Trouble Getting Your Head Around Social Media? Take a Closer Look at Email Marketing

Most consulting I provide regading social media centres on how Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn can provide a measurable return and how much time is required each day to make a mark. Amongst our own client base, in every instance it’s email marketing that’s used to drive reliable traffic to the client’s website; social media has been slow to prove its worth as far as measurable returns are concerned.

I don’t suggest that you switch off your social media engagement in favour of email marketing – that'd be unwise. Engaging with your market place is an important part of growing any business.

Here are 5 ways to get your email campaigns back on track again.

Activate Opt-In at Checkout

Give customers the means of opting-in to your newsletters when they arrive at your online store’s checkout. Within SiteSuite CMS you can quickly activate this feature from inside the Newsletters module on its Settings tab. If you have a bricks and mortar store, place a clipboard at your point of sale counter and record customer email addresses as part of a “VIP Club” sign up campaign.

Reduce the Volume of Text within your newsletters

Unless you’re a champion wordsmith who writes spectacular copy loved by all, write no more than you have to in order to get your message across. As they say, pictures speak a thousand words so include sharp, professional images within newsletters and make sure those images link back to the appropriate landing pages of your website. Within each section of your newsletter, limit word count to around 50-60 words and have your offer’s most important keywords and key phrases towards the front of the newsletter for the benefit of skim readers; emphasise important components of any offer using bold type.

Target Your Campaigns

Provide your customers with a selection of special interest groups to opt-in to. That way they only receive information relevant to their interests. SiteSuite CMS allows you to create as many subscriber groups as you need, and then place subscriber fields on any web or product page for visitors to opt-in to. With targeted campaigns your open rates will rise and fewer recipients will unsubscribe to newsletters of little or no interest to them.

Newsletters Are More Than Just Sales Vehicles

Your recipients will grow tired of receiving the same newsletters if all you’re doing is sending sales offers with each campaign. Get into the habit of sending valuable information that helps your subscribers get better value from your products or services. Highlight features they otherwise may have missed; inform them of relevant updates or industry news. Sending the same sales offers every 2-3 months to boost sales is not only repetitious but it becomes predictable and stale.

Track, Tweek and Evolve

Keep track of each campaign’s successes and failures, and make changes to future campaigns to avoid either low open rates or click rates. Perhaps your click rates suffered because the call to action was buried deep inside text, or the call to action didn’t evoke enough curiosity in your readers. Send campaigns on different days and times, and avoid weekends and nights.