Do you have a strong grasp on your Email Marketing Plan?
Following the focus this week, you have picked an email marketing platform How to Build A List… you have learned a bit about Database Management… and of course What To Do With All Those Business Cards – now on to the Email Marketing Plan!
It is important to have a plan of action for your email marketing. Not sure what I am referring to? This is the newsletter blasts, the restaurant promotional emails, and the event updates we all receive in our in-boxes from other companies and business owners. It is important that you and your business have a plan to do the same.
When it comes to email marketing there are ways to create things that will help not only your open rate but your return on investment! Don’t know where to start?
Email marketing has some dos and don’ts:
- Email Marketing DO: Have a creative subject line, but DO NOT sale in it. Tell them what is inside.
- Email Marketing DO: Be sure to use HTML set up not just Text – it can be better designed, add graphics, open rates can be tracked and it attracts more attention.
- Email Marketing DO: Keep your message(s) short and easy to scan like using a preview pane – you can also have the entire message on your site and link the opening on the newsletter driving traffic back to your site
- Email Marketing DO: Take the time to track what messages are getting the most attention – what was said and how along with design set ups.
- Email Marketing DO: Always be sure to have your unsubscribe link on your message
- Email Marketing DON’T: Use java scripts or flash images in your message – a lot of devices cannot use those kinds of software yet and you will be missing part of your audience. (Remember several people use their smart phones or tablets to check email these days and they are not up to speed)
- Email Marketing DON’T: Forget to add text descriptions of your images – again not everyone will display the image and you will here miss part of your message too
- Email Marketing DON’T: Send at opportune times! Best open rates for business owner audiences are Tuesday through Thursday before 3pm and if your audience is residential evenings and weekends. If you cater to marketing Internationally you need to choose your desired location and go from there.
Important Email Marketing Stats:
Interesting reports have come out and combining some of the information from Constant Contact and Mail Chimp I would like to share them with you…
On Average Stats on open rates, click rates, hard bounces, abuse reports and unsubscribes for two categories:
Business/Personal Finance: Open rates: 15.47%, Click Rates: 2.77%, Hard Bounces 1.57%, Abuse Reports: 0.04% and Unsubscribes: 0.21%
eCommerce: Open rates: 14.98%, Click Rates: 3.36%, Hard Bounces 0.88%, Abuse Reports: 0.08% and Unsubscribes: 0.25%
Do your message results fit into the average statistics? (You will have to work this for at least 6 months to be able to come up with a clear idea)
– 21% of email marketing recipients click the spam button even if they know it is not– 43% of email marketing recipients click on the spam button just based on the “from” email address or name – 35% of email marketing recipients open the email based on subject line alone – 17% of Americans change their email address every 6 months – 84% of people view their email in the preview pane -44% of email marketing recipients have made at least one purchase in the last year based on an email marketing promotion – People who purchase items through email marketing promotions spend 138% more than those who do not receive the email promotions
These are some strong statistics – your email marketing plan is vital to your business whether it is a service providing business, a home based business or even a network marketing/direct sales business. Don’t miss out on the wave of communication and connecting with your customers and clients – put an email marketing plan together, connect with your audience at least once a month (should be MORE) and keep them interested and wanting to know more!
The Plan
Questions to ask yourself while writing out your email marketing plan:
- Who do I want and need to reach with my email marketing?
- How many times do I want to connect with them using email marketing?
- Is email marketing going to be my only touch? (If you want other ideas on what to do, contact us)
- Will I offer content only promotions only or a combination?
- What is my objective or goal with my email marketing? (to educate, recruit, sale?)
- Will I need a copy writer?
- Being honest will I be able to stay consistent and reliable with my message?