Bear Brook

An important component of your company’s overall marketing plan is email. It helps retain customers, keep your audience informed, increase sales, fill seats, raise brand visibility, and ultimately grow your business. Email is faster and more affordable than traditional print mail, and, by many measures, offers you the best return on your investment.

However, to work effectively, email must be done right; otherwise your best efforts will end up unread, in the junk heap. Here are some tips to help you get your email noticed.

1. Respect your audience.

Sending to people who want to hear from you is the best way to make sure you are being legally compliant. This also improves your open and click through rates. To ensure your audience wants to hear from you, make sure you have a prior relationship with them—you’ve been in contact with them before, or they’ve opted in to receive your email. Also, let them easily and quickly opt-out if they choose.

2. Get personal.

Create content with your audience in mind. Find out what they do, where they live, what their interests are. Create different groups based on the information you’ve gained and target people based on what will appeal to them. Tailor content and segment lists to make email as personal as possible. Immediately welcome those who join your email list. There’s nothing better than an immediate response to keep you top-of-mind. Above all, always personally address your emails.

3. Use the subject line.

The single most important line of any email is the subject line. If you don’t get your recipients’ attention with the subject line, you’ve lost your audience. And remember, you’ve got to do it in about six words or less. Most people won’t bother to open an email that doesn’t pique their interest, and the place to do that with an email is in the subject line.

4. Give them something they can use.

We’ve all heard the expression "content is king." It is king of the online experience, especially email. Content needs to be clear and compelling. Give them information that is useful; it positions you as an expert who provides value. Your emails can be frequent, but, more importantly, they need to be relevant. Your content should drive your campaign frequency, not your calendar.

5. Eye Candy you can trust.

Along with a subject line that gets attention, attractive graphics entice your audience into reading your content. This is also your opportunity to reinforce your brand promise. There should be a consistent look between your email marketing campaigns and your website—your brand. Make sure the imagery relates to the content and meets graphic standards for the web. File size needs to be kept to a minimum to make sure your email will load quickly. Your audience will have little patience and will move on quickly if they have to wait for your email graphics to load.

6. Deliver seamlessly.


Use an email provider who lets you create your own database and easily import existing lists. Make sure you can search and segment your lists and send emails whenever you want. Look for an email provider that is an ESPC member (Email Sender and Provider Coalition). ESPC members recognize the need for strong spam solutions that ensure the delivery of legitimate email.

7. Track your results.

See who opened your email campaign, clicked through, and forwarded your campaign to friends. You’ll find out who bounced and which efforts got the best response. You’ll be able to learn from your past efforts and tailor your future campaigns to make them more successful.

Your email marketing efforts are an important part of any successful marketing plan. With some forethought and planning, your email will reach your intended audience and get the response you want.