We used to do a ton of email marketing quite successfully for some our clients in specific markets certain times of the year.We have achieved great receive rates, open rates and click through rates for our clients.
We have noticed, however, that over the years businesses are experiencing less success with their email marketing. efforts. There are a couple of different reasons that can be directly associated with these decreases.
1. Spam filters are getting better
2. People are tired of being bombarded with marketing emails
3. Trust and credibility of email marketing is decreasing still
In order to run a successful email marketing campaign, here are a couple of tips that will help to improve results.
1. Choose a reliable list. It seems pretty straight forward but this is an area that I see businesses fail with frequently. Make sure the list is up to date. Sending emails to old email addresses that people do not check is pretty useless. Also, sending to emails like info@ and sales@ are also a waste of time as they are not directed at specific people and may not even get read.
2. Choose a targeted list. Make sure the list you are using is targeted to your demographic. An in-house mailing list to your current customer list is the most effective. When you buy a list, make sure that the list is up to date and is specific to the audience that you are aiming to reach.
3. Run your email through multiple spam filters before you hit send. A lot of email programs now have spam filter checks built in. I suggest running your email through more than one. This will help to get your email through more spam filters.
4. Do a test run to multiple mail servers. We all have multiple email addresses from different email providers. I recommend sending the email to as many different mail servers that you have access to before sending the actual email. This will allow you to ensure your email is being delivered and not being caught by a spam filter.
5. The subject line is key. A great subject line will make the difference between a successful email marketing campaign and a dud! Super important. Make sure you take a look at this resource for spam trigger words when writing your subject line. Be creative! There are lots of ways to entice people without getting blocked by spam filters.
If you are really stuck, hire a professional!