A good email marketing campaign design results from several things.  Keeping it simple is the first and foremost, but if it contains a flashy headline and opening with no real content, you are unlikely to get the results you desire.   People avoid the ‘gimmicky’, so if yours is, you should consider a redesign as outlined below.

A “Newsletter” is Better

The Nielson Norman Group reports that the average email newsletter reader spends an average of fifty seconds in review.   However, a simple email is likely to hold a readers attention for only about four seconds.   So, a newsletter is a better choice because it will likely hold your readers attention for ten times as long. This now brings us to the ideal design of the newsletter or email.

Design Copy for Target Audience

What is most important is to establish an email marketing design that will strongly attract attention, but also hold it for an extended period of time.   Most consumers only read a small fraction of the emails they get, and most of the ones that are actually opened are only scanned for content.  Different people react to different advertising stimuli, so you need to be sure to design your copy in a way that targets the kind of audience you are trying to appeal to.

A Personalized Compelling Subject Line

Because most emails are never opened, it is critical that your subject line stand out from the rest to ever have a chance.  Most email marketers personalize the subject line, as well as the actual body copy.   Your subject line must be presented in a way that clearly promises a unique and exceptional solution to a particular problem or issue.  Alternative, the subject line may challenge a commonly held belief or notion that your target audience may hold.  Take a few days to list the subject lines that have compelled you to actually read an incoming email, then analyze them to understand why they worked with you.

Additive Colors and Graphics Can Help

Another of the key elements in your email design may involve the use of colors and graphics in ways that  that quickly call  the attention of your readers to key benefit statements and calls for action.  At the same time, be sure that the colors do not impact the flow of the narrative in a negative by integrating them smoothly, and that any graphics employed have a clear purpose other than to simply be pretty or attractive.  Colors and graphics must be a clear element of the message you are trying to convey.

Key Elements/Challenges Upfront

Additionally, recognizing that you really have only 4-5 seconds to gain the attention of the typical email scanner, you need to present your copy in a way that the key elements and challenges of your message stand out quickly.   Furthermore, they must be presented in a way that not only grabs attention, but also compels the reader to continue on to get even better information.

Clear Call for Action

Finally, your email marketing message must convey a clear and compelling call for action from the reader.  Be very specific about what you want them to do and provide them all the information and contact information they will need to get the acton accomplished quickly.

Click Here for the Best Available Email Marketing Service

So you are ready to start your new email campaign and you have made your choice about the right email marketing software.   Now, you need to understand and decide on the factors that are needed to insure a quality email campaign.  A number of quality tips and techniques for this are summarized from the advice of many noted experts in the field of email and online marketing.

Make Sure You Are Targeting Your Recipients

Many email campaigns fail due to failure to clearly understand who was being targeted with the campaign.  Make sure that your list of recipients have already expressed interest in your subject in one way or another, either by opting in to your subject area or by prior purchases of similar products.  Understand how customer location and prior buying habits will likely affect or impact the success of your campaign.

Personalize Your Emails

You should always address you email prospects by name if at all possible.   In addition, be sure that your emails are shown to be coming from the same address every time.  Building trust is a key strategy for email marketing, and the more personal you make the messages, the more trust you can build over time.   In addition, provided you continue to offer value in your emails, they will have a much better chance of being opened and read.

Use a Very Simple and Readable Layout

Make your copy clearly understandable and easy to navigate.  You are likely to have your readers attention for only an instant, so make sure the key essence of your message is up front.    Don’t overuse flashy graphics, large fonts and other “loud” looking items.

Keep Your Copy Succinct

Again, don’t be tempted to expand excessively on the product or service you are offering.  Use economical language and short paragraphs. Keep your line length to a maximum of sixty characters.  If you need to expand on something in detail, link your readers to a more detailed landing page on your website.

Be Sure to Include a Clear Call to Action

After all, the purpose of your email should be to get your prospects to actually do something.  Otherwise, what’s the point of taking their valuable time and wasting yours.   You could be asking them to make a purchase, register for a contest,  fill out a survey, etc.    It’s imperative that you actually have a clear call to action in your emails.

Create a Truly Compelling Subject Line

This is the absolute front line of your campaign, and it will make or break your success.  If your recipients are not somehow immediately intrigued by your subject line, you have virtually no chance of getting your email read regardless of how compelling your copy is.  However, it is very important that  you use honest, though compelling copy.  Avoid the typical hot button phrases like “Make Money”.   Be creative in developing copy that tells the truth, but in a way that will likely pique the recipients interest at the same time.

Success can’t be entirely guaranteed by following these principles in the creation of your campaign, but your chances for achieving your objectives will improve dramatically.

Here is my call to action for you. Click on the links below to get a variety of additional timely tips on designing effective email campaigns.

If you have any intention to start an email marketing campaign…. it’s really clear that you need an e-mail marketing list, but where can you get one to use?  Often, people commit the cardinal sin of buying an e-mail marketing list.  Take my advice and the don’t make a similar mistake.

You’ll need good Email Marketing Software Too…  Click Here for the Best!

I’m sure you seen the ads that offer you tens of thousands or even millions of e-mail addresses at very low cost.  Unfortunately, if you fall for those ads and buy and use one of those lists,  you stand a very good chance of being labeled as a spammer.

These addresses are typically bogus, or  old and much abused.  If your e-mail does get through, its highly likely to end up in someone’s junk email box.  Typical email marketing statistics are that about 70% of e-mail addresses you buy are either bogus or duplicated, and the remainder are highly likely to have not agreed to receive your e-mails.

In addition, there are services where you can rent e-mail lists that may in fact be legitimate and double opt in as well, but these may cost as much as $.20-$.30 per e-mail.  At these rates,   your e-mail copy and your offermust be exceptional to achieve a return on your investment.  Keep in mind that the primary goal of any e-mail marketing campaign is to be sending your offerings to people who actually want to hear from you.

So, the big question is, where can you find those people?  Far and away, the best bet is to build your own list of double opt in e-mail addresses for people who actually have expressed interest in hearing from you, and who are interested in what you offer.  The list defined below includes a number of ways to accomplish this:

1. Opt in form on your webpage: Use an opt in form and webpage to ask visitors sign up for your newsletter, and it is most effective to offer a free report and return for their name and e-mail address.

2. The direct mail option: This requires a have a list of potential customers to which you can send a flyer or postcard.  Use this method to ask the recipients to visit your website and sign-up for your free report or newsletter.

3. Use the telemarketers: If you have the funds, you could potentially use a telemarketing service to make direct contact with your potential clients.  The telemarketers should be instructed to collect the e-mail addresses, possibly in return for a special incentives.

4. Lead brokers: You can sign up with websites that offer brew for your brokerage services for leads.  Most lead brokers will offer this service for averages $.10-$.15 per e-mail message.

5. Door-to-door: Consider hiring students who are willing to go door-to-door to collect e-mail addresses.  In return for free offers and information.

6. Online contests: Yse contest entry forms on your website to collect e-mail addresses.  Be sure that the contest entrants are aware that you may be following up with them with additional offers.

7.  Retail outlets solutions: If you operate a physical business, ask for the e-mail addresses for each of your customers that will enable you to follow up with them later with information about specials and other offers.  It’s a good idea to get in some kind of coupon or other incentives in return for the e-mail address.

So, as you can see there are certainly broad variety of ways to start building your e-mail list, regardless of the kind of business you are in.

However, if you are able to build a list numbering in the hundreds or thousands, it is essential that you have an effective auto responder system that will enable you automatically distribute your messages and offers. Just submit your name and email below for a free test drive