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Email Best Practices
For Better Performance & Profit

For Openers…

Email marketing is one of the most viable and affordable solutions to reach fresh prospects and customers and to generate new sales. Email as a medium and activity has actually overtaken web browsing for consuming time. However, challenges remain in getting recipients to get it, open it and read it.

Using Email Best Practices you can create an increased response from your subscribers. If you use these best practices consistently then you’ll get more response, more inquiries, more seminar registrations, and more orders.

There’s a handy list of Email Best Practices that should be common sense by now. Yet many continue to fail, or just forget, to use them regularly. Let’s revisit some common sense now.

1. Stay Away From Spam Filters

Large internet service providers have tough spam protection mechanisms to sort and capture unsolicited email to ‘protect’ their customers’ inboxes. These filters “rank” each email with several different criteria. If the email content scores above a certain level (like 10 points), then it is labeled spam and deleted.

To avoid getting your emails getting flagged as spam — and deleted before subscribers see them — avoid using over-the-top claims and marketing terms. Individually, words such as 'Free', '$$$', 'Save', 'Discount', etc are necessarily show-stoppers but when accumulated can be. This applies to both your subject line and your content.

2. Standardization for Higher Click-Thru Rates

To increase your click-thru rate, you need to make it easy for subscribers to see your links. If your web site and emails are too busy with text and graphics, then it’s difficult to find your special offers. Use a standardized format that utilizes white space and design, even with text-only email, to make recipients comfortable and at ease.

The online standard for a link is a plain, underlined, blue text link – www.1ShoppingCart.com — as opposed to a banner or button. The majority of Internet users recognize and respond better to them. So, if you're going to include links in your emails, make sure they are blue and underlined (some use ‘bold’ formatting too). This will mean that more subscribers click through, meaning more conversions/sales for you.

3. Personalization for Profit

When someone even whispers your name you’re more likely to hear and to pay attention.

There are several ways to use personalization in your email.

The first place is in the salutation or greeting. Using form fields you can easily add [your subscriber’s first name] instead of a generic, “Hello Friend.” This increases both your reading and click-thru rates by up to 650%. When you address people by their first name, they pay attention more, feel more of a relationship and are more open to your communications.

4. Confirm With Double Opt-In

If you don’t use a double opt-in confirmation process, then don’t be surprised if you get accused of being a spammer. After a subscriber gives you their email, and/or name, to be added to your list, you should then send them a "confirmation" email. With the right email marketing program, like 1ShoppingCart.com, the confirmation email contains a unique link that is sent to them to click on to confirm their desire to be one of your subscribers.

5. Unsubscribes Help Build Your List

Using a double opt-in is absolutely a must, yes. And ironically, the second absolute is to provide a quick way to unsubscribe. Many countries now demand a mandatory, legislated unsubscribe link in every email or you can face high fines and severe prosecution. The unsubscribe link should immediately remove the person, with respect, and then automatically purge them your mailing list.

6. “I Don’t Like Mondays”

There are weekdays that still remain more effective than others. Various sources seem to generally agree that the best days to send your mail to your list are Tuesday and Wednesday. By Thursday and Friday the tired masses are already eyeing their weekend.

Skipping a slow start to the week on Mondays leaves recipients more open to your message. Your content is more likely to be read and your links clicked on more often on certain days. Do your own tests to determine what day is best for more sales.

You can further test by trying mornings versus afternoons. Based on verbal feedback from a number of friends with several lists, they found that afternoons often pull better results, specifically between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. some said.

7. Repeat What Works

Use your autoresponders. Use them often and repeatedly. This is a series of email that is set up to be sent at specific intervals to subscribers. Autoresponder series are an excellent way to automatically follow up and deliver more information about your industry and your products/services.

For example, many send 3 email messages in the first 72 hours to their newest subscribers. The first is sent almost immediately congratulating and welcoming them. Next, the second is sent with a ‘Thank You’ and a discount off one of your products, e.g. 10% off an ebook within 24 hours. Finally, a third email could be sent describing your program, community and perhaps with a one-time offer to join your membership site.

There are endless approaches that are only limited by your creativity and innovation. Regardless of the content, use your autoresponder tool set to start building trust and familiarity with your subscribers. Help them grow their confidence in you and your company. This powerful relationship is what leads to building your brand in their heart and mind which doesn’t hurt down the road when you’re trying to close more sales.

My Close For Today

For now, revisit your current email marketing and see where you might improve or change your efforts and activities. Evaluate the results you’re getting. Review your 1ShoppingCart.com-powered system to discover underutilized tools or undiscovered areas of the solution. Contact us or any of our fine Private Label Partners for additional information and direction.

This partial list is just a starting point. There are more strategies and tactics for Email Best Practices that I look forward to sharing with you in the next issue of ShopTalk News.