Email Marketing is a low-cost, high-reach tactic with huge potential. However, it is often misused and over-used. So how can you maximise on this channel? We’ve selected our top tips for you below.

Say Hello

Find out whether your customers tend to favour your website, Facebook or Twitter account and use this channel as a sign-up point. Create a newsletter sign-up on either your website or social media pages, in-store or on your blog. When your customers have subscribed, send them a short welcome email with a special offer or exclusive deal to thank them for their loyalty.

Give and Take

Email Marketing can easily be ignored and sent to the dreaded spam box. So make sure you aren’t bombarding your customers with boring information. Create a snappy headline that invites the customer to find out more. Always remember your first line of text is what appears in the preview snippet, so make sure your lead-in captures everyone’s attention and that images are never the first line of text.

Once the customer has opened the email, make sure the email contains some privileged and tantalising information to create that VIP experience. Great examples of this are discounts, rewards or perks but they can also include:

• Sneak peeks,
• Behind-the-scenes images,
• How-to guides
• Guest-blogs by people relevant to the industry.

Remember, if your offering is good, customers will be more inclined to continue opening emails in the future.

Stress-Free Emails

Make the emails periodic, but not incessant. Have a set email schedule so that the customers know what to expect. This can be a monthly e-zine or quarterly newsletter, weekly top-tips, daily inspiration or ‘Feel-good Friday Deals.’ Always make sure your email is optimised for mobile. According to Forbes, 41% of Europeans delete an email that is not optimised for mobile. Try to make access for your customer as pleasant and user-friendly as possible to encourage them to open emails from you in the future.  Capitalise on every line of text in the email. If it isn’t relevant make sure to delete it. Keep it short and to the point and use images where possible.

Drive Customer Engagement

Most importantly make sure all items in the email have links that can bring your customers directly to where they would like to go. Take every opportunity to drive customers to your website, add a direct link to the features in your email so that customers can click and buy the products. Make coupons and promotions accessible and easy to print. Include clear instructions and calls-to-action where necessary. Make your contact details or customer service lines clearly visible. It is also a good idea to include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest links, either as widgets, or as links, to drive customer engagement on all platforms.

Remember that email marketing can often create generic target groups and lose focus. Make sure that your emails contain content that could engage a wide audience and that you use new and original content in each email. Sending out 20% discounts may not always send your customers to your check-out, so get inventive and give them the inspiration they need.

Post by Susie Horgan

Susie founded Springboard in 2011, and has developed the business into a leading, director-led communications agency. She has worked for over 20 years in senior marketing and public relations roles.