Today, companies have many more outlets to reach potential customers. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, social media, blogs, websites, and mobile devices are some of the many ways companies use. Email marketing is nothing new, but when done correctly, your business can skyrocket.

Your goal for mounting a successful email marketing is to build on your existing customers’ trust. Here are 2 ways to accomplish that:

1. Don’t send them sales oriented emails all the time. Instead send them helpful information and advice. Promotion should be carried on in small doses, with a maximum of 10% sales orientation and 90% helpful information. The last thing you want them to do is unsubscribe.
2. Speaking of unsubscribing, please remember to give them that option. Refusing to add an easy-to-find “unsubscribe” link makes the customer feel trapped. And, your email may be blocked because of it.

The main ingredient is the email list.

There are ways to gather email addresses to create your email list, but you must get permission from them to include their email on your list. Their permission comes from enticing them with a samples, free coupons, discounts, training modules and eBooks. You can casually place this information in a box asking for their name and email address. You should also place a privacy policy link underneath the box with the signup button. That’s all you need.

Place your “Subscribe” information on your blog, social media, website, business card, landing page, confirmation/thank you page or as a QR code. Once they sign up. the information is part of the list.

The next step is design.

• Keep the design simple and elegant.
• Keep it looking presentable, even on mobile devices.
• Fonts should be easy to read
• The message should be easy to understand.
• Quality images make email designs stand out, but make sure they’re small-ish so they don’t take too long to load.
• Your color scheme should go with your fonts and images.
• It’s a good idea to use your existing company colors in the email.
• Finally, make each email personal, since one subscription template won’t fit every customer.

The last one is time commitment.

How often will you email your customers? It should be a maximum of once each week, though once every two weeks or once a month is even better since you won’t be flooding their inbox.

• Be sure to leave enough time between emails for them to let your information soak in before the next one arrives.
• Be sure to allow them time to respond if your email requires a response.
• Keep up this pattern and loyal customers will come to expect this. Don’t overdo it. Sending emails too frequently will drive people away.

Effective and inexpensive, email marketing is the easiest and fastest way to send information to current customers and develop new ones. Feel free to contact us for more information.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also want to check out these others:

Email Marketing: How to Keep Your Messages Out of Your Customer’s Spam Box
Why Should You Care About Starting A Blog?
Combining Blogging and Social Media into a Truly Effective Strategy
5 Ways You Can Benefit By Using LinkedIn
How To Amp Up Your Visibility With Facebook

This article is published by Will Sherwood | The Sherwood Group |Website Design | Graphic Design | Marketing Communications: The Sherwood Group has over 30 years of experience working with all sorts of companies, small and large. Our clients range from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 firms, in nearly every business sector, from across the street to around the world (and yes, even Europe, China, and South America). Our goal is to create advertising,  graphic design, website design, and marketing communication that still looks fresh and relevant 10-15 years later. Our mission is to stir your imagination and leave your competition shaken and wondering,  Now what do we do?”  We are located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

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