Twelve tips for successful email marketing

1. the right email distribution list

Before launching an email newsletter or campaign, it is important to put together the right distribution list. Here it is important to obtain the consent of the people to whom the emails will be sent, otherwise you risk ending up in the spam folder or a high "unsubscribe" rate. It is a good idea to include a form on the website that can be used to order the newsletter.Such a form can also be added at the end of each blog post using Call To Action. To achieve the widest possible reach, the newsletter can also be promoted using social media to draw the attention of people who are interested in a particular topic. But also personal contacts can be added to the distribution list if you have their consent.

2. different email newsletters for different buyer personas

Most companies have more than one target group (buyer persona). The individual buyer personas therefore also have different interests. Therefore, it is important to respond to this and to adapt the content of the emails to the respective target group. For this purpose, it is necessary to create different distribution lists in order to align the mailings as well as possible with the interest of the recipients. If the newsletter does not offer interesting content for the reader, there is a high probability that it will not even be opened the next time, or that it will be unsubscribed immediately.

3. a captivating subject that arouses curiosity

Even if someone has signed up for your newsletter, that doesn't mean they will open and read it. The subject line plays an important role. It must make the reader curious about the content, so that he or she wants to read the email. The title must therefore be interesting for your target group and arouse their curiosity, otherwise the email will immediately go into the trash.Try out different titles to find out which one appeals most to your target group. Brainstorm with your colleagues and be creative. Keep in mind that you are making a promise with the subject line that you need to deliver on with the content. You can also test different subject lines for the same newsletter to see which type resonates best with your audience. The success can then be easily measured by the open rate.

4. personalized sender

Include a person's address as the sender, rather than your company's office address. This is much more personal and increases the chances that your email will be opened. If there are questions or more detailed information is desired, the recipient knows immediately who to contact. He thus has a real contact person whom he can contact and through whom a relationship can be built.

5. personal address

If you have the name of their email contact, address them personally. Avoid salutations like "Dear Sir or Madam", this is very impersonal and looks like a big mailing that is not tailored to the individual. Therefore, the reader does not feel addressed and the probability that he will not even open the email the next time, or even unsubscribe is very high. Often it is very easy to research the name based on the email address. If you make a mistake in addressing someone personally (it has been said that a lady was addressed as Mr.), it is best to apologize as soon as the mistake is noticed. With many contacts it can happen that the form of address is unintentionally mixed up.

6. useful and appealing content

Once you have cleared the first hurdle and your newsletter has been opened, the next step is to provide readers with useful content. Refrain from long novels and self-promotion and directly address the problems and interests of the target group. Think about what your target audience is interested in and how you can help them with your newsletter or mailing. The content should be 90% useful and helpful information and only 10% promotion for your own company.Keep the content as simple as possible. The newsletter should only give a taste of your content. Try not to overwhelm your subscribers with information, but let them decide for themselves what content they want to read. Include links to other websites and link to blog posts to include more useful content. Your readers should be intrigued by the email and encouraged to click.

7. simple and clear design

Use images to support the text and make the email more visually appealing. Avoid long paragraphs and use bullet points instead to make the text easier to read. Most people don't have a lot of time to read newsletters, they just skim them. Therefore, the text should be structured as well as possible.The design should be as simple as possible so that the newsletter does not look cluttered. Include enough white space to visually support the outline. This also makes it easier to read for smartphone users.

8 Call To Action

Offer your readers another step in your email outreach. Do you have an interesting ebook or are you offering a seminar soon that might be of interest to your target audience? Include this in your newsletter by means of a Call To Action and thus strengthen the connections with your contact.You can make the CTA appealing, e.g.: with an image, this way you increase the click-through rate. Use words that emphasize urgency and call to action, such as "download now".In your mail, focus on one CTA, for an offer that seems most important to you at the moment. Too many offers can quickly become overwhelming.

9. the timing matters

There are a few basic rules regarding the timing of sending out emails. For example, newsletters should not be sent on weekends, or after 17:00, as few people work at these times. Monday and Friday are also not good days, as there is usually a lot to do on Monday and many people go home earlier on Friday.However, every company has different target groups. Therefore, it is not possible to define a "right time". The easiest way to determine when the right time is for your business is to test, test and test again. This is the only way to find out when your newsletter has the highest open or click-through rate.

10. optimize for smartphones

Nowadays, many people only read their emails on their smartphones. Therefore, it is especially important to optimize the newsletter for this. Make sure that your email is displayed correctly on smartphones and is easy to read. Links should not be placed too close together to avoid wrong clicks on the small display. Make sure photos are good quality and the right size. Often photos are displayed distorted and this can look unprofessional very quickly.

11. test, test, test

There is nothing more annoying than sending a mail to a large number of people and only finding out after the button has been pressed that there are errors in it. That's why the newsletter can't be tested often enough before it's sent out. Have your colleagues check the content for spelling mistakes and send test mails to different mail addresses. This is the only way to avoid errors and to be sure that the newsletter is displayed correctly. It is especially important to test the email on smartphones and tablets.

12. possibility to log out

Even though nobody wants a contact to unsubscribe from their newsletter, it is still very important to offer the possibility to do so. This should be made as easy as possible for your contact, without them having to search for it for a long time. Otherwise, there is a risk that their mail will be marked as spam and that should be prevented at all costs. However, if you follow all the tips, then the unsubscribe rate should be as low as possible.Source: Take Off PR Blog