Creating emails your customers will want to receive
Why do we target customers with emails? The ruthless answer is to make more sales and therefore more money. Honest perhaps, but writing emails with this aim alone in mind will not achieve the desired outcome. Customers have choices, they are wise and knowledgeable. Unless your offer is something exceptional, customers demand more from you before they are willing to part with any cash. Thus the aim of email communications should be to build up trust and rapport in order to drive revenue.
Setting up a robust email strategy is fairly straightforward. Including different types of email in your marketing portfolio allows you to maintain contact with subscribers without inundating them. Recipients have different tolerance levels for different types of emails. The following, are key guidelines on the three types of email you want to be sending and how frequently to send them.
1. Welcome email (automated)
Every time you a new subscriber registers, send a warm, friendly welcome message. This is the ideal time to set expectations relating to email content and frequency. For example, let them know they will receive a monthly newsletter, or weekly tips. Remember to append as much information about your subscriber as possible to ensure your emails are effective.
Cement the new relationship with a welcome offer in the form of a discount, free download or invitation. Inform your new subscriber that you often send out `subscriber only` offers (as long as this is true) and they are then more likely to open future emails.
2. Newsletters
Create a template for your newsletters, with identifiable sections and be concise. The aim of a newsletter is to build rapport. You could include sections on company news; educational downloads; events and webinars; special offers; an update on the charity work your company supports and so forth. Guide your readers to engage with a call to action for each section. For example, `read more about…`, `register now for…`. Once a month is a good level of frequency for newsletters.
3. Promotional emails
These emails compete with hundreds of other sales emails, so the feeling of loyalty you create in your subscriber is of utmost importance. Promotional emails should concentrate on one topic and have one call to action. Make sure that you are offering something new and make it compelling, it is so important to be creating emails your customers will want to receive. Sending promotional emails once or twice a month is good practice. You can segment your database and create different emails according to your subscribers` preferences.
Two essential items to consider when devising your email strategy are images and data. Choose images that are eye-catching and relevant to your message. Ensure you have a quality database. This is critical to email success so utilise cleansing and appending services to achieve this.
Always give your readers something of genuine value and be consistent in your style and timing. Adhere to these guidelines and you can confidently build up an engaged and loyal set of subscribers.
