Email campaigns are Cheap and Fast Online Marketing Tools

Who hates SPAM ? We all do. Unfortunately spam has given email campaigns a bad name, but really they are not email campaigns they are simply email pains. What is the single most important thing about email campaigns ? Answer - Making sure that the people you send to know who you are and that they agree to receive your emails. In web speak this is known as "opt in" emails. In other words the people receiving emails from you have opted in to recieve those emails.

What is involved ?

First of all you need your database of email addresses ( remember these must be people you know or people that have opted in to receive emails from you ). Once you have these you need to create your email, but think carfeully about how you construct that email. Should it be a simple plain text email or an HTML email ?

For those of you who are unsure what the difference is - an HTML email will more often than not contain colours and images, whereas a plain text one will be exactly that - it will contain simple black text on a white background. Most people think that colourful emails with images look better, and they can, but they also cause more problems than they are sometimes worth. Indeed for clients we often create both a plain text email campaign and an HTML email campaign. The problem is many businesses block HTML emails because they are worried about viruses and spam.

So you build your HTML and / or plain text email campaign, but how do you send this out ? There are a number of options available. You can purchase an offline email campaign solution that is downloaded onto your PC and send your campaign via that once you have uploaded your database of emails. Another option is you purchase an online solution that follows similar methodology.

Alternatively you can have an email solution built onto the back end of your website. This would allow you to send emails and maintain your email database, and also perhaps tie this in with a register page on the front end of your website that would allow people to register for emails from you. They complete the simple form and their details are stored in the online database and the next time you create and send an email they will receive it.

You may also chose to utilise the services of a business such as Kiswebs who would take care of all the above on your behalf - but remember if you supply us with a list of email addresses you must satisfy us that they are indeed legitimate email addresses that you have the right to send emails to.

What must you do ?

When sending out an email campaign you MUST allow an option for the receiver to opt out from recieving the emails you are sending.

You would probably have seen the term "unsubscribe" mentioned in emails you have received . Without using a statement such as "to unsubscribe from receiving these emails please contact us including the word unsubscribe in the Subject line" you may be breaking the law.

A better option is if you are using an email campaign solution that automatically unsubscribes email addresses once the receiver simply clicks on the word "unsubscribe".

At the end of the day we want to get information about our products and services to our contacts that they will see as being of value - the last thing you want to do is annoy them.

What should be included in the email ?

Lets be honest - people cannot be bothered reading a long email these days. There has to be compelling reasons for someone to spend the time to read a long email, so lets get that part sorted out first of all. Your email should not be too wordy. Keep it short.

Have a simple introduction with bullet points that clearly state the main points that you are trying to get across. Importantly have links that link through to areas on your website that explain things in much more detail. That way people can chose to go to an area and read a specific bit of information that is of interest to them, instead of you trying to cram everything onto your email.

What to be careful about

Today there is a proliferation of spam being received by everyone and as a result there is a proliferation of tools and software devised to catch spam before it reaches your inbox. Certain words are looked out for and if your Subject contains these words then your email may very well end up in the spam bin.

So be careful about how you word the subject line of your email. You need to be creative and use words that are reasonably non-descript but still get the message across.

Need to know more ?

Call us on 0141 332 7144 or alternatively contact us through our online contact form.