Email marketing drives website traffic, increases conversions and works anywhere without the need for any additional software.  So how do you get the most from this very useful tool?  Lets explore the possibilities.

First and foremost, is planning the content of the email blast or newsletter.  Decide what the main goal for the communication is: driving site traffic, selling a product, offering a discount, announcing something important, etc.  When doing your planning, consider the following:

  1. Headlines, subheadlines and descriptions mus be compelling and descriptive.  Give the subscriber a reason to click and read more.
  2. Use images to make the content interesting, when possible.  Email readers will scan each email.  You can call attention to content you want to promote the most by using an image with the text.  Don't go overboard, as that will end up distracting them.
  3. Create a sense of urgency.  People receive a ton of emails, and that can mean that yours will be lost in the group and not get opened.  Use items like "breaking news", "new time saving tool", etc. or topics that have an immediate impact for your subscribers in your subject line.
  4. If you are trying to sell something, include a deal or discount.  Thanks to sites like Groupon and Living Social, users expect deals.  Email marketing is a great way to offer deals.  It creates urgency and encourages the user to remain on the list so they can receive more deals.  You can also consider offering group discounts like 10% off "select" products or services.  This will encourage them to click to see what products or services are available.
  5. Embed links that send them directly to a landing page, that puts our call to action front and center without a lot of other clutter.
  6. Include testimonials - 84% of Internet users trust peer to peer recommendations over direct marketing.

In our next installment we will look at element that you should include in your email campaign.