Email email email (Photo credit: RambergMediaImages)
- Offer something new
- Generate user content
- Give them freebies
- Remember them
- Send at the right time
The following is a guest post by Robert Woodford. His bio is at the end of the article.
Sales in a slump? It’s time to use your email marketing campaign to help you out. Many businesses are using what experts call email remarketing to reach out to established customers on an email marketing list and get them re-energized about the company’s products or services. Here are five ideas and how you can implement them into your own email marketing campaign:
Offer something new
Email subscribers often opt out of email marketing lists because they feel like they are hearing the same messages over and over again. Many also believe they can find the same content on a business website on their own time, and are likely to cut the excess by unsubscribing. Create exclusivity around your email marketing campaigns by offering subscriber-only products, sales and content.
Remind your customers that they are getting special deals as members of the list, and stick to your word. It may take some extra time to generate unique content, but it could pay off with more sales from your exclusive email-marketing clients.
Generate user content
User-generated content is a great way to help your customers feel part of your business, as well as add transparency to your company. Think about using your email marketing campaign to first ask for content, including testimonials, contests or polls. Make it fun and creative — something your customers would love to be a part of.
Adding a prize or benefit (like a discount) for individuals who participate or who “win” can also re-energize your audience. Step two is using your user-generated content for an email campaign revolving around your fans’ submissions.
Keeping a database of testimonials based on certain products can also help you personalize emails — if a user selects a certain product, a second email campaign could include testimonials from other customers based on products similar to the original product your customer ordered.
Give them freebies
Who doesn’t love freebies? Use your email marketing campaign to offer something completely free of charge for your customers. Consider an e-book or a small item — customize it based on your best products.
There are many goals for offering something free, from driving traffic to a website to bringing new customers in your store. An email marketing campaign can be the perfect conduit for making your customers excited about your company.
Remember them
Many companies, especially etailers with shopping cart functions on their site, use email marketing to reach out to customers who almost purchased or have purchased in the past. Set up your email list to send a reminder about items in a shopping cart that a customer might have left at the last minute, or suggest additional products or services as add-ons to his or her order.
Personalize these emails based on products your customers search. This personalized touch can make your customers feel like your business is looking out for them and can lead to even more sales.
Send at the right time
Seasonal businesses can benefit from sending email marketing campaigns at the right time. For instance, a jewelry store might start a campaign a few weeks before Valentine’s Day; a tax company right before April 15.
Reminding customers about products and services that fit the occasion is a great way to stay top-of-mind and re-energize a stagnant sales cycle.
Robert Woodford has been writing about email topics including email campaign management for more than a decade. When not at his computer or writing, Robert loves to play disc golf and swim (when weather permits).
