Let’s get straight to the point: you want to be more active in the direct marketing field, you want to be more familiar with your customer’s needs and them to yours, you want better returns and conversion rates – you want results! All of these and much more can be achieved through direct email marketing, but speaking about it and actually getting down to work are quite different things! How do you start off in email marketing? Can you do it yourself or do you need to buy services specialized in direct marketing by email?

Ultimately, how do you know and cater for people’s needs in the current Inbox capitalism?

Well, before spending those big bucks on expensive email marketing campaigns, on long-winded studies and charts about the current market, on exclusively-designed landing pages and so on, why don’t you give it a try yourself and see how your customers behave and react to your marketing newsletters? How about dusting off that email list and sending your partners, associates and clients a timely offer? If you’re just starting off, then Easy Mail Merge is the right tool for you! You can effortlessly create, manage and send out any number of email marketing campaigns and you won’t need to take a mortgage on the house (as with other email marketing products). Just give it a try, or if you would like to benefit from all its features straight away, purchase a lifetime license for only $39.95 (30 day money-back guarantee).

To start you off, we have condensed quite a lot of information in three easy to remember “rules”. Consider it a “hot-to-do direct email marketing”, a tutorial or a “direct email marketing crash course”… doesn’t matter, just remember them on your next email blast! 🙂

 

Direct email marketing RULE #1: Thou shalt not SPAM!

There’s nothing more annoying regarding email! Each day we have to sift and sort through hundreds of useless messages, taking up precious time and resources. Thus, you wouldn’t want to be considered a spammer, right? Only send out emails to people that have given their consent!

Don’t buy or share your marketing email addresses lists, since you might get in trouble! There are laws regarding SPAM in almost every country of the world, and most are based on the CAN Spam act of 2004. Read and remember it, since it’s a useful tool for the future. If you want to start in the direct email marketing field then remember that lawsuits, complaints and negative reviews will be present. People forget about agreeing to stuff, they can even forget who you are and whom you represent, but the CAN Spam Act will protect you as long as you respect its guidelines. Even if it’s already covered in the official document, I feel the need to repeat this simple idea: provide your recipients the option to unsubscribe! You’d be amazed at how often marketers forget about this – you, on the other hand must not, or else you will give the impression of unprofessionalism and sloppiness.

Even if you aren’t actually spamming, remember that your direct marketing newsletters and offers must not resemble an unsolicited message, but rather feel personal and… yes, direct! So, don’t use “spammy” words in your emails, take care in the layout and information provided etc. This takes us to:

 

Direct email marketing RULE #2: Have a PLAN!

Since users are used to zapping through emails, yours must have something that will catch their eye and keep them reading on!

You might find this rather difficult, but get to know your customers likes/dislikes – create their general profile! A good exercise is to imagine your usual client in as many details as you can, then tailor your email marketing efforts towards him or her. Keep your subject lines short and to the point and provide incentives – give your recipients access to special offers and whatnot and you will soon see a steady rise in the number of people interested in your marketing emails. Use calls to action that link to landing pages throughout the email! A great thing you can also do is call your recipients by their first name and insert personal references – a thing that Easy Mail Merge does wonderfully well!

Even better, make them want to share and reply to your emails – both the customer and yourself will benefit from this! The customer will have their questions answered and you will leave a good impression for the future. So, take care, think it through and develop a strategy. For example, send 3 emails (one email/week) detailing one of your products or services and in the 4^th hold a “special offer” for it – registered users only! Then, repeat!

Always, always track your results: click-through rates, delivery rates, unsubscribe rates – everything. In the long run, it will make your direct email marketing efforts much more precise.

 

Direct email marketing RULE #3: Keep on testin’!

If you don’t see any change in in your sales at the end of the month, keep trying! Test out different layouts, types of subject lines and landing pages until you hit that “sweet spot” – if you don’t receive good feedback from your direct email campaigns, it’s never the customer’s or recipient’s fault! That blame is unfortunately on your shoulders – even so, you must keep your spirits up and deliver on your promises, continue providing discounts and informing everyone of your special offers.

Of course, your success depends on the quality of your email list, so keep improving it and always strive to make it bigger, more accurate and better tailored to your needs. Not even the best surgeon can operate with a cleaver, and you are no exception!

You know, I haven’t actually answered the question from the start – that is, how do you know and cater for everyone’s needs? Unfortunately, there are no rules to it, like the above direct email marketing ones… That is something you must find out for yourself, and in due time you will become more and more experienced and I assure you, you will see results! Even with a little time and resources, even if you don’t make a fortune from email marketing you will still leave your customers and associates with a good impression. So, it’s a win-win situation!

What did you think about our rules? Have we nailed them perfectly or have we forgotten something important on the way? We are eager to hear from you, so drop us a line in the comments section or by email, to support@emailaddressmanager.com.

 

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