Getting a head start in Email Marketing

Email marketing can bring real good revenue to a business regardless of a Company size or industry vertical. Because of its effectiveness, Email has reached a universal penetration, with 97% of consumers and 94% of marketers using the channel according to Forrester Research (March 2007).

If you want to do email marketing, but don’t know how to get started, then follow these tips to get a head start and keep it going.

1.Select your target audience
Choosing the right people to target the email campaign is the first phase. Define your target audience precisely - the sector of the industry, the level of your target personnel, geography etc.

2.Create a list of email addresses or procure one
You can create your own list by deploying means such as your sales, customer service personnel, tradeshows, conferences, your website to compile a permission based list. For easy and faster approach, you can procure an opt-in list from a list provider.

3.Prepare the email campaign
Write compelling message. You can either send a plain text email or html email depending on your choice. Include an option to unsubscribe. Check your message and remove terms that seem spammy, you can use free tools available on the internet to identify such words. Test send to internal staff to check hassle-free delivery.

4.Distribute the emails
If you are sending bulk emails, make use of simple, cost-effective, user friendly email marketing software that can distribute and track your campaign.

5.Follow up
Follow-up and repetition of campaigns is indispensable for the success of any marketing efforts. Quickly respond to inquiries that your campaign generate. Such prompt replies could result in immediate sales.

6.Analyze the results
Examine the deliverability ratio; bounce mails, opt-out requests, clicks, opens, forwards and responses that you track using email marketing tool.
Evaluate each aspect of the campaign and find reasons behind the success or failure of the campaign. Refine where required and keep the momentum going.

If you are too busy or find it difficult to do email marketing yourself, you can outsource this important task to an expert email marketing service provider.