fall short. The results you get will be disappointing at best because you're marketing to the wrong crowd.
4. Do not Focus on More Than one Topic
Internet users are busy people. For that reason, always ensure that every aspect of your marketing email, from the subject headline to the content is always on point. Each email should only deal with one topic in order for you to achieve the best results.
5. Do Create High Quality Content
Ensure your content—be it text, image or video—is entertaining, educational, and of high quality. That way, you can keep the attention of email readers who have plenty of things to do each day.
6. Do Not Forget A Call To Action
A call to action enables you to direct the actions of your target audience. Without it, you may not get the response that you seek from your email subscribers.
7. Do Remember the Unsubscribe Link
Always provide the option for people to unsubscribe from your email list. It will make you appear transparent and trustworthy.
If you do your email marketing campaigns right and follow the rules, you should be able to achieve your objective, be it nurturing leads or generating sales.