Email Marketing - Introduction

Over the last couple of years Email Marketing has evolved because the wants and needs of individuals have changed.  This is mainly due to some companies and Internet marketers abusing email marketing and bombarding (spamming) recipients with unwanted junk email.

This invasion of junk email forced many companies to change their privacy settings and add spam filters to the existing border security for an organisation.

However email marketing has evolved and once again become a more popular and cost effective marketing option. It’s a fact that the 80% of people now read email on a handheld device.  So it’s important to make sure the email is concise and looks good enough to read on a mobile.

In this series of articles we will discuss email marketing, how to, the pitfalls, the process and the law regarding unsolicited bulk emails.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is, as the name suggests, the use of email in marketing communications. This would include every email you ever send to a customer or potential customer.

However email marketing is more generally referred to as the sending of direct promotional emails to try and acquire new customers or persuade existing customers to buy again by raising product awareness.

For example:

  • Direct email
  • Distribution of a newsletter
  • A press release
  • Sales campaign
  • And many more...

Why is email marketing so popular?

Email marketing is so popular because sending emails is so much cheaper than most other forms of communication.  The email is direct to a recipient with a direct message unlike a website, where the people have to come to your message.  Email marketing has proven very successful for those who do it right.

Basic Principles of email marketing

Getting your email marketing right is key and there are some basic principles to follow to ensure your message and campaign convey the correct message.  The list below shows the basic principles to follow.

  1. Understand your target audience, use opt-in based lists
  2. Have a well thought out message
  3. Keep the preview pane in mind when designing the message
  4. Simple but informative subject line
  5. Your message should have a clear call to action
  6. Always include a opt out unsubscribe feature
  7. Include a method to monitor your campaign
  8. Consider the frequency of communications with your audience

In this Series

Don't miss the rest of this series on email marketing. Follow the links below for the full article.