So many factors contribute to the success of email marketing campaigns. Some are not in your control, but here are some secrets to help you maximize the effectiveness of the things you can control:
Catch them at the right time
When do you send out your emails? Tuesday morning… Friday at lunch… whenever you can get 10 uninterrupted minutes? It’s no secret: optimizing your send day can increase your open rate. Unfortunately, there’s not a universal day that works well for every company. Fortunately, Constant Contact and most other email marketing tools allow you to view your past email statistics so you can compare open rates on different days of the week. Simply download an email campaign report. Now you can start sifting through all that great info. Take it to the next level and experiment with different times of the day, track the results and develop a customized email schedule that works the best for you and your audience.
Get it in the right mailbox
You spent all that time putting together a great email, so you don’t want it to end up in the spam box. To avoid the spam folder, look for the “Spam Check” button. This will analyze your email for potential problems that could divert it straight to the junk pile. It checks for things such as an ALL CAPS subject line, too many images, too little content and HTML code that makes it difficult to read correctly. Not only will a “Spam Check” point out the problems, it suggests ways to fix them.
The Warm & Fuzzies
Marketing is all about building a relationship with your audience. Your email campaigns shouldn’t be any different. Why wait until your next scheduled eBlast to make a connection with your new contacts? Constant Contact and other email marketing tools have AutoResponders. Check it out. It allows you to set up a personalized welcome email that is automatically sent to your new contacts as soon as they sign up. You can even create a series of targeted introductory emails that are sent out over time. You just scored their email address, now’s the time to reach out & start building their trust; and you don’t even have to lift a finger.
You’ll never be able to control every scenario, but these tips will get you 3 steps closer.
