Is email marketing old-fashioned or the best-kept secret weapon?

Social media seems to be today’s topic of marketing conversation; after all, it’s where the chatter starts. But according to most studies, email marketing is, in fact, the secret weapon to successfully attracting consumers, prospects and engaging current clients. Your social platforms just help propagate the news.

If you don’t already engage in email marketing with your customers and prospects, now is the time to open up that direct line of communication and increase the probability of conversion to sales. Whether you’re waking up dormant clients from the summer beach season outing, or simply trying to attract a new database, the following guidelines should be carefully considered:

1. Subject line – This is the most important part of an email as it is what the reader will see first and needs to be enticed to open. The subject line should include a clearly articulated message (45 characters or less to catch attention). Do not use caps, exclamation points, or spam-like headlines.
2. Header – The second most important feature of an email. The most pertinent information should be distilled in the headline.
3. Body – The message should be clear and strong to intrigue the member to read more. If the email is related to a news update of your company, embed the link within the text to the news or a PDF of a reprint (all rights purchased, of course, if using a PDF). Weave hashtags and twitter handles into the text (i.e. “TeraExchange Launches First Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives Trading http://bit.ly/1qOlsqm  @TeraExchange #bitcoin”) to increase click-through rates and ultimately more exposure.
4. Closing – Call to action (i.e. “Contact us today at XXXX”, “Visit our website”, “Start trading now”, “For more information on increasing trade volumes, click here”, etc.) Here is where you want to draw your sleepy clients or prospects to your contact information.
5. Footer – In the case of html blasts, contact information and social icons with embedded links to landing pages (LinkedIn & Twitter page), and/or sharing options (forward, tweet) & unsubscribe ability (required).

General recommendations:

• Remember, don’t waste your words. Use them sparingly and stick to the information you are trying to deliver.
• Make your emails visually appealing but do not overuse imagery.
• Leave plenty of white space.
• Limit content to bullets and short paragraphs. The information must be easily read, digested and retained.
• Be sure to send numerous test emails before sending along to members. There will always be mistakes.