With the Internet becoming vaster every second, more outlets for communication are becoming available. The ever-popular Facebook offers free ways to communicate and promote, and of course, Twitter is picking up speed as well.

What was before these social media outlets, however? E-mail marketing. And although it’s highly effective when used correctly, it’s becoming lost during the hyped up times of social media and fairly cheap PPC.

As I’ve said before, the most effective marketing strategy involves strategically using several outlets working together, driving the same message. Here are some tips and reasons to continue using e-mail marketing so that it once again can be integrated into the marketing mix and make a difference:

Top 3 Reasons to Continue E-mail marketing

1. It’s free! Who doesn’t like free?

2. Now more than ever, people continuously check their e-mail, usually daily.

3. If you have any kind of e-mail list, it’s because people were genuinely interested in your company, product or service.

E-mail Marketing Tips

• Create a plan for your e-mails so that they will work in conjunction with another marketing endeavor or so that other tactics will work with the e-mail, such as social media outlets.
• Make sure any e-mail blast you send out is worth the readers’ time. Is it interesting? Is it real news?
• If the blast is for a new product or product update, don’t just tell them. Give your readers an incentive.
• Use Spell Check! (easy enough, but often over looked)
• Keep all e-mail lists up to date.
• Avoid spamming! If they didn’t willingly provide their e-mail, don’t make your name be the one that people think “Oh, that’s the annoying company that sends me worthless junk mail all the time.”
• To grow your list, be involved and interactive. The more people you meet, the more contacts you make.
• Use the sale data base the most you can.
• Add requests to other outlets, such as your social media or at an event, to be added to your e-mail list.
• Just like in web copy, highlight the e-mail content with bullets and bold the most important phrases.
• Comply with web consortium standards to ensure your e-mails aren’t considered spam.
• Make sure your content has a personality that your target responds to.
• Test e-mails by sending the first draft to yourself and make sure it looks the way you intended.
• Make sure the e-mail is easy to read and not too lengthy.
• Keep your subscribers continually informed and updated with news and insights.
• Include an interactive signature in every e-mail:

  – Contact info
  – Product/service incentive
  – Links to social media