Key Info for Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most exciting areas of marketing communication at the moment. It’s seen as cheap and easy, with potential mass appeal. The trick is to get it right. A mistake any web master can make is to assume that email marketing will automatically get results. You may have a database of users who have ticked the box to receive information from you, but the impact and effectiveness of that information could be limited. Think about how many emails you receive everyday and how many of them you simply bin. There is a formidable amount of content and spam flying around the virtual world at any given time and as a result there is a high risk your email could simply be deleted. You need to ensure the emails you distribute amongst your base contain something that’s interesting or unique, or offers a compelling promotion for the recipient to either take up themselves or forward on to others. This is what I am going to focus on here – using an existing database to get more users.
Getting new users is hard, we all know. Success will come with targeted, relevant, clear communications to your target audience. This is a fantastic way of generating business; this is because you have a trusted middle person in between your company and the possible new user. The winning element of this formula is the trust factor. If you receive an email from your friend about a particular product, website or company you are more likely to take the time to read it, compared to receiving the email directly from the source. Companies spend millions every year trying to build relationships with new customers; you can jump over this hurdle and save yourself quite a lot of money by utilising your current base effectively.
Ok, so how do you do this? One effective way is segmentation - if you can segment your base, by geographic region, age, interests (whatever information you hold), and group those individuals, you can target a specific promotion, or content to that group. You’re far more likely to see positive results if you do this. For example if you want to offer a discount to those 20-30 year olds living in the US (because you want to increase this segment on your site), by creating a relevant piece of content to your current group, the chances of the email being forwarded on to friends (who more than likely will be 20-30 year olds) is high.
If you’d rather send a generic offer out to your whole base, because your objective is simply to increase volumes of users, then you need to think about the content you send out. Below are just some ideas:-
“Got this great coupon and thought you could use it too”
The appeal here is the value offer – you could offer a 15% off coupon to your current base and their friends and family. This not only provides a good deal, but makes all involved feel this is something special, as it’s not offered to everyone.
Alternatively you could offer your current base a free gift for every 5/ 10 (you determine how many) new members they obtain for you. You’ll need to think about supplying unique codes to each user, which new subscribers can enter when registering (this provides the tracking for you)

“This is so weird…take a look.”
Something that’s unique, entertaining or thought provoking is likely to get passed along. Most email links will not include lots of general information - as the risk factor of deletion is high. But if it contains a great link or a new twist to the subject matter, it may deserve a pass along. This is how most generic social networking sites have found success.
“Great info. I thought you might find it interesting.”
Especially useful for people with key interests, business specialists or those technically minded. Entrepreneurs receiving information on a particular business area are likely to send on to equally like-minded people, as they know the content will be relevant and of interest
Whichever approach you take, you need to ensure the emails you distribute amongst your base contain something that’s interesting or unique, or offers a compelling promotion for the recipient to either take up themselves or forward on to others. It’s all about successful marketing…give users a reason to read your email and to pass it on and they will.

About the Author

Emma Mitchell is currently the marketing director of http://www.cyberneur.com a new social networking site for budding entrepreneurs.