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Tips and
Tricks on Creating Effective Email Marketing Newsletter
I’ve been working for a
software developer company for about 5 years. We regularly
send the letters about new program releases and upgrades to
our customers and different newsletters to those people who
subscribed to our mailing list. For a company advertising
their products on the Internet the most important thing is to
get as many clients and subscribers as possible and build a
strong relationship with already existing clients. Since the
communication with the customers is done via email, the
newsletter you send plays the essential role. The
incontestable fact is that the newsletter must contain only
the information that is useful for your customers. The
customers are not interested in the history of your company or
your company regalia, or your personal life. They want to read
about the products you are to offer them and the benefit they
can get from your products. The newsletter content is
important. But the newsletter structure does matter too. For
almost 5 years we’ve got some experience in creating a healthy
and effective email newsletter and delivering it to the
customers.
So, now I’d like to share
some tips and tricks with you:
1. Subject line is more
important than you may think. To get the recipient open the
email, ask a question in the Subject line. This works
perfectly. The curiosity pushes the recipient to go further
and open your message. But be careful – no mockery, sneer, or
offense in the question. Be honest and straightforward.
2. Write a letter but not an
advertisement. Your email newsletter must look like a personal
message addressed to a particular recipient. Email
personalization is perfect.
3. Don’t complicate the
message format. A lot of graphics, complex tables, and other
advanced formatting are not good. Your email newsletter may
end up in the recipient’s junk folder since it will look like
a “pure email advertisement”.
4. Don't be afraid to go
long. A short email newsletter is no longer a rule. A longer
copy that tells more about the product benefits story is doing
better. But make sure that your long story is not boring.
Emphasize the most important paragraphs with bullets so they
grab the recipient’s attention. Remember that people don’t
read emails, they scan them.
5. Place the links in the
beginning, middle, and in the end of your email newsletter.
The click-through responses generally come in this order: top,
bottom, and middle of your email message. So, don’t forget
about the link in the middle. Your response rates will suffer.
6. Include a picture. A nice
graphic (even if you tell about an intangible product) will
tend to increase the response rate. For example, if you sell
downloadable software, you can design a box with a nice cover
presenting your software.
7. Link the images. If your
email contains pictures and other graphics, be sure to
hyperlink them. Many prospects will click on these to respond.
8. Use drop-text images. A
drop-text is a text message that appears when your cursor
hovers over an image. This is common on web pages. In email,
this technique works like a picture caption or sidebar that
displays as your prospect interacts.
9. Offers and bonuses work
well. An offer of free shipping, a discount, an invitation, or
a free gift is very effective in email marketing. But be
careful - avoid the word FREE in your email message. FREE is
the most attractive word in email marketing, it's also one of
those that spam filters will likely detect to block your
message.
10. Include your contact
information. You can include your web site address, your email
address, even the postal address of your company. A toll free
number is also good. Some recipients may prefer to call and
speak with a live person. A toll free number will often boost
response.
Author is a technical expert associated with development
of email marketing program:
Bulk
Email Software. Did you find those tips useful? You can
learn a lot more in
HTML Email Guide.
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