It’s important for email campaigns to look professional.  Most recipients will not read emails that arrive in an unprofessionally cluttered format.  The information needs to be clearly laid out in a clean design.  When creating an email campaign there are basically two layout options.  A custom design or a email service provider template. A custom layout

It should go without saying that your email campaigns should be legal.  However, many people that get started with email marketing are unaware of the legal requirements.  Here is a list of the base legal requirements: Authenticate return address Include a valid physical address Provide a one-click unsubscribe feature Prohibit importing lists of purchased addresses

Email marketing does not work like regular advertising.  Regular ads are sent out to the general population.  The hope is that it will engage a small subset who will take action.  Subscribers typically opt-in for specific content or topics, not ads.  They might appreciate advertising that features products or services they have expressed interest in. They are

Tracking and measuring is an often overlooked piece of email marketing.  Everyone likes to talk about the data that is available through email marketing but few people actually use the information to improve their email campaigns.  Track and measure your email campaigns success to optimize it for maximum returns. The first step in tracking and

An email marketing campaign is only as good as the list it’s sent to.  Of course Tactic #4 covers getting names responsibly but maintaining contacts must also be actively managed.  After all, just because a person subscribes to the list doesn’t mean they are agreeing to receive it forever.  Maintenance efforts are necessary to ensure

Even in email, content is king.  A significant portion of marketing emails do a poor job with content.  This comes in two forms: Ads with no value proposition Untargeted blasts Ads with no value propostion are the “selfish” looking SPAM emails we all receive . . . “Look at this” . . . “Buy This”

An email marketing campaign is only a campaign if it has cohesion.  Recipients should easily see a progression.  The progression should be designed to provide expected content and lead recipients to a goal.  The most common goal is a conversion to a sale or a lead. So how is cohesion attained?  The first is that

Set a schedule for sending emails and stick to it.  It is not OK to haphazardly deviate from the send schedule.  A major part of email marketing success is due to reinforcement.  When the reinforcement is eroded the message fractures. Think of the email campign as a publication (whether subscribers are paying for it or not).