If you’re like most people, you are probably inundated with email messages filling up your inbox all day long. As a small business, you also probably know that sending out email marketing campaigns is one of the most effective, inexpensive marketing methods available today. So what’s the secret to getting your e-mail campaigns to stand out in the inboxes of your customers and prospects?

There are three key components to any email campaign, and knowing what they are and how to use them can really improve your results. The three components are:

1. The “from” name. This is the most important component recipients use to decide whether they will open an email message or not. If they don’t recognize the “from” name, chances are the message will be deleted or marked as sp@m. Make sure that recipients can recognize your company or product in the “from” name so that they feel confident about reading the email message.
2. The subject line. A good subject line can spark interest and motivate a recipient to open the message immediately. Too often the subject line is an after thought and created at the last minute, often right before the campaign is launched. The subject line should be written as part of the campaign to ensure it is compelling and introduces the email appropriately. Try to keep the subject line short and specific; typically around 50 characters. Long subject lines can be truncated when displayed in an inbox, and typically do not perform as well as short subject lines.
3. The preview pane. In addition to the “from” name and the subject line, most users can also see the top portion of the email in the preview pane of their email utility. The size of the preview can vary among different email services and settings, but users can usually see the beginning of the email even without clicking on anything. Take advantage of this feature by making your e-campaigns attention-grabbing and attractive, even with the images turned off. Also, keep the most important information above the fold so recipients can immediately see your offer even if they don’t scroll through the rest of the message.

Email marketing is quickly becoming a standard part of small business marketing, but it can be successful only when recipients are motivated to read the content of the message. By using these three components effectively, you can help your e-campaign stand out in the crowd of messages that arrive in your customers’ inbox every day.

No matter what you call it – economic slow down, one-state recession, troubled economy – you’ve probably noticed that business is a little sluggish for many companies today. No doubt times are tough, especially here in Michigan, and that has prompted lots of small businesses to tighten up their spending and budgets to compensate for the change in revenue. It makes perfect sense, of course, but the challenge for many companies comes when deciding which expenses to cut back on, and by how much.

When business slows down, it’s tempting to cut back on marketing and advertising activities since these are often considered to be non-essential expenses. But if your sales have slowed down, that’s precisely the time when you should turn up the marketing on your business to help bring in new customers and jump start your sales again!

So before you make any drastic cuts to your marketing spending, consider implementing some marketing activities that have a low cost but have a high ROI. Specifically, I’m talking about good ‘ol email marketing!

Ready, Aim, Send
Email marketing is a reliable, proven marketing strategy that’s inexpensive to implement, especially compared with more traditional activities like print ads and direct mail. It is also a more targeted strategy than other conventional methods, enabling you to deliver a specifically focused message directly to the customers and prospects that you want to reach. For instance, if you were to segment your e-mail recipient list into categories, you could then tailor your email message to fit the needs of the recipients in each category. So unlike a print ad that is published for a broad audience, an email campaign can be aimed directly at your target audience.

Tracking Results
Email campaigns are also highly measurable, making it easy to track the effectiveness of each campaign. After sending out an e-campaign, the campaign stats can reveal all sorts of useful information, such as the number of recipients who opened the email, how many emails “bounced” or were not delivered (and why), which links the recipients clicked on, the number of opt-ins/opt-outs, how many times the email was forwarded to a friend, etc. By analyzing this data, you can tell if your message prompted a response (such as clicking on a link or visiting a web site), or if your message was even delivered in the first place!

Weathering the Storm
When times are tough, it pays to be smart about your marketing choices. Cutting back on pricey marketing activities is fine, as long as you don’t give up on your overall marketing goals. Marketing’s purpose is to help generate sales and boost your bottom line, which may be even more important if your revenue has slowed down. To help ride it out, try implementing marketing activities that will get the job done, but will do it for less money – like email marketing.

You probably already know that e-marketing is a very cost-effective way to reach customers and prospects, but do you know how well it works?  According to a new study by data analytics firm Prospectiv, people today get most of their product information from e-newsletters, followed closely by search engines as their primary source of product information. This is a huge vote of confidence for e-marketing, especially for e-newsletters! The power of digital marketing is growing quickly, so if you’re not already sending out e-newsletters or tracking your search engine rankings, it might be time to “just do it!”

“Dear Readers“

E-Newsletters have long been a favorite e-marketing activity, since they give businesses an opportunity to communicate consistently with customers and keep the company’s name and message in front of them.  If you have a small business with a small marketing budget, it’s also a great way to regularly publicize the latest information about your products and services, and can help build credibility and establish your expertise with readers. Since research now indicates that users rely on e-newsletters as a primary information source, sending out a company e-newsletter appears to be a “win-win” for most businesses.

Be Nice to Spiders

Another powerful e-marketing strategy is search engine optimization, also known as SEO.  Millions and millions of people use search engines every day (mostly Google, Yahoo, and MSN), and good search engine positions typically translate into more traffic, new leads, and improved sales for your business.  If you’re like most businesses, you want to show up on the first page of the search results, but it takes some very specific work (and maybe a little luck) to actually get there. 

If you haven’t optimized your web site for the search engines, consider investing in SEO as soon as you can, since it can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months before you start seeing results.  In the meantime, make sure your site can be read correctly by search engine spiders, and that your web site is in compliance with industry “best practices” such as CSS, keyword-rich content, appropriate site structure, site maps (XML and HTML), complete meta data, etc.

Where the Customers Are

Consumers typically like e-marketing because it fits into their preferred method of receiving information – electronically – via email, web sites, and search engines.  Businesses are drawn to e-marketing because it’s easy to do, it’s low-cost, and it works. With so many affordable e-marketing strategies available, it seems logical to use them to get your business where the customers are already looking.  And according to recent research, they’re looking at e-newsletters, search engines, and other e-marketing messages – so make sure that your business can be found!

If you run a small business, then you probably already know that one of the most successful, cost-effective marketing strategies available today is email marketing.  Email campaigns are great for small businesses because they are typically inexpensive, very targeted, and the results are measurable, allowing you to track things like click-thru rates, opens, bounces, and resulting web traffic patterns. But like most other marketing initiatives, there are some basic strategies you can use to improve your chances of success.  To make your email campaign as effective as possible, try to follow these best practices:

1. Make sure your e-mail looks related to your other marketing materials, especially your web site.  Always include your logo, and keep the same “look and feel” so that your email campaign matches not only your web site, but all of your other corporate branding and marketing materials as well. 
   
2. Design for the “Preview Pane” first.  The “preview pane” is the area in an email tool (such as Outlook) that displays even if a user doesn’t actually open the email. Most preview panes are between two and four inches tall, so use this space wisely. Be sure your company name is clearly displayed, and include an interesting, benefits-oriented headline that encourages the reader to actually open the email and take some type of action.
3. Use links to drive traffic to your web site. One of the advantages of email marketing is that you can add links that take your readers directly to more information, to an online ordering page, or to another targeted page on your web site. These links can also help you determine reader interest in certain topics or information.
4. Don’t overload your email with photos and graphics. Many people have the images turned off in their email programs anyway, and email security filters may block the email from even reaching your customer’s inbox.  Instead use good, clean html formatting and use fonts, headlines, colors, and other layout elements to make your email piece attractive.
5. Use columns in your email layout to improve readability and organization.  Because columns have shorter lines, the text is more easily read and understood by most recipients.  Columns also allow you to fit more content into a space than just plain margin-to-margin text, which gives you more options for organizing the information as well.
6. Always use a professional ListServ service to deliver your email campaigns. These services ensure that your list management functions (like opt-in/opt-out, sp@m compliance, etc.) are handled appropriately, and also provide you with the ability to track and measure campaign results.

If you’re already using email marketing, then you know that it is a very cost-effective way to communicate with your customers and prospective customers. Email is fast, inexpensive, and quite easy to use as a marketing strategy, which could be why it has become so popular with companies of all sizes. There are many tangible, measurable benefits to email marketing, but here are five benefits that are particularly noteworthy:

• Boost Your Bottom Line – Studies show that the average consumer needs to hear or see your message about seven times before he or she will buy from you. That’s a lot of repetition! With email marketing, you can create marketing campaigns consisting of a series of emails to reinforce your message and build your brand so that when they are ready to buy, they think of your company first.

• Name Recognition – Using email marketing is a great way to generate name recognition and stay in front of your customers regularly. You can send newsletters, special offers, coupons, announcements, or anything else that might be of value to your customers.

• Keep ‘Em Coming Back – A happy customer is a loyal customer, which often means more repeat business for you. Happy customers also tend to refer their friends and family, generating new customers for you as well. Use email marketing to keep in touch with customers, offering them special discounts or add-on items, or letting them be among the first to know when a sale is coming up. Email marketing is a great tool for enhancing customer retention and satisfaction.

• Two-Way Communication with Customers – With email marketing, it’s pretty easy to get feedback from your customers just by sending a quick follow-up email after the sale. It’s a good way to find out what they think of your products or services, and gives them another opportunity to interact with you, too.

• Generate Extra Sales Offline – Lots of people use the web to research the products and services they need, then make their purchase locally from a store in their community. In fact, a recent survey by MarketingSherpa found that more than 60% of web users do this on a regular basis! Email marketing can help you stay in touch with the customers in your area, creating awareness for your company and bringing more shoppers through your door.

Be consistent with your email marketing efforts and they may become even more effective than some of your other marketing activities. Email marketing is cost effective, measurable, trackable, and easy to do – what more could anyone want in a marketing strategy?