Content creation
Most people in business feel content must be so unbelievably unique that no one has ever seen it before and will be totally amazed at your singular brilliance. Not true. Here’s what really works:
Be yourself. You have the unique ability in email marketing to be YOU. Your wisdom, your experience, your suggestions, your humor. People like to “connect” with real, live people, not just a nameless, faceless business.
Share what you know. We all make the mistake of believing that EVERYBODY must know the things we know. They don’t. As a unique businessperson in a specific industry, you have likely educated yourself through trade publications, trade shows, and many years of hands-on experience. That sum of knowledge is what makes you who you are. Don’t give it out all at once. Short, focused articles will be read and followed by your recipients.
Reuse. Links to good information on the Internet, news stories, videos—they’re all useful. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Provide useful, relevant information by reusing things that are already out there.
More content ideas: Coupons, local community calendars, introduce your business Facebook page….there are lots of ways to incorporate short, interesting pieces of content for your readers to enjoy.
The importance of “click-throughs”
Naturally, you want to “connect” with your readers. The way you do that is by asking them to “click” on hyperlinks in your email. This lets you know what interests them and what they respond to. Since you have only about 30 seconds with the typical email recipient, your goal is to get them to extend that time and “stay with you” for a bit longer.
When should you send?
Believe it or not, it makes a difference. An email sent and received at about the time your recipient is most like to read it and respond is the goal. Time your sends when you know most of your recipients will open and read them. Try this: Divide your contacts into 3 lists. Send out on three different days of the week. When you determine which day gets the most “opens” and interaction, then take the same three lists and do something else. This time, on the specific day where you received the most action, send out to your 3 lists at 3 different times of the day. You’ll find out then which time of the day is the best for responses. Then stick to that day and time to achieve maximum results.
Monitor your results
It’s not enough to get “opens” for your email. You need “response”. Are people clicking on your links? Are they calling to schedule appointments or to buy something from you? Are they going to your Facebook business page and clicking the “Like” button? Those are measurable results, which is what marketing is all about.
Change up, eliminate, find new directions.
If something isn’t getting response, don’t do it anymore. Don’t be afraid to change things up a bit and determine if it gets better results. The best thing of all is that email marketing is inexpensive so it’s not costly to find out what works and what doesn’t.
