8 Useful Email Marketing Tips

1. Don't buy in mailing lists and don't automatically subscribe people to your newsletter - You'll lose all credibility if you're perceived to be spamming people. If you need to broaden your newsletter promotions, look at placing adverts in content-led newsletters instead. Some people say that buying in addresses work because people don't ask to be removed. In truth, they don't ask to be removed because they don't trust you not to send them more spam once they've confirmed their email address works. 
   
    
2. Don't just email advertisements unless that's what people have signed up for, and even then give them something special like a discount or a pre-release product order. Emails should be useful or entertaining, and always worthwhile. If you're on the hard sell all the time, people will soon lose interest. Deliver on the promise you made that persuaded people to give you their email addresses. 
   
    
3. Make sure that the sender of the message is your website or company name and not the name of an individual in the company who sends or edits the newsletter.
   
   
4. Have a subject that makes it clear what the email is about and where it's come from - Don't have a subject like 'Great news for September!' which could hide anything from the typical sex, drugs and dodgy finance realms of spam. Instead, have a title like 'Sean.co.uk - Business book information'.
   
   
5. Protect your customers' privacy - If you're using a standard email programme to send your newsletter, always use the BCC (blind copy) feature which will stop all the recipients from getting the whole list of email addresses the message was sent to.
   
   
6. Protect your computers with anti-virus software and keep it updated. Would it surprise you to know that most viruses in the wild can be stopped by antivirus software now? That means that it's laziness in updating software that allows computer viruses to spread. If you send someone a long-defeated virus, you'll lose all credibility.
   
   
7. Make it easy for people to unsubscribe from your mailing lists - Just because you're losing a mailing list member, it doesn't mean you're losing a customer, yet. But make it hard for people to change their subscription options and they'll take their custom elsewhere.
   
   
8. Think of your newsletter like a magazine or newspaper - Give it distinct sections so people can build up a relationship with it and skim read it easily. Use headlines, introductions and keep text snappy.

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