In a few words, email marketing is a highly effective form of direct marketing which uses the internet as a means of communicating a commercial message to a target market. Email marketing has provided a quick and affordable medium for business communications. There are a number of distinct advantages to this form of marketing, compared to other marketing investments like direct mail, and other print advertising. It is less expensive and the return on investment can be high when done effectively. However, email marketing does have some disadvantages as well. In this article we will examine the advantages and disadvantages of email marketing and also provide some insight into how to plan and execute an effective email marketing campaign.
Email marketing is probably the most popular form of internet advertising. One of the most significant advantages to email marketing is the ability to reach a wide audience with minimal effort. Another advantage is that generally it is extremely affordable. Ideally you will already have a list of clients or potential clients who are interested in your products and services and the cost to send out an email is based on time and should be considered part of your regular operating costs. The true benefits of email marketing range from increased sales and lead generation to stronger brand awareness and improved customer relationships.
Be Effective
The trick to communicating an effective message is to craft an email which is easy to read and as understandable as possible. Effective business owners put a great deal of thought into the content of their communications with potential clients, avoiding jargon and a non-professional familiar tone. It’s not like texting and you should avoid shortened words and grammatical oversights. It’s also worthy to note that you can make each email personalized to the recipient to gain a better response. Mastering the craft of business communications is an absolute must, and doesn’t usually come as a natural talent but it is a skill that no business should be without. If this is not an area that you have the time or skill, it makes sense then to work with a professional, like JAX Designs to write the copy for advertisements and create any graphics which will accompany the email communication. Use a pleasant and inviting subject/tag line with your email. This will attract attention and decrease its chances of being deleted before it is opened.
Offer Great Information
In the email write only about things that are relevant. There is no use in filling up space or adding attachments with irrelevant information. The content of the emails should be carefully considered. It should certainly highlight the products and services you offer but should do so without appearing to be a sales pitch. These emails should provide the readers with concise and relevant information and most importantly a call to action; a statement urging the reader to take a specific action such as making a purchase or researching your specific products or services in greater depth.
Spam Has A Horrible Taste
A most obvious disadvantage to email marketing is having your communications labeled as spam, which can be a violation and cause your business to receive fines. Each day Internet users are “spammed” with unsolicited emails serving as advertisements. This problem has reached epic proportions! It causes the recipient to be cautious about any email they receive which is unsolicited and appears to be promoting a particular product or service. Often emails which contain subject lines or content that are similar to previously received spam will be transferred to a spam email folder by the email system automatically. Communications which are not automatically deleted may be deleted without being opened simply because the recipient does not recognize the sender of the communications. The result is wasted time for the business owner and complaints being lodged against the company for being a sender of spam.
Distribute Properly
After understanding the advantages and disadvantages of email marketing, you might wonder how you can maximize the advantages to use email marketing to your benefit. Consider how you plan to create an email distribution list. This is important because simply purchasing an email list is not likely to be effective. You may reach hundreds or thousands of internet users but there is no guarantee any of them will have any interest in your products or services. However, if you build your own email list of potential customers, who have specifically requested additional information, you will have a well formulated list which includes mostly members of your target audience. One good way of going about doing email marketing is asking your clients and prospective clients to sign up for receiving regular emails about your business. Make sure that you also give an option to your readers to unsubscribe from your mailing list any time they wish. This is ideal because you are much more likely to sell products or services to members of your willing target market than you are to members of an email group who might not be interested in what you are offering at all.
Timing Is Crucial
There are many studies into when an email is most likely to be opened and the results vary greatly. Statistics have shown that emails are more than likely to be opened earlier in the mornings and directly following lunch time breaks. It’s hard to pinpoint the specific days that work best so we feel that a best practice is to test your email strategy and be consistent once you’ve found the time and day that works best for your company.
Evaluate Constantly
If you are going to spend the time to create an effective template email(s) and then distribute it properly it goes without saying you should want to evaluate your efforts. Keep track of what has been most successful, whether it is a subject line, effective content, a call to action or your timing. When you know what works best you can then duplicate and double your efforts for maximum impact higher rates of success with this cost effective for of advertising.
If done properly your email marketing will increase your customer base. Even a 1% response rate can greatly increase your bottom line profits. You can develop a quality email campaign on your own or you can contact JAX Designs at http://www.JAXDzign.com/contact.html, check out our group on Facebook or send an email and we would be happy to craft an email marketing plan for your future communications.
