The great morning tradition of coffee and the newspaper has found its successor, and it isn’t the coffee that has been ousted. The thing that most people read first in the morning is no longer the printed news of their community and country and the world at large, but the news delivered to their very own inbox. Eight hours of sleep is ample time for interesting emails to arrive from all over the world all with one thing in common- a direct connection to the man or woman in front of the computer or smartphone.
Your inbox is more instantaneously interesting than the newspapers (even in their online forms) because it’s catered to you.
Furthermore, it is constantly updating itself. Over the course of 24 hours emails arrive constantly, making any time a good time to check your inbox. You never know what good news might be waiting for you, which makes the checking of email an exciting and slightly addictive experience. Do you remember the sensation that you had when waiting for acceptance letters from college? Going to the mailbox was an exhilarating adventure every day. Checking email allows us to repeat this experience not once but innumerable times per day.
Email is a fundamental part of any marketing strategy because it offers direct contact with your clients, existing or potential.
Of course we all know that no one actually reads all of his or her email. How can businesses craft emails which they are sure their market will read? The first step is to make sure that the emails make it to the inbox and are not directed to the spam pile. Getting an email service provider, such as Constant Contact or MailChimp, which has robust software for dealing with spam checks is an excellent start. Also, you should send your emails from a real address which people can respond to- true communication goes both ways.
The second step is to use appropriate format and content. The format of emails should be simple. Using plain text or simple HTML helps to make your email more accessible and easily ready by your audience. Present each email as if it were a note from a friend or family member, and it might stand a chance of being read.
If you want your readers to make it all the way through your email and possibly become interested in following up on further communications from you, make sure that your email is short and focused. As a general rule, an email should not exceed 500 words in length. It should also stay focused on one very specific goal- too many products and services mentioned together in the same email end up competing with one another and fail to deliver the point home.
Email will help you open up a line of communication with current customers and potential ones. It is an especially powerful tool for small businesses because many people prefer email over other ways to communicate in the first place. If constructed with the proper strategy, your emails could take their place in the great new morning tradition of coffee and the iPhone.
Contact SalesBlend to get started with email marketing for your business today!
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About James Vanzo
James is a content marketer for SalesBlend. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from MIT.