Orange County Web design, SEO Writing, Internet Marketing::HQZ Experts

Plan your emails.

If you’re going to invest the time, energy, effort, and money in email marketing, be sure to take the time to plan the steps necessary to be successful.  The following points will remind you how to make it successful.

Layout, content and delivery matter. Effective email marketing is nearly impossible without the right tools and someone to help you with formatting, delivery, and strategy.  To get it right, you might consider working with an experienced marketing pro.    

Avoid spam complaints. If your emails appear to be spam, they simply need to click one button in their email program, and your email address is forever flagged as possible spam in their inbox. Spam complaints destroy your email delivery options and can harm your reputation. To avoid spam complaints, you have to avoid looking like spam.

Use legitimate contacts.  If you collect email addresses from web sites, directories, and web-crawling computer programs your email list will result in more spam complaints than sales.  Keep in mind what you do with spam emails.

Balance email frequency and content.  Sending the right amount of content at the proper frequency is a balance that will reward you.  Too often is sure to make recipients delete even when your email is important to them.  

Buy email lists from a reputable source. Receiving emails from an unfamiliar person will usually not get the result you hoped for. Email list purchases or rentals fail not because of the quality of the list, but rather because consumers dislike receiving unfamiliar emails.

Ensure your email list remains confidential. Use the bcc line … when you send an email with hundreds of email addresses copied into the cc field, you are sharing your entire list with every email recipient.

Caution:  Guard against sharing your emails.  Many people are unaware that if they send email from an email server that hosts other businesses too, that server is only as good as the reputation of the other people who send email from that server.

Don’t violate the CAN-SPAM Act. If you violate the CAN-SPAM Act, you can be fined.

“From” and “Subject” content. Even if your audience knows you, they still have to recognize you. So, make your email “from” line familiar, your brand prominent, and your email address look friendly recipients are deciding which emails to deliver and which to send to the junk folder.

If you have any questions or need a little help, call HQZ – we specialize in email marketing and writing.  Call 949-0454-6149 to learn more.

Pat Dwight
© 2011