Gone are the days when marketing messages were chipped into stone or shouted by a town crier. These days, marketers have many ways to try to reach their target audiences, and sometimes it can be hard to know where to aim your efforts. The growing focus on social media marketing as the hot new thing doesn’t mean that email marketing should be left out in the cold. Emails are still a great way to get people to think about your brand – if you know how to do it right. This infographic from Online Course Report goes step by step through the process, letting you know how, when, and to whom you should be sending your emails.
The first step is to define your goals – are you hoping to build brand awareness, make an introduction, or conduct a survey? An email intended to generate a sale will be crafted differently than one meant to obtain a backlink. Next, identify your target audience. Steps 3-5 are to proofread, test, and repeat as necessary. There are a few things to keep in mind when writing your email:
- Personalization. Make reference to your recipient’s own site or business, and be sure to use their name in your salutation.
- Introduce Yourself. Let them know who you are, what you do, and provide a link to your company.
- Action Item. Suggest a course of action, keeping it short and sweet.
- Be Accessible. Sign off with a variety of ways to reach you. Include your Skype, Twitter, phone number, and anything else you may use.
Try to avoid the following email faux pas:
- Reaching out to media outlets that aren’t interested
- Using generic email addresses when sending requests
- Copying and pasting messages
- Forgetting to use spellcheck
Another thing to consider is when you are sending your emails. The peak time for percentage of emails opened is between 9am and noon, with about 28% of all emails opened between those time. Another 30% are opened during the afternoon, with the numbers tapering off around dinner time. Tuesdays and Thursdays show the highest email opening activity, with the numbers falling dramatically at the weekend. Your best bet for having your email read is to have a subject line that clearly describes the email contents, mentions your company name, and doesn’t come off as spammy. 35% of responses happen after a first email attempt, 30% after a second, and 21% after the third. After that, the chances of getting a response fall to 10% or less. Think about who you are targeting – if you manage to snag the attention of one big-time blogger, the traffic generated could be the same as that of six smaller bloggers.
Has this infographic given you a new appreciation for the art of email? Will you be setting up a schedule to take advantage of those peak email opening periods? Let me know in the comments!
