Email Marketing Tips & Suggestions
There's an old marketing saying; 'The money's in the list.' With more and more people using the internet to research products and services, this old nugget couldn't be more true.
When it comes to communicating with your target audience online, there are basically two ways you can operate. You can wait for them to come to you or you can go directly to them. Email marketing is one tool that can help you take your message directly to your audience. When integrated with a well thought out social media strategy, email marketing can provide your organisation the extra boost it needs to really be noticed.
In this article, I want to provide some email marketing tips and suggestions that will help you get started on an effective email marketing list.
1The first step is obvious. You need to have a way to capture email addresses on your website. Constant Contact is one of the more popular methods, but I usually recommend my clients consider a Joomla! component that is equally as powerful (in my opinion) as what Constant Contact offers, and it's free. For this to work, your website should be built on Joomla! but for organisations on tight budgets who want a dynamic and powerful website, Joomla! should already be a familiar tool (this website is built on Joomla!). Your email capture tool should be clearly displayed on your website and shouldn't be hard to use. At the most, you should only want two fields; name and email address.
2 You will want to configure the email capturing component to automatically email anyone who subscribed to your list. That email should contain a confirmation link as well as some information about how many times you will email them. Many people feel a bit apprehensious about subscribing to an email newsletter. Telling them you will only email once a month or every two weeks will let them know what they can expect. They will appreciate your consideration of their inbox.
3 Write clear, concise and resource rich emails to send to your list. Way too many organisations use email marketing lists to send out news about what's happening in their organisation that only they care about. Most people on your list don't care that you've got a new treasurer (unless the treasurer is the only person on your list). Provide your subscribers with helpful information about your organisation. Remind them why they chose to support you in the first place. Be polite, be brief and end by thanking your subscribers.
4 Legally, you are required to include a way for subscribers to opt out of your email list. You can put the opt out link at the bottom of your email, but just make sure it's there.
I hope these email marketing tips and suggestions help you take advantage of what email marketing has to offer. As always, if you need a hand with any of the above, please contact me.
