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Methods
A professional approach to email marketing implies that all correspondence is permission based -- or centered on obtaining customer consent to receive information from a company. The method of receiving this permission is through an opt-in or double opt-in procedure.
While there is some debate surrounding the definition of opt-in, the term refers to the fact that actions were taken to sign up for the email in question. The term double opt-in means that the subscriber has actively confirmed their subscription, typically by responding to an automatically-generated message sent to the email address.
Process
Strategy - We work with you to develop a strategy for your email marketing campaign. We help you identify the reason for corresponding with your audience -- whether it be to update shareholders on company financials or to advise customers of the current weekly promotion available in store.
Frequency - Based on the purpose of the email communication, we recommend a frequency for sending your email -- be it daily, weekly, monthly or even less often.
Format - The demographics of your subscriber database, along with the purpose of the email, will influence whether an email marketing campaign utilizes plain text, html, or rich media in the body of the email.
Tips for Successful Email Marketing
- Day of the week - If you are targeting employees in the workplace with your newsletter, avoid Mondays and Fridays. If your newsletter is read by consumers at home, arrange for it to arrive first thing Sunday morning.
- Subject line - Make it enticing enough to make users want to open your newsletter. It is a good idea to mention the highlight of this specific newsletter as opposed to just listing the newsletter name and volume number.
- HTML vs. plain text - Why not send both and allow the user's email program to determine their preference?
- Unsubscribe - Part of ethical email marketing involves making it clear and simple for a user to unsubscribe or modify their subscription to your newsletter.
- Personalize recipient - You can do this by asking the user for his or her first and last name when they opt in to your newsletter.
- Above the fold - Keep your relevant information above the fold and things like privacy policy closer to the bottom of the email.
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