50 Simple But Highly Effective Email Marketing Tips

© copyright 2011 Plan to Engage – all rights reserved – www.PlanToEngage.com

50 Ways To Get More From Your Email Marke7ng Program


1 It’s not because it’s legal that it’s a smart thing to do. Always ask permission before you add someone to your email list!


2 Sell your newsleFer program like you sell your products or services. Make me feel like I’m missing out if I don’t subscribe.


3 Sweepstakes and compeHHons are very popular methods to capture email addresses, however addresses collected this way are usually not very responsive.


4 Promote your email program prominently on your website. Put it above the fold and make it stand out!


5 Make it as easy as possible to sign up to your list. The fewer fields on your sign-‐up form the beFer. Use progressive profiling to get more data once they’ve signed up.


6 Manage subscriber expectaHons: make it crystal clear what they are signing up for. State the benefits, content and frequency.


7 Show potenHal subscribers an example of what a typical email campaign or newsleFer looks like so they can see what they are signing up for.


8 Include mini surveys, polls and compeHHons in emails to collect further informaHon about your subscribers.


9 Make the most of every touchpoint with customers and prospects by asking them to sign up to your email list.


10 Ensure your emails are fully authenHcated: add an SPF, Sender ID & DKIM record to the DNS seUngs of the domain you use for sending emails.


11 Make sure your emails are readable and acHonable, even when images are disabled. Over 70% of your readers will not download images by default.


12 Reach out to people that don’t open or click, find out what they want and deliver that experience.


13 Include value added content in emails with links back to your site or social media channels to engage recipients and drive traffic.


14 Repurpose your newsleFer content on your blog, your website, social media and vice versa.


15 Always provide a highly visible unsubscribe link to all your email messages. If they want out, make it as easy as possible to leave or they’ll mark your emails as spam.


16 Ask why they are unsubscribing and use the learnings to adjust your email strategy, content, frequency…


17 Create an editorial calendar for your email / newsleFer program which includes launch dates and content for the next 3-‐6 months and share it with your colleagues.


18 Check your html code before you hit send to make sure your email doesn’t get blocked due to faulty html code.


19 To increase conversion rates, start with the opHmizaHon of your landing page. Test headlines, copy, web form length, images…


20 Provide value in each and every email campaign you send. Whether or not they open your email depends on the experience they had with your emails in the past.


21 Make sure your call-‐to-‐acHon is clear and stands out even when images are disabled. If I don’t know what you want me to do, I won’t take the acHon you want me to take.


22 An open is only calculated when the reader decides to download the images. Use open rates only to look for trends.


23 Use all the data that you collect during sign-‐up to personalize your emails. If you’re not going to use it, don’t ask for it.


24 Calculate the value of an opt-‐in email address to your company to effecHvely communicate your program’s impact.


25 The best day of the week or the best Hme of the day to send emails, is like the monster of Loch Ness: it doesn’t really exist but people keep looking for it.


26 Your recipients don’t know that [email protected] doesn’t accept replies. Read what people reply to your email campaigns, you’ll be amazed with the insights they give you!


27 Social media are a great way to grow your email list. I managed to double my list-‐size, just by publishing my newsleFer to TwiFer.


28 Don’t make changes to your email template or your email program before tesHng the changes to see if they have a posiHve impact on response.


29 At unsubscribe, allow subscribers to choose what content they get from you at the frequency of their choice. If you don’t they will just unsubscribe from everything.


30 A preFy design with a lousy offer won’t get you the response you hoped for. Focus on the content or offer first, then worry about design.


31 What your subscribers say and what they do are two different things. Don’t base your content only on stated preferences, but make sure to include click-‐stream data as well.


32 Develop a test plan and make tesHng an integral part of your email strategy. It’s the only way to increase response and conversions.


33 Your CEO doesn’t care about high open and click-‐through rates. Management only cares about what those numbers mean to the business.


34 The top 300x400 pixels of your email is your most important real estate. Together with the sender name and subject it needs to work hard to get the reader to open and read.


35 The first email you send to a new subscriber typically has the highest open and click-‐through rate, so make the most of that email and send it immediately aher sign-‐up.


36 Introduce new subscribers to your brand and email program slowly by sending them a series of “welcome emails” before you add them to your regular program.


37 If you send me 3 emails that I don’t find interesHng, do you really think I’ll open the 4th email you send me? Don’t send everything to everybody: segment!


38 Set up an email markeHng dashboard so that you have a good overview of campaign staHsHcs over Hme. It helps to spot what works and what doesn’t.


39 People don’t read emails, they scan them. Make sure that they know what you have to offer and what they need to do in under 5 seconds, even when images are disabled.


40 Drive new fans and followers to your sign-‐up page and convince them to opt in to your email program so you can talk to them in a personalized way.


41 Check your open and click-‐through rates per ISP to spot possible inbox delivery problems.


42 Build subscriber personas for your email program. Give your ideal subscriber a face and an idenHty. This will help you write copy that resonates beFer with your readers.


43 Keep your copy as short as possible. Use short sentences, short paragraphs, subHtles, bulleted lists, bolded words and links to break it into digestable pieces.


44 To avoid spam filters and to make emails more readable on mobile devices: always send out emails in MIME format (text + html version).


45 In most cases, a hard bounce means: this email address does not exist. If you conHnue to send emails to these addresses you risk geUng caught in spam filters.


46 Sign up to the feedback loops of the major web email clients so that you can remove everyone that marks your email as spam from your list.


47 Test one thing at a Hme. Don’t compromise your test by introducing mulHple variables. Make sure a higher open rate, results in a higher click-‐through or conversion rate.


48 Don’t forget to menHon your contact details in your email campaigns or newsleFers: phone number, email address, website url, physical address.


49 Read our blog and subscribe to my email list to stay up to date on what works and what doesn’t: www.b2bemailmarke7ng.com


50 Become a member of the Email Marketer’s Club, the largest and most acHve email markeHng forum and community: www.emailmarketersclub.com

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These Hps were brought to you by: Tamara Gielen & Kath Pay Email MarkeHng Experts @ Plan to Engage www.PlanToEngage.com

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50 Simple But Highly Effective Email Marketing Tips