How to design a successful e-mail campaign

When designing an e-mail campaign, there are just a few simple rules to follow.

MAILING LIST
Make sure you start with a clean, solid e-mail list.  Look at your previous e-blast and remove the e-mail addresses that bounced and are no longer valid. Make sure you are reaching your target audience – potential client in the right age group and income levels. That’s a great start to a good click-thru ratio on your future campaign. Try to generate your own mailing lists – there really is no such thing as a good e-mail list to purchase.

CONTENT
Make sure your e-mail represents your company and it has a clear identity.  I recommend using important and helpful quick links to your website in your e-mails. Personalize your e-mail.  Use prospect’s name if available.

Don’t forget about a good promotion – after all you are trying to send your clients to your website to learn more about your business.  Find a way to entice them to click the links or to share the e-mail with their family and friends.

DESIGN

Be careful in your design.  Try to have an equal amount of text and images in your e-mail.  Don’t send attachments.  Make sure your HTML and text version are equally good. Don’t be afraid to use images – that is how you capture the attention.  Don’t overwhelm the reader with too much information.  Be reasonable in your e-mail length.

E-mail campaigns are great marketing tools if properly used.  Allow your clients to unsubscribe.  Be strategic in how often you send out your e-mails to avoid spam. Don’t forget to tag your e-mail for your analytics. It will give you a quick overview of your campaign’s performance.