Here is permission email marketing in its simplest form:

1. Permission email marketing begins with a decent software programme which will allow you to create your newsletters, manage your subscribers automatically and view your reporting statistics to check how well you’re doing and automatically deal with any un-subscribers or bounce-backs.

2. Next you need to consider how frequently you’ll be sending email and what type of announcements will be sent. Monthly is a good time frame and perhaps in the form of a newsletter which will allow you to include several subjects. You can mix it up with offers including vouchers, discounts etc.

3. You may already have your own list of email addresses. However, most decent programmes will insist on your list being completely ‘opt-in’. A good way to collect new subscribers for your newsletters and offers is by adding a sign-up device on your web site. This doesn’t exclude your current list; it merely means you will need to import them into the programme you’ve chosen to use which won’t be an issue if they’ve received relevant communications form you before or of course if they’re existing customers.

4. Whether to use HTML or plain text is a subject for another post. However, you will be able to generate your email template from a choice provided within your email marketing software or you could create your own or employ an external designer. Usually though, the software will come with plenty of options that are designed for use with that system.

5. Generating a steady supply of content is an important element of your email marketing. It needs to be relevant and interesting to hold your readers attention and hopefully lead to sales too. It’s essential that your offers, newsletters and other announcements are sent consistently and frequently enough not to be a nuisance. Once this is mastered, your subscribers will increase and so too will your sales.

The importance of providing valuable content can’t be stressed more. It’s important for keeping your products, services and brand name in front of your prospects and clients ensuring your relationship develops and you are in their minds when they are ready to purchase.

If you would like strong and relevant content for your permission email marketing programme, contact us.

Many businesses fall into the same trap with email marketing; it’s not merely a case of sending and an email to a list of targets and hope they will visit you or your website – great if it were.

Simply presenting your products or services even to targeted prospects is useless unless there’s a convincing motive for them to buy your offering right now. Without that reason, those prospects are in control of when they buy and if they don’t hear from you again – when they are eventually ready to purchase, you will be forgotten!

That leaves the important question to ponder – does your product or service present a compelling motive to purchase, now? Here’s where you need to be creative with your offer because generally many products and services will only sell to the right buyer at the right time.

So what’s required here is a structured programme of time-release emails or notices designed to keep your prospects interested and more importantly, engaged until they buy. A key element of this process is also to constantly and proactively prospecting for more future prospects.

Capturing your visitors email addresses requires you to also capture their attention and this requires an informative and well-designed website that instills trust which is fundamental to building customer confidence.

Methods employed for capturing email addresses need careful thought because your audience won’t be prepared to give your their email address lightly so make sure you give them value. If you can educate them they will be interested enough to return as long as the information is good. Also make sure you have an opt-in box on your website that offers them something of value in exchange for signing up.

Once you have your list you must schedule regular mailings and ensure they’re not too frequent or your contacts may opt-out again; once or twice a month is fine and a great offer here and there will hopefully get them back to your website often so ensure your site is kept fresh with interesting content that inspires and entertains.

But remember! Not to hide your sales message with your information. You must still make it easy for them to buy from you.

To get your email marketing strategy in place and increase your customer base, contact us today.