Tired of hearing about this rough economy?  I know we are.  When things are tough the last thing you want to do is cut back on marketing; however, that is the 1st place companies look to save money.

The good news is that marketers continue to find great success with email marketing as a tool to generate positive return on investment, especially since email marketing is very inexpensive.  However, only if done correctly!

For those marketers who are using email marketing or for those businesses about to start emailing customers through email newsletters here are 10 email marketing tips that you should follow:

1. Email opt-in form on website – Make sure you do have permission to start emailing before you put people on your email distribution list. If you are using an email tool like Constant Contact use their opt-in form on your website to ensure you are properly including your customers in your email database.
2. Don’t buy or rent your list – Trust us we have tried this a few times in the past and have had HORRIBLE results.  Ask yourself if you enjoy getting unsolicited emails?  Doubtful… so why would your customers be any different?  Build your list in a more natural fashion by collecting business cards and including an opt-in email newsletter form on your website.
3. Get Past SPAM Filters – If you want people to open your emails, you need to get past their SPAM filters first. We have our SPAM filters set probably too high as our junk box gets quite full with emails we actually want; however, it does help us learn what NOT to do.  Avoid using words such as Free, Make Money, or You’re a Winner that triggers a SPAM filter to toss your email into the lovely junk box.  Check out  Mailigen list of words to avoid for a more complete list.
4. Email Frequency & Timing – When to send email and how often you send emails are critical to email marketing success.  For email marketing to business recipients start out by sending your email newsletter midday around lunch or early afternoon. Sending email before work can result in your email getting lost as customers get ready for their day. If your business focuses on consumers after work are the best hours. People check their personal email when they get home from work or after dinner. Regarding how often to send email, sending too often may cause the recipients to unsubscribe, but sending too infrequently may cause subscribers to not remember who you are.  Here are 2 great articles to review on email timing – How often should you email your customers? and Email Marketing: How Often is Too Often?
5. You Need to Have a Privacy Policy -  Email marketers must have a clear and detailed privacy policy.  If you do not have one already, here’s a great Privacy Statement Generator tool to help you get started.  Make sure you post the privacy policy on all emails, as well as, a link on each page of your website.
6. Branding Consistency – Not only will your email be recognized in a overly stuffed inbox, email recipients prefer and appreciate a familiar look so they instantly know who you are.  Once you decide on a template look and feel stick with it for at least a few months.  If you decide to make changes do it slowly to avoid confusion.  Testing is definitely important when it comes to emailing but don’t do anything drastic such as changing 5 different elements of your template (e.g. background, layout, font size, etc).
7. Landing Pages – Do you like reading about a great email offer and then being sent to a home page where you have to search for that offer or coupon?  Probably not so don’t do that to your customers.  Make it really easy for them and send them to a landing page that your email is promising or offering.
8. Don’t Ask Them To Jump Through Hoops – Great tip from AllBusiness.com is not to make readers jump through hoops when asking for them to give up their precious email address. If you want someone to subscribe to an e-mail newsletter or sign up for updates about your product or service, do not make them fill out endless online forms, click through multiple pages, and provide unnecessary information. The more difficult you make it, the less likely they will be to subscribe. All you really need is their permission and their e-mail address.
9. Leverage Social Media – What is the 1 thing that everyone has on social media networks such as Facebook, Linkedin, etc?  Yes, an email address!  Without an email address you can’t log into these social media platforms so consider including an email newsletter sign up in your social media networking profiles.  You can also suggest to your fans to visit your website opt in form and they will be rewarded with exclusive specials, announcements, and more.  With Facebook you can add Static FBML App and include an email newsletter sign up on your Facebook page.
10. Analyze Metrics And Make Improvements – This is one of the most important tips.  A few days after each email newsletter you send make sure you look at all key metrics, such as open rates, click through rates, and unsubscribe rates.  You should focus on improving these important metrics after every single email marketing newsletter.  MailChimp (great email service provider) created a chart that outlines average open, click, bounce and abuse complaint rates by industry.

So there you have it – 10 email marketing tips that will help ensure email marketing success.  Of course, you don’t need to follow every email marketing tip above but we sure hope you do.  Are there other email marketing tips you have found to be beneficial in connecting with your current and prospective customers?  If so, please share those below:

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