10 Ways to Enhance Your Email Marketing Campaign

The number of ways you can enhance an email marketing campaign is almost infinite. This can be intimidating if you are just starting to learn what email marketing can do for your business. Where do you start? Follow these ten guidelines and see where they fit best with your contact list and marketing strategy. 

The subject line is the first step to getting your email read. Think of your subject line as a headline for a feature story. How can you make it compelling enough for readers to commit to the email? Provide relevant information that is in the copy and focus on its highlights. Look back through your past campaigns and see which ones received the highest open rates. Was there something unifying about those subject lines? Write something similar. 

Events, surveys, whitepapers are just a few of the ways you can efficiently grow your list. Make sure participants have to share their email address in order to register for the event or to download a whitepaper. Same thing with surveys. If you create an incentive for your surveys such as a discount or giveaway you will encourage more people to share their input as well as their email address. 

Are your emails filled from top to bottom with text? Why not try to add relevant images to the mix and see how your recipients react. The right images have a powerful way of connecting with individuals in a faster way then text can. Use graphics for your call to actions by creating eye-catching buttons. 

Testimonials are a great way to not only highlight the success of your services but to also show off your clients’ companies. It is a simple way to personalize your emails and show your readers that you care about your customer’s opinions. 

If you haven’t already jumped on the social media band wagon, I think it is time. Including your social media links into your emails relays the fact that you are open and ready to listen and engage on several levels. Linking these also provides you with an easy way to get readers involved in your social media efforts. On the other side, add newsletter opt-in forms through your Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter pages to efficiently grow your list.

Your links provide a path for your readers to find your services and activities. Make them straightforward and action driven. Don’t simply say “Click here” rather add action saying “Read more” or “Sign up today.” Use both images and text to act as links.. Within your campaign reports, look at what links are clicked on the most and where are they on the page?

Encourage your readers to white list your email. Add a link or instructions for your email recipients to add you to their address book within your email or once they have extended their email to you, whether via survey or autoresponder.

Pay attention the data ESP provide you with your email campaigns. The data allows you to see how recipients interact with any given email. You now have an incredible opportunity to target your emails depending on these interactions. When an individual clicks on a specific link you can follow up with them specifically. There is no one message that is going to reach your clients. Pay attention to that data and respond effectively. 

As you grow your list you will also want to do a little house cleaning. Send out an email asking people to update their contact information if necessary. 

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach customers and clients but it isn’t the only one. Sometimes email just can’t get the job done alone. The recipients that are not opening your emails may respond better to a phone call or postcard. Those who continually click on a specific link to a product may need a phone call to close the deal. When you use several forms of communication you are letting your customers and prospects know that you want to reach them where they are at. With an ESP like Swiftpage, you can use an automated marketing tool to build a campaign with multiple communication methods to reach your database on their terms.