Tuesday, April 5, 2016

4 Tips for Getting the Most from Your Email Marketing

There are a lot of critics who say email marketing isn’t as effective as it once was because more people are using mobile devices and texting to communicate with each other.
Young people today text and tweet rather than read emails, so a lot of younger customers don’t even have email accounts, only smart phones and social media.
While there’s no question that social media, texting, and other communications platforms are more popular than email, the principles of email marketing can be applied to practically any format.
So, even if email isn’t as popular as it once was, these same strategies can help you connect with customers via Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and even mobile marketing.
Here are some universal email marketing tips that will help you build your subscription list with plenty of loyal, enthusiastic customers:
1. There’s More to Life than Opt-In Forms
While the opt-in form is one of the best ways to capture contact information, it’s not the only way. If you already own your own business, you probably already have a loyal customer base. Why not give them an incentive to give you their email address by offering special offers, discounts, or rewards?
You also can invite your social media contacts to join your list and invite them to recommend you to their social media contacts as well.
Another option is to promote your list in forums and chat rooms, or post articles or blogs related to your niche subject and include a link back to your opt-in form in the “About the Author” box. If you offer your customers something they find valuable to be a part of your subscription list, then you can grow your list very quickly.
2. Keep On Testing
A/B testing, also known as split testing, is when you send out two versions of the same email with one slight variation to see which one converts better. For example, you could send the same email with two different headlines.
Or, you could change the Call to Action slightly and record which one gives you with the best responses. From that point on, you can incorporate the successful version in future emails and achieve better results.
3. Marketing Only to People Who Want Your Products
It doesn’t do you any good to market to people who aren’t interested in your products. One way to weed out those who aren’t interested is to use a double opt-in to make certain that only people who really want to be on your list are added.
A double opt-in is when you send a second email to somebody who signs up for your list to confirm their subscription. It eliminates people who don’t really want to be on your list (and it also helps avoid spam complaints later).
You can also send another email at some point in the future – such as in six or nine months – asking your list members to confirm that they want to continue to receive emails from you.
4. You Can’t Afford to Ignore Social Media
Cross promoting your website on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram increases your chances of connecting with your customers.
You can invite people on your subscription list to “Like” your Facebook Fan Page, follow you on Twitter, and add you to their Google+ Circles, for example.
This gives you the opportunity to exponentially increase your potential points of contact with your prospective customers.
Check out our lead generation system by trying Applied Cash Flow to learn more about improving the profitability of your business.

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