Ten dos and don'ts of email marketing

Are you new to email marketing? Or simply need a sanity check on how you’re doing? Here are ten dos and don’ts for a successful campaign.

What to do

1. Capture relevant leads: The number of subscribers in your database is one way to measure the health of your email marketing campaign, but in reality quality is more important than quantity. Building up your email list organically over time as consumers choose to opt in can produce better results than sending out a blanket email to thousands of unengaged consumers, whose email data you collected when they signed up for a promotion five years ago. You’ll know fairly quickly how strong your leads are by the sales volume, open rates and referrals.
2. Systemise an intro flow: When capturing email leads, it’s important to lower barriers to entry. If a user faces a dozen questions in order to download your latest resource, they will likely click away. A good option is to keep the opt-in process simple (email and name only) then follow up with an email flow that encourages them to share more info about themselves. The key here is offering more value for more personal data.
3. Make it content driven: Content is the currency of the web, so the more valuable content you can offer your users, the more likely they will be to trust you. Measuring clickthroughs is a good way to determine which content is working best.
4. Keep it fresh: No one likes monotony, especially jaded users overwhelmed with emails in their inbox. Be innovative to stand out from the crowd.
5. Personalise the message: The more relevant the email is to the recipient, the more effective it will be – and most importantly, the more welcome it will be.

What not to do

1. Let a lead go cold: Many organisations make the mistake of capturing leads then leaving them to go cold. Be sure to have a follow-up plan before you embark on an email campaign.
2. Disrespect your subscribers: Try to put yourself in your subscribers’ shoes. To simply start blasting someone with emails once they signup is disrespectful. Be sure to introduce them to your brand gradually with a special intro flow.
3. Ignore the data: It can feel like a lot of work, but tracking data is the most important part of email marketing. Otherwise you are basing everything on assumption.
4. Focus on sales only: No doubt this is one of your biggest aims. But sending endless sales promotions could isolate your readers and have them hitting the delete button. Keep the focus on offering value and the sales will come.
5. Overdo it on the key messages: People have limited time and concentration. Pick one to three key messages and stick to them.

There’s no formula for success, but there are simple dos and don’ts you can follow to ensure your campaign has the foundations in place. The rest is up to you!