Web Development Resources

There are the good, the bad and the plain ugly email marketing campaigns that are bouncing around the internet as we speak.  But what are the top 7 things you can do to improve your response from email marketing?

1. Get the right database.  Focus on quality not quantity – it is far better to send a campaign to 500 people who have legitimately expressed interest in your company than to purchase a database of 10,000 people who have no idea who you are or what you do.
2. Purchasing a database is also a bad idea as:
   a. Its probably illegal (you should familiarise yourself with the provisions of the Privacy and  Anti-Spam Act)
   b. When users get your email campaign they are going to react negatively either directly (i.e. email you back asking you where they got their email address from) or make the decision to never purchase anything from your company.
3. Personalise.  Users will give extra attention (even if its only an extra 10 seconds) to an email campaign that is personalised (i.e. Dear John).  Another trick is to include in the subject line their name (see what we've done with URL this month – Hi John, welcome to URL April 07).
4. Don't waffle on.  Don't send 3 pages of information and expect your user to digest it all.  Keep it short, snappy and capture and identify to the user within the first couple of sentences what your campaign is about.
5. Look professional.  There is a lot of email marketing being sent now.  Make sure your campaign stands out by looking professional and is visually impressive.
6. Call to Action.  If the purpose of your campaign is to get people to buy your product from an email (or to get further information) include a reason for them to click on that button right now! e.g. if you're selling white goods and you have a sale on include something like "LG Stainless Steel Fridge was $1700 – now $1500.  This offer ends in 2 days – Buy this online now and get an extra $50 off".
7. Know when to send your campaign.  Sending at different times of the week are the key to getting a better open / click through rate.  If you are focusing on more "retail / general public" customers – try sending on the weekend.  For more corporate / business customers send during the week (around 8am), so the first thing they see in their inbox when they get to work is your message.
8. Track.  You need to know how many people are opening your emails as well as what they are clicking on.  This way you see what works and what doesn't work.

Need some further information?  Read our articles:

• Need to run a simple email marketing campaign yourself? – THE 3 BIG THINGS YOU SHOULD DO!
• Growing your database