Email marketing is essential these days. It’s a way to communicate with customers monthly, weekly, daily or several times a day – but with the benefit of a low “cost of entry.” To begin, all you need are email addresses, an email marketing service provider, and of course, something to say. But be sure to keep it interesting. Email topics may include upcoming sales promotions, information about your service or product, a credibility story, events and more. These ongoing messages keep your company top-of-mind and help build customer loyalty.
If you don’t already have the email addresses of your current customers, get them. There are many ways to capture this information, including a business card drop or sign-up sheet at the sales counter, requesting it during customer service calls, and even requesting it on billing statements. To optimize your email blasts, test different subject lines, the placement of graphics and text, and continuously build and refine your email list. You’ll also want to become familiar with CAN SPAM rules regarding opt-ins and proper subject lines.
If you’re already doing email marketing, take it up a notch and get some analytics going. You should analyze the open rates and click-thru rates you see at certain times of day or certain days of the week, for example.
The final reason to start an email marketing program today: This is all even easier than it sounds. And that’s always a good thing.
