Do you want to improve responses to your email marketing campaigns? Follow our tips below to increase the effectiveness of your email marketing and see the increase in open and click-through rates.
Write a great subject line
This is the first thing that is seen in the inbox, make it appealing and interesting to the audience. Avoid using all capital letters or vague subjects such as “You won’t believe this!â€, as your email may be disregarded as spam.
Brand the email
Make sure that people clearly know who the email is from. If you are using an email service such as Datadrum’s Easydrum, you will be able to have a branded email template.
The art of content
- Make your headlines grab attention with benefits and words that will appeal to and interest the reader. For example “Find out how our new product can save you moneyâ€.
- Make sure that your articles are divided into sections so that people can scan through and see what is of interest to them.
- Do not always put all the copy into the email. Instead, the email should provide a taster of what the information or offer is, then link to the full article on your website. You can then track the clicks from each article to see what people are most interested in.
- Always add clear calls to action such as “Find out moreâ€, “Apply today†etc., make sure they link to the right page on your website.
- Strong images can add impact to your email. One image per article is sufficient and ensure they are appealing, focused and relate to the article.
Privacy and Data Protection
Always include an unsubscribe option – it’s the law! Email services such as Datadrum’s Easydrum will manage unsubscriptions for you.
Do not disclose other recipients details by adding all of the email addresses into a ‘To’ or ‘CC’ list – it is illegal. We recommend either sending the email to yourself with other recipients in a ‘BCC’ list, or using a professional email service provider such as Datadrum‘s Easydrum service.
The Data Protection Act regulates how you build and manage your database. The law states that consent is needed from the recipient before sending unsolicited email marketing to individual subscribers.
A common misconception is that this consent can only be gained by an ‘opt-in’ however this consent can be gained via a ‘soft opt-in’ when all of the following cases apply:
- You have obtained a person’s details in the course of a sale or negotiations for a sale of a product or service.
- The messages are only marketing similar products or services.
- The person is given a simple opportunity to refuse marketing when their details are collected and if they don’t opt out at this point are given a simple way to do so in future messages.
It’s important to note that these rules don’t apply when sending emails to organisations, though you must still identify yourself and provide an address.
UK Companies Act Compliance
You must include your full registered company name, registered office address and country of registration at the bottom of every email you send.
New rules on displaying company information on all business websites and communications came into effect on January 1st 2007 and not complying risks a fine. You can find full details here.
