E-Mail & E-Newsletters

E-mails-- are like flyers that a company might distribute. They are usually focused on a single product. The should be personal (But not too buddy-buddy or you'll turn off anyone who doesn't know you.)

E-newsletters --are more like a mini-magazine with a regular mailing, and a list of contents. It may be used to sell several products and often contains educational or informative content. They have a fixed format.

Welcome e-mails (welcome to our website or welcome to our newsletter). Surprise them with a gift for signing up. Offer a gift for signing up, then surprise them with an additional gift when they do so.

If they buy something, be sure to offer help in how to use the product. Offer other products that complement the original purchase. Do it with an honest desire to help the customer.

About 40% of the those who receive and open an e-mail, do so because of a good subject line. Finding a good subject line requires testing. Two similar subject lines can have widely varied results. Testing is the only way to find out which is best. Send out several versions to 10% of your list the first day of the promotion. Track to find out which works the best. Send the best to the other 90% the 2nd day.

Use text primarily. HTML uses graphics. Tracking with html is easier. (If you restrict html in your own e-mail in box, the sender has a harder time tracking, and it will reduce spam.) We expect e-mails to be like a letter, so we're more likely to read it if the graphics are not obvious.

Companies should put thought and effort into e-mail responses to take advantage of great opportunities to improve their marketing results. A copywriter writing those e-mails can help a company improve their bottom line.

The e-mail response can start to build a great relationship with customers, which can be expanded over the next weeks and months. The goal of building this relationship is to help the customer reach his own goals.

Be relevant to the prospect's needs. Be respectful of the prospect's time and space. Be persuasive in your desire to help the prospect.

An opening paragraph that paints a picture for the prospect where they can see themselves in a situation where they would want it is a great way to start. Make it short, 3-4 sentences-- such as: "Sitting in their office, with a difficult listing on their desk, can cause worry lines in the faces of many real estate pros. Ever happen to you? We have helped move some of the most difficult, and we'd like to offer our services to you."

E-newsletters should be personal. Write like the interesting guy at the party would talk. The information in the newsletter should be useful and relevant. Don't use them strictly for hard promoting of your products.

One of the best ways to make a newsletter is to compile or aggregate information from several different sources. That way the customer only has to go to your source to get the nitty-gritty of what is available.

Telling a story, and telling it well, at the beginning of the newsletter can get your letter read, and passed on to other readers. That expands your readership and increases sales of items that are promoted. If the promotion is secondary to the story or other interesting information, the sales will come. And they will likely increase because the potential buyers are less likely to unsubscribe because of lack of interest.

Use humor. Just joke around about things that are going on, without trying so hard to just sell. This relaxes the reader and makes them more open to the power of suggestion. Then the soft sell generates more sales that the hard sell.

Give useful information, handy tips, interviews, case studies, Q & A sessions, guides, without being promotional. Giving value builds your reputation. Selling all the time spends your reputation.

Always be honest.

Do a Q & A where you answer one question each time. Use the other questions to decide what to emphasize in future site development.

Another way to interact is with a survey.

Review all automated e-mails to improve response.