Let us accept it! Our inboxes are flooded with tons of emails that have promotional messages, personal recommendations, discount coupons, updates about product launches, reminders and other content that may or may not be of any importance to us. But, we still receive it because we have subscribed to receive these newsletters or promotional messages. Many marketers today swear by social media marketing. Does that mean Email Marketing is a thing of the past? Not really. Even though, social media marketing is getting all the attention these days, Email Marketing is a proven standard technique and can be very effective if done the right way.

In simple words, Email Marketing is sending out commercial emails like promotional content, ads, recommendations for sales, discount coupons etc. to existing or new customers to bring about brand awareness. It is an inexpensive way to reach a substantial amount of users in very little time. And, No! It is not spamming! The emails should be sent only after receiving prior consent from the customer. This is usually done by asking the user to tick the checkbox that opts-in or subscribes the user to receive promotional messages, newsletters or offers depending on the services that company provides. Having said that, how many of us actually open these emails? We don’t bother to open some of these emails could be because :

1. Subject line is unclear and does not give an idea what to expect from that email.
2. The content is irrelevant to us.
3. Content does not interest us.
4. Receiving too many emails.
5. We had not subscribed to receive such emails. And, this may be a big problem for the company as there are strict laws pertaining to sending emails for marketing purposes in some countries.

As a Marketer, it is very important that we reach the right people with what they would like to see and not annoy them with too many emails or irrelevant content.

The Do’s

1. Make sure you have the user consent.

In countries like US, Canada and Australia there are strict laws that prevent businesses from spamming the users. Do make sure you have asked the users to opt-in to services you would like to provide and if they are willing to receive emails about the same.

2. Write a clear, crisp, relevant and an appealing subject line.

Subject line is the first thing that one reads in an email, which helps them decide whether they should open the email or drag it to trash.

3. Provide personalized content.

Who does not like receiving personalized recommendations straight into their inbox? We have already talked in the previous posts about how market research along with technologies like Big Data can provide insights about trends and user behavior. This study can be put together to pull out user-based recommendations.

4. Reach the right people.

You may have thousands of subscribers. But, reaching the right people will only increase your chance of getting that email clicked.

5. Have a clear call to action.

Provide clear actions and remind them why they should use your service. For example, “Choose from these styles” or “Click here to enter the contest”, suggests where the user will be directed and what he is expected to see once he lands on that page.

6. Play with timing.

At what time a user receives an email is important. And this may vary depending on their geographic locations, time zones and habits. Experiment with different timings and strike the right balance with audience.

7. Mark some important dates.

Holiday seasons or days like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day etc. have proven to get more clicks and drive more sales. But, obviously choose the days as per your business. For example, a shopping website can target the holiday season or a gift shop can target users before Valentine’s Day.

The Don’ts

1. Do NOT SPAM.

There is absolutely nothing to elaborate here. No one likes to be spammed! Plus, it’s not legal.

2. Don’t overdo it.

Too many emails in a single day or a week or even a month from the same from address can only annoy a customer.

3. Don’t send generic emails.

Send emails with specific content or message, which the user has subscribed for.

4. Don’t forget to follow up.

There could be multiple reasons that the recipient could miss an email. A follow-up email, generally after a few days of the initial mail, can act as a good reminder. But, make sure the follow-up is brief.

Email Marketing is here to stay! And ,these are just few of the do’s and don’ts that might help in running a more effective email marketing campaign and driving more sales. Hope this helps. If you have any suggestions or any additions to these points, please feel to write in the comments below.

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