Julian’s Business Tips: The AEIOU of Business Marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most effective and affordable means of connecting with current and prospective customers, particularly during these challenging times.
Here are five simple things to consider to make your email marketing more effective.
Ask
• Ask permission when creating lists – don’t bombard anyone who ever gave you a business card.
• Apart from the fact that it’s against the terms of most email providers and contrary to GDPR regulations – it just rude. It’s much more respectful to ask permission to invite someone to learn more and engage.
Encourage
• Encourage a response. Have at least one benefits-led call-to-action every time
• Why are you sending this, what do you want your customers to do? What are you going to use to measure the success of the campaign (you do evaluate your campaigns, don’t you?)
Integrate
• Integrate your email marketing into your marketing plan. Make sure that all your campaigns complement each other, building greater responses.
• The analogy I use is that a saucepan on a low heat never boils – but get it boiling with high heat and you can then turn down the heat and it will simmer away happily.
Optimise
• Optimise how your email will look on different devices. I’m sure you make it look lovely on your PC when you create it, but how will it look on a tablet, or on my old Samsung phone – the place where I first glance at (and frequently delete) emails?
Understand
• Visualise who is receiving your mailshot and specifically aim it at them. What are their hobbies, habits, needs, fears? Do you know?
• When I first started, I used my 5 biggest customers as my benchmark – they were the people spending the most with me – so I wanted to attract more like them!
