3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Email Marketing
Here are a few common sense ideas to spruce up your email marketing. Not only do these tips seem really logical they’re also not difficult to implement.
1. Always use a linked call to action
The basic idea of a call to action email is to focus your email on getting subscribers to take a particular action, and including text that encourages them to do so.
A mistake most people make, though, is to use a call to action and then paste the link below the call to action.
That was what I used to do, too, but I recently started linking my calls to action text to the specific link I want subscribers to click, and I saw an increase in clickthrough rates of over 50%.
2. Use a custom email template
On average, with text-based email I get around eight to ten unsubscribes per email, but with a custom HTML template that figure has reduced to two unsubscribes.
Most people will think this is a fluke, and has something to do with my message, but let me explain the idea behind it.
Having an HTML template that is designed the same way as your blog template helps reinforce your brand to your subscribers. As a result, no matter how long it’s been since you sent your last message, they will remember you once they see that template. Text-based emails can also get boring—especially when you consider the fact that most people get dozens of them daily.
Having a custom HTML email template helps you stand out—it places your brand in your subscribers’ inbox and ensures no one else can copy your approach.
3. Don’t use shortened links
The problem with link shorteners is that their advantage is their disadvantage. Instead of having to include one ugly long link in an email you can easily shorten it to a few letters and enjoy the ability to track clicks to it.
The problem is that email spammers also know this, and are now abusing link shorteners. They send spam emails to people who never subscribed to their lists, using shorteners to cloak their links and track results. As a result, most of the popular link shortening services have been blacklisted by email servers.
(via ProBlogger)