As you can imagine, I get a lot of emails from clients and subscribers and some of them are very good, but lately almost of the emails I see are all “selly, selly” stuff. So I thought I would post these reminders to help you with producing more effective emails.
1. Studies show that email marketing continues to outperform other digital marketing channels including social media and paid search. And with an average return of $38 for every dollar spent, investing in email marketing can have some serious payoffs.
2. Email is not a substitute for “direct mail.” It is part of your social media platform and as such should incorporate some social information. Tell a short story about the people who came into your cosmic bowling and the great time they had or a little anecdote or an interaction with a customer, then drive them to your landing page which contains an offer
3. More than 3 out of 4 emails are opened on smart phones and tablets. Make sure your emails are mobile compatible
4. If you are going to use a graphic be very careful how you choose them. Photos from Google are not always free and you need to check carefully or you will be sited with a cease and desist order or, worse, receive a lawyer’s letter that you have infringed on a copyright and penalized by having to pay a fine.
5. Gather contacts for your email list. Most businesses will have some existing contacts to start an email list. Think of the people you already have a relationship with. Maybe it’s the business contacts you email with on a regular basis; maybe you just start with a few supportive friends and family members. Always have signup sheets or postcard forms available and always ask people to join telling them that they will get free games and special discounts. Or adding an online sign-up form to the first page of your website, if not every page on your site and encouraging your social media followers to sign up.
6. Add your contacts into your email marketing account. Once you have an email marketing account and an initial list to send to, add your contacts into your account. You can start by uploading a contact list from an existing spreadsheet or importing contacts right from a Gmail or Outlook account
6. Add your contacts into your email marketing account. Once you have an email marketing account and an initial list to send to, add your contacts into your account. You can start by uploading a contact list from an existing spreadsheet or importing contacts right from a Gmail or Outlook account
If possible, organize your contacts into separate lists based on what you know about them. For your bowling center, create separate email lists for people who have for example are open play bowlers, then break them into categories such as pizza pins n pop, cosmic bowling, birthday parties, company parties, special pricing, etc. It’s also vitally important to get birthday month and year as well as gender and if they have children under the age of 18 at home. That way you can send out targeted email based on their specific interests.
7. Your welcome email is the first message your new email subscribers receive from you. Welcome emails are especially important because they serve as your first impression and reach people at a time when they’re highly engaged with your business. You can expect a higher than average open rate for your welcome email, so make sure you’re delivering value right away. Start with a warm greeting, provide an overview of what they can expect to receive from you in the future, and offer them something useful right away. Once set up, your welcome email will send to all new contacts automatically. Your Welcome emails must:
– Reaffirm that the customer made the right decision
– Tell them what to expect
– Make sure they ”whitelist” you or add you to their contacts
– Make sure you fulfill your offer. If you offered them a bowling
coupon for 3 free games to join your subscriber base, make
sure you deliver it
– Make sure you fulfill your offer. If you offered them a bowling
coupon for 3 free games to join your subscriber base, make
sure you deliver it
8. Create A Usable Template: Many of the companies I mentioned above have hundreds of templates for almost any occasions, including many that stand out for major holidays. This is the fun part! Even if you’re not a designer, you can send beautifully-designed professional emails that look good on any device. When choosing a template, look for a layout that is clean, eye-catching, and will get your message across fast. People scroll through the inbox quickly — often while on the go — so choose a mobile-responsive email template that looks good on any device. Next, customize your template with your brand by putting your business’s logo right at the top of your email and linking the image back to your website’s homepage. Add in your business’s signature colors and create email footer with your business name, contact information, and links to your active social media channels. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, etc.
9. Practice writing persuasive messages. This tends to be one of the scariest steps for business owners. I get it — writer’s block happens to the best of us. What usually snaps me out of it is pretending I’m having a face-to-face conversation with someone and writing down exactly what I’d like to say to them. It also helps to follow a repeatable process and break your message down into three important sections:
– What are you offering? — Headline
– How will it help the reader? — Message body
– What should they do next? — Call to action
10. Spend time on Subject lines. Your email subject line is one of the
most important lines of text in your whole email. Why? Your subscribers see your subject line even before they open your message. Make a good impression and people won’t be able to resist opening. Write something bland and they might skip over your message without a second thought. Your subject line should be short and snappy — around 40 characters. You can draw attention by asking a compelling question, including a deadline for urgency, or just teasing your message.
Source: Constant Contact
Source: Constant Contact
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