Best Practices in Email Marketing

The success of any email marketing campaign is dependent on a vast amount of variables like timing, application, measurement, consistency and content, just to name a few. It is hard to say what undoubtedly gives you the highest ROI; however, there are best practices to keep in mind when developing any successful email marketing campaign:

• Spam is more than a four-letter word; it can actually determine critical outcomes from losing clients to tarnishing a company’s professional reputation. The definition of spam means sending an email to someone with the motive of promoting a product without getting permission from them first. Never use bought lists! Using these lists will land you a leading spot on the spammer black list. Read more about staying off the black list here.

• Know the difference between an email newsletter and email marketing. A newsletter is used to deliver articles, content, promotions, and aims at building a community for your customers. While email marketing and drip campaigns  require a much more targeted, purchase and trigger-based planning strategy. Either way, a subscriber will open only what applies to them, regardless if it is an automated trigger or a newsletter.
• Opt-in Acquisition gives your incoming traffic the ability to register to receive any email messages. If necessary, provide the new subscriber with a follow up email that confirms the customers’ subscription. Remember, quality over quantity when building your list. A solid list of qualified recipients can produce better results than a larger list of random names.
• Pay close attention to design. Effective email design plays a critical role and has a direct correlation to click-through rates. Make sure your code is error free and follows the W 3 C HTML guidelines. Read more on design and designing emails with HTML here.
• Content is key. Now that someone has opened your email, reward them with interesting and fresh content that supports the culture of your brand. Keep content as simple as possible. It is a good practice to generate a teaser paragraph in your email and then give the reader the option to read the rest of the article on your site. Bullet points and short paragraphs make your content easy to scan through and read the relevant information.
• Incorporate social media icons, but do not rely on them. Understand that not all of your customers/clients are on social networks and you must cater to them as well. Don’t let your only source of information come from your Facebook or Twitter. Link to websites, blogs, and other sources of information that are easily accessible to all recipients.

Trial and error is common, but thanks to GreenRope’s analytics, you can accurately track what is working and what doesn’t. We promise, put these best practices to use, and your company will see improvements in your email marketing campaigns!

EmailGreen is your solution to effectively get your message out. Please visit our pricing page for more information.