Email Marketing Tips For Small Business

You are building your opt in email list aren’t you? If the answer is no, you might well be missing a trick – because email marketing is a quick, established and convenient way for businesses to stay in touch with their clients and prospects.

Given that in the context of online business, building credibility and interacting with your clients is crucial, email marketing represents a cheep and cheery way of doing just that. It’s relatively simple to add an opt in email form that plugs in directly your website to your email autoresponder system – and once you get your leads email address, there is no incremental cost in broadcasting your messages to your entire list. Here are some helpful email marketing tips to help keep your brand firmly in the minds of your leads and clients…

  • Add value. The first rule of potent email marketing is to add value with every single message you send. The object is not to simply spam your list with “BUY ME” demands, but rather to offer content they would find truly valuable weaved in with links to recommended products and services. Your email list exists to build rapport and a connection with your customers – you can only do this by giving them good content on a regular basis.
  • Have a regular schedule. The frequency with which you release newsletters will depend largely upon the nature of your industry. The generic advice that applies to all is to have a regular schedule – be that once a day, or once a week. The idea is to get your list to gleefully anticipate your emails, and this is easier when you have a set schedule for release.
  • Include a link to past newsletters. Once you release your newsletter via email, consider adding them as a blog post. In this way a compendium of your past editions are available quickly for new, intrigued list members to explore. It also kills two birds with one stone, keeping your blog up to date with fresh, dynamic and keyword rich content.
  • The sales letter rules of AIDA apply when writing your emails. This isn’t a green light to try and hawk your products and services – rather, it’s a stark reminder that your email will be vying for attention against countless others in your readers inbox. What’s a cash rich customer to do? Applying the basic AIDA rules simply means your email should capture your readers attention, stimulate their interest as they read on, stir up some desire within them to learn more and then finally take some level of action.
  • Subject is key. Following on slightly from the above, it’s vital to have a very catchy and alluring subject to get your email opened. Even the best written body of content is useless if your subject line is so insipid that your subscriber doesn’t even bother to open the mail.
  • Ask them to do something. Every newsletter you create should have an aim in mind. This could be to click on the sales letter link that you’ve woven into the email body, or it might be to reply to the email with their thoughts. Don’t just ramble on without  an end goal.

Email marketing remains one of the few online marketing tactics that has remained robust and responsive throughout the lifespan of business on the net. It was here a decade ago. It’ll be here in ten years time too. Get involved!