7 Simple Actions for a More Successful Email Marketing Strategy

Email marketing is used across a variety of industries and niches. For ecommerce sites, e-blasts are a simple way to notify customers of upcoming sales, specials, or discounts as well as to announce a new product. For groups and organizations, email marketing is more about sending news and announcements to a batch of people (and less about marketing).

Regardless of what you do, email marketing can work for you. If it isn’t yet, you’re doing something wrong! These simple actions should help you find your way.

1. Know what you want out of email marketing.

As silly as this might sound, it belongs on this list because a shocking percentage of website owners aren’t all too sure what they want from an email marketing campaign. They just have it because everyone else is doing it…

• But if you don’t know what you want, how are you going to ask for it?
• If you don’t ask for what you want, how are you going to get it?
• If you don’t get what you want, how are you going to make email marketing worth the time and effort invested?

Of course, including a call to action in emails is a no-brainer. We’ll factor that into this point: clarify your goals.

2. Know what subscribers want when they subscribe.

Find the time to track and analyze the motivating factor that brings you new subscribers. This information will not only provide insight into what your audience wants… it will show you what your subscribers expect so you don’t disappoint.

If visitors subscribe for a free gift, that means they expect a free gift. You know what happens when you start spamming free-gift-subscribers with special offers? (Hint- it rhymes with sun-subscribe…)

The point is simple. Your email marketing list is useless if you lose the interest of your subscribers, so focus on consistently fulfilling those expectations. Avoid making promises now that you will break later.

3. Don’t be too pushy about signing up for your email list.

Yes, you do have to ask nicely if you want visitors to subscribe. Just don’t shove it down their throat with an annoying pop-up or anything that can put a damper on the level of trust a new visitor will feel about your brand. It’s needy to beg for subscribers… just put the option out there, make it noticeable, and let your audience decide on their own.

4. Be interesting enough to subscribe to.

If gaining email subscribers is a priority for your website, then your website should be full of damn-valuable content that will make visitors say “Hey! I love this site and don’t want to miss an update… where do I sign up?”

You won’t grow your list if your site is more half-assed than kick-ass. Just saying.

5. Pace yourself

Like everything else, the objective is to put quality before quantity.

If you’re in my inbox more than twice a week, I’m unsubscribing simply because there is already too much on my plate. On the other hand, certain e-blasts consistently delivered only once a week– usually on the same day—become a routine. Heck I even look forward to them!

But that’s just me. How do your subscribers feel? It’s better to be anticipated and enjoyed than to risk losing a subscriber because you were blowing up their inbox.

6. To link, or not to link? That’s a good question!

There is contradicting opinion over whether emails should contain the full article or a teaser with the link to keep reading. To answer this question for yourself, return to the first action (knowing what you want) and determine if it’s important enough for your goals that readers must be bothered with the burden of opening a link (which many subscribers will not do) or if you can be kind enough to allow subscribers to read the full article, no action required.

7. Be funny.

I don’t know about you, but my inbox is consistently full of tasks to do, emails to respond to, spam (ugh) and less important emails that I’ll read when I get around to it.

Then, there are the funny emails… and I like to read those first. I never put off the opportunity to laugh and feel good for a few moments. Again… this is just me and my opinion but if you want your emails to get noticed… be funny.