Email Marketing: A Simple and Effective Sales Tool
Posted by Yvette | Under Online Marketing Tuesday Jan 5, 2010
The world of sales and marketing has changed radically over the last several years. Today’s consumers are now being asked for permission to advertise to them. Small business owners are in a unique position to benefit from this shift in marketing, and the email newsletter is one of their most effective tools.
What is email marketing? Email marketing is a form of direct marketing. Most email marketers utilize a service like Constant Contact to create HTML emails that have the look and feel of their organization’s website.
The goal of email marketing is to build trust and to educate. When people get to your website by clicking an online advertisement they’re in new territory and their guard is up. They don’t know you and they don’t know your company. Email marketing provides you with an opportunity to nurture these leads, to build the relationship and to turn them into paying customers.
Be sure that you’re attracting the right prospects. In your keyword research you’ll find that some keywords don’t necessarily lead to sales. These are the keywords used by people who are still in the research phase; they aren’t ready to buy but they’re eager to learn. This is your target audience for an email newsletter.
Don’t waste the sign-up page. Your sign-up page should include a sampling of the type of quality material that consumers can expect to receive in your newsletter. Many newsletter sign-up pages contain a promise of what the newsletter will deliver, a box to enter an email address, and nothing more. Use your sign-up page to showcase some of your best blog entries, include links to guides, charts, and more. Use it to convince consumers that your newsletter is one that’s really worth signing up for. Always be sure to offer a freebie to seal the deal. A free guide, a consultation, and a sample of your product are all good possibilities.
Deliver a high quality newsletter. Email marketing is not about smoke and mirrors. It’s about delivering interesting and useful content. Consider the keywords that these people originally used to find your company. Tap into what interests them and use your email newsletter to answer their questions. Don’t push your own products too soon. They’re expecting high quality, free information. Give it to them. This will build trust. After the first 4-5 emails, then start subtly pointing them back to your products. Let them know how one of your products provides a solution to a common problem in your industry.
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