Suzi Smart BearStarting out with email marketing can sometimes be daunting – a 15 tip how-to-guide from us to give you a hand
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Never Spam
Adding someone to a list without his permission results in spam and this is against the law in the UK. Make it very clear they are subscribing when you take someone’s email
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Use a grabby subject line
Try and summarise your content like a newspaper article rather than something like ‘June Newsletter’ to entice receivers into clicking to read the newspaper rather than instantly pressing delete
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Instead of selling, try offering something
Information, advice, tips, discounts — something that reminds them why they opted-in in the first place. And tell stories where you can either about your customers or your product/services
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Make your template professional
Use your logo/business colors and make sure your content is easy to read. Do check out the layout works in preview before sending it out
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Contain a simple call to action
Try not to use a direct selling call to action like “buy now’” where you can but ensure there is at least one call to action that requires engagement for example “Share this offer on Facebook”
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Write for skimming
Get the message across for people who don’t have time to read much – link to a blog if you’d like to write more and use a ‘read-more’ call to action
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Make it easy for the recipient to opt out or unsubscribe
Mailchimp or other newsletter service providers are great for helping people manage their own subscription but if you are not using an provider, you must TELL the subscriber how they can stop the emails at the bottom of each newsletter
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Provide a valid, working reply address in the “From” line
Mainly so people don’t think it is spam but also, in case they want to get in touch
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Do not sell your e-mail lists to others
They’ve signed up to your newsletter and will likely not be pleased if you do not keep their details safe – your reputation will suffer!
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Keep an eye on your subscribe/unsubscribes
This will give you an idea of what is working and what is not so you can tweak things
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Personalise the content
Mail agents like Mailchimp makes this easy as they can automatically address the person you are emailing by name with little input from you
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Reward your subscribers
Make sure you not only entice new subscribers but also keep the ones you have by offering value to them. Exclusive news, offers, coupons, discounts etc.
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Use images and colours
But make sure the newsletter reads ok without them as well in case people only receive plain text emails.
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Don’t send out too often
As a general rule try to only send when it is going to add value to the recipient. If you post too often without it being useful, it may result in unsubscribes
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Include contact details
As well as call to actions, give details on how they can find out more information or contact you – for example a web address, social media links or a telephone number
