Marketing your business with email isn’t just for the big companies. Everyone with a business should be using email to market your products and/or services—or you risk leaving a lot of revenue on the table.
It’s easier than you think to get started. Focus on optimizing these three components of email marketing to get the most return for your efforts. Set these up properly, and you’ll have a good foundation for email marketing success.
Your Newsletter Signup
You will want to have an information-packed free item that you give away in order to get subscribers to your newsletter. (Very few people will sign up just for a newsletter these days. We all have too many emails already!)
Put an opt-in form on some of the most popular pages of your website for this free item, but be sure to tell your subscribers they will be getting your newsletter as well.
Use a double opt-in process for your subscribers to protect your business against claims that you are sending spam.
This means that once the person completes your opt-in form, they receive an email requesting them to click a link to confirm they are giving you permission to email them. Don’t just add people to your list. Only send newsletters and email series to those who have truly given you permission to do so.
Your Emails
Whenever you get new subscribers on your list, you want to send them a short series of emails to continue to give them value and to allow them to get to know you and your business. This series of emails is often called an “autoresponder series.”
The most important email by far in the series is the first one. Give some fast action tips in this email so the reader is excited about the value they are getting from you.
You may also want to have each email in the series include a reminder of why the person subscribed to your emails—what item they received from you. The more helpful you are in your series, the more your business will stay in that person’s mind.
Your Webpages
Thank you page. When someone fills out your opt-in form and clicks submit, they are taken to a webpage that usually tells them that they are almost done and to go look for the confirmation email. Smart marketers customize this page.
Additional items you might include: a thank you, a picture of you to personalize your business, an offer for one of your products (perhaps at a discount), or links to blog posts on similar subjects.
Your goal is to get the person more familiar with you and your business right away when they have just expressed interest.
Confirming email page. When your new subscriber clicks the link in their confirmation email, they are again taken to a webpage. This page typically just says “Your subscription had been confirmed.
Check your email for your requested information.” This is another great place to customize and do some actual marketing.
Author’s content used under license, © Claire Communications