E-Marketing Strategy: E-mail Marketing: An Old Workhorse That Still Pulls Its Weight
Using this approach, the newsletter will take a fraction of the time to put together and will be more effective at driving sales.
Some quick tips for creating effective content:
1. Use attractive images with each article, and make the images "clickable" links to maximize the clickable area within the e-mail.
2. Your first article in the e-mail will always draw the most clicks, so carefully consider what you put there.
3. Make all textual links laughably obvious.
4. Include prominent links to your social media efforts in every newsletter you send. You want to use the e-mail to promote your other outlets, and vice versa.
When to Send It
Proper planning of your e-newsletter's schedule is important. Decide how often to send the e-mail and at what time of day. Unfortunately, there is no "golden rule" or "sweet spot." The most effective schedule for sending your e-newsletter will depend on your audience and your content.
Start by sending a "Best Of" style e-mail every two weeks. If people on your list complain, try every month. If you have more than one e-newsletter—one to promote discounts and one to promote content—for example, try sending one at the beginning of the month and the other two weeks later.
Gauging An E-mail's –Effectiveness
The most important indicator of success of an e-mail newsletter is sales. If your sales are increasing due to the newsletters, press on! If sales aren't immediately obvious, check your Google Analytics (remember those from this column in the January/February issue?) and your newsletter stats—in your newsletter management service—to see where the problem may lie. Retrace the path from e-mail delivery to sale, and find out where you're losing the most people:
● Are recipients opening the e-mail?
