Email marketing is not just about sales pitches. It is required that you address your clients as if you are having a direct conversation with them. This means that your campaigns should be more personalized. Non-personal email marketing is called spamming. Thanks to this phenomenon, it became a necessity to personalize email campaigns. Seasoned email marketers realized that spam destroys online reputations and customer loyalty. Hence, they began to tackle the problem with permission based free email marketing. There is a list of best practices that you need to abide by. The following are some of them.
Get your clients’ permission
Non-permission based email marketing can damage online reputations and you may have to face legal action. Even worse, your clients are likely to lodge spam complaints against you, if you send them stuff they’ve not asked for. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will blacklist your name and emails from your domain will be completely debarred, if there are too many spam complaints against you. It’s not difficult to get permission from your potential clients. Ask them to register for your campaign and offer them something valuable, in return. You may offer them some tips, a discount coupon or a free gift.
Offer your clients’ both Plain Text and HTML formats
Let your clients decide, if they want to read your emails in plain text or HTML format. Some email clients and web based email services do not support HTML; while some others may not display the content properly. Be on the safer side; offer your clients both formats. This process will make sure that your email reaches your clients. HTML based emails may set off spam filters and never reach your clients’. A plain text email, on the other hand, has a better chance to make it to your clients’ inbox.
Test your message thoroughly
Before you dispatch emails, test them thoroughly for spam and compatibility. As mentioned above, certain web based email services or clients may not support HTML or open the mails correctly. Use email marketing software to test your campaign thoroughly. This will enable you to make the necessary changes so that the emails look the same on all clients. Test your campaign for spam as well. Get rid of content that’s likely to trigger spam filters. For instance, you should avoid words like free, offer, one million dollars etc.
These tips will be useful for you to start your campaign. You can also consult some other free resources that provide tips on how to develop your free email marketing campaign.
Jamie Colbs is a html email newsletter templates best practices activist advocate for Benchmark Email , a leading Web and permission-based email marketing service.
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Thank you for the post. A successful email marketing campaign consists of 3 elements: opt-in list of subscribers, good email newsletter including an opt-out link and a good program to manage bounces and unsubscribe requests. And email marketing software is a must-have tool for everyone who is serious about online business. A good email marketing software must allow easily and quickly send email newsletters and manage contact lists. Plus, some programs have built-in unsubscribe features and allow tracking email campaigns that is very helpful for email marketers.