Email marketing is an incredibly popular marketing strategy–and for good reason. It works! Unfortunately, tougher SPAM filters mean more and more valid messages are winding up in SPAM folders.
Would you like to guarantee YOUR email campaigns are delivered to the in-box where they belong? Then you absolutely MUST implement these best practices. Because an email in the spam-can is a waste of your precious time and money.
1. Provide Valuable Content
Make sure all of your emails are relevant to your contacts. Send you customer and prospects an invitation, a tip or trick of the trade, a coupon, a friendly note, or an offer. Just make sure it’s something they’ll want to receive from you.
2. DON’T Buy or Rent Lists
Doing so almost guarantees you’ll be spamming people. Did you collect the names? Did the people ask you for information? Nope? Then it’s SPAM!
“But where do I get names from?” you might ask. Well, start with what you’ve got, ask for referrals, put banners on sites, use pay-per-click-ads, get people to post about you, use lead generation tools, and use social networking. May sound like a slow start…buy boy does it beat paying fines for breaking SPAM rules.
3. Double Opt-in Your Contacts
That basically guarantees you have permission to market to them. Double opting-in requires your contacts to confirm their contact information BEFORE you start you email marketing campaigns. It’s an extra step, and yes, you will lose some of your potential leads. But the odds of being considered a “spammer” go way down!
4. Clean Your Contact List Every 6-12 Months
This means you take every contact that you haven’t engaged with somehow – no downloads, no requests, no new opt-ins – and do one of two things. Either delete them from the list or send an email that asks them to confirm their continued interest.
5. Know the CAN-SPAM Guidelines
The rules about SPAM regulate your header content, your subject line information, your opt-out requirements, and how you identify yourself. Know the rules so you can keep your money in your pocket.
For more information about improving your email marketing practices, download a free guide about Email Marketing 2.0.
