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Many small business owners have been told that email marketing is good for their business, but don’t really believe it, and this shows in their emails. What you have to remember is that everyone has email now, and many have access to it all day every day through their smart phones. Email marketing is a must for any business, and is a way for you to connect with your customers and community. Here are 5 steps to the perfect e-newsletter.

1. Think like a pro. This means using an email provider such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact. Never send an email from a personal account, if you can, get a separate email address set up for this. Make sure you only send to people who opt in to your email marketing. You can do this through forms, if you sign up to Mailchimp, you can get a form from there and install onto your website so that people who subscribe will automatically go into your emailing list.
2. All about the customer. When planning and writing your e-newsletter, always think of the customer first. You can’t always think only about yourself and what you want to sell. Instead, have a look at it from the customer’s point of view. Ask yourself what your customers want to know about and what would be helpful to them.
3. Make it easy to read. Most people read their emails on the go so you need to make it easy to read and scan. Use bold headings, bullet points and sections. If you include your blog articles in your emails, consider including only a teaser of the article, with a link to the blog on your website so that your email isn’t filled with a long article.
4. Use a strong call to action. Using a strong call to action will increase the chances of your readers doing what you want them to do. Whether it’s reading your post, forwarding to a friend or sharing on social media, make your call to action obvious and don’t be afraid to repeat it a few times throughout the email (in appropriate places!). Include action phrases such as “Click Here”, or “Call Now”.
5. The subject is the key. The first thing people see is the subject line. This is a main factor in deciding whether to open and read the email or not. If you have a boring subject line, most of your readers will click the delete button without reading any further. You can do A-B testing in most email marketing programs. This is where you test two different subjects, half of your database will receive and email with one subject and the other half will receive the other subject. You can then compare open rates and click throughs to see which one was more successful, and keep that in mind for the next email you send out.

You have to look at email marketing as a valuable way to connect to current and potential customers. Make sure that your emails are relevant to them and their needs, which will show your customers that you understand their specific challenges and can offer useful help and advice.

If you need help with any aspect of online marketing, give Clarity Marketing a call on 1300 060 204 or submit an online enquiry.