Build Successful E-mail Marketing Campaign

E-mail marketing isn't as simple as you believed it to be. Many organization do ignore or overlook the three very important factors that contribute to the success of an e-mail marketing campaign. These three factors are:

• What the company offers
• Valuable or dependable list of customers
• Creativity in delivering the right message

If you've been involved in traditional direct mail marketing then these three elements should ring a bell, as they apply in both media.

1. Offer

The firts step to build an effective e-mail marketing campaign is to ask yourself- What are you going to give your esteemed customers and what are they going to give you? Obviously, you are going to give them a product and they are going to give you money, but you can make an offer more compelling by giving the customer a better deal!. For example, you can use tags like 'Buy two get one free' or 'Save Rs.40'. You might as well offer a free gift in exchange for marketing data; perhaps the user can download a free software program in exchange for providing personal information or filling out a survey form. Or you might offer a free newsletter! Remember that an offer doesn't have to involve the exchange of money. The bottom line is that you need to be crystal-clear about what your offer is, and you need to be crystal-clear in communicating it to your recipient.

2. List

You might have a great offer, but if you send it to the wrong list it will flop brutally. Finding a reliable email lists can be quite a challenge. You need to look out for a reliable opt-in email list owner or broker and ensure that you are dealing with a legitimate company with a good track record. Talk with them directly on the phone. Find out how each list was compiled. Make sure recipients were added to the list only with their explicit permission and find out everything about the audience right from demographic details to their locations, preferences etc.

Avoid spammers or the bulk e-mailers who may sell you an email list on CD-ROM or offer to send your ad out to a half-million people for a tiny amount. Spamming will cause you nothing but trouble!.

3. Creative

Creativity in copywriting your e-mail message is the key. Most email advertising is sent out in plain text, so you can't do much with design. Focus your content around your offer. In email, a crisp content that is brief, straightforward and to-the-point would be highly appreciated by the audience. Make it interesting, compelling, personal and yet clear. The message must make it easy for people to respond. Most online promotion messages will direct the user to a Web page, where they can find out more details, fill out a form or send in an order.

And importantly, give special attention to your subject line. Avoid subject lines that scream out that your e-mail is an advertisement. Also avoid deceptive subject lines that may trick the recipient into opening the email.

Now that you have read the three most important factors to e-mail marketing success, try implementing these in your campaign and see the difference.