What makes you open that email? If you're an online marketer or even if you're new to working from home you are certainly aware of the power of marketing by email. This method of reaching prospects and generating sales is probably the most basic and effective way of building an online business. It is the original method that gave average people a new tool, not only to communicate, but to market themselves and their products, and even to build business empires online. Who knows exactly what the future holds, but it is safe to say that email marketing will remain a valuable resource for those who use it.
Knowing how to use email effectively and responsibly is a whole 'nother story. First of all, it is imperative to abide by the Can Spam Act of 2003, this should go without saying if you want to be a serious internet marketer. I'm referring to making the most of the list you already have and how to actually get more of your mail read. As marketers it is normal to experience peaks and valleys and to fall into occasional ruts. Especially with all the automated services like our autoresponders, it's easy to loose track of how effective our campaigns are doing.
Right now it is important to be honest with yourself and take a mental inventory of your business practices. Are you sending effective emails? More importantly, are they even getting opened and read? The internet community learns fast so it is important to be current. People both experienced
and new alike are wise to the standard pitches that land in their inbox daily. Making just a minor shift in the way you compose your subject line can make a huge difference not only in the way you are perceived, but in the amount of business you generate.
Start taking notice today of how many emails you actually read and what makes you read them. You surely have a system for sorting through your own inbox. You may not be aware of your own system, but subconsciously you scan over the new arrivals and open certain ones first or even delete others without reading them at all. Start keeping track of the emails you open first. Save them, write them down or whatever until you accumulate a couple of dozen. What do they have in common? I bet they all have at least one of three qualities. They seem personal, they seem beneficial, they seem interesting, or they seem urgent. OK that's four, as a matter of fact, there are a lot more reasons that compel people to open an email, but you get the idea. The usual hard sell or exaggerated claim just won't work anymore as the internet and its users become more sophisticated.
Not only are we tired of the, "Make $10,000 Per Minute In Your Sleep" or "Try This Vitamin That Makes You 'ahem' Stronger" headlines; but so is everyone else. Including your email provider. Many an email can end up in your bulk or spam box just because they seem like junk. I don't know how they determine this technically, but sometimes my best newsletters end up there. I'll admit, it's easy to get off track and not put any thought into what could be a great subject line that makes people want to read it. By just compiling a list and incorporating some of the same techniques that get you to read the message, into the emails you send out, you'll start to see a change in the results you get.
Go ahead check that autoresponder line up. What do your subject lines look like? The email itself might be great, but give those headlines another look and rework them if you think they need it. A few headlines that I recently took notice of are ones that used my name in the headline. This can be done by adding a short bit of code as per your service. One said very casually, "Hey, here's something you might like". And another one immediately got me curious, even though I knew it was a pitch by saying, "Your application was accepted". I really did not recall applying for anything but it somehow seemed important.
There are all kinds of different ways to approach this seemingly small part of your marketing efforts. Use your imagination, be creative, and learn from the alluring emails you open. These small adjustments can make a big difference. It takes work, effort, and attention to detail to run a successful campaign, so it's important to maximize every possibility in todays' competitive marketplace. Having a great product or service is great but when more people know about it, it's even better.
