5 Practical Tips For A Newbie Email Marketer

Nowadays it’s very easy to take other people’s opinions as gospel truth.  This is especially true when one is just starting out with an online business and we turn to just about any resources to ensure success at the onset.

The same goes for email marketing. With so many email marketing gurus, applications and tips available online, it is so easy to get lost and stray away from the essentials.

Here are 5 very helpful tips that every newbie email marketer must know about.

1) Know what exactly you are spending for. Before you decide to sign up with an email marketing web software, make sure that you have made your diligent research of the features, pricing, customer and technical support of at least five (5) different email marketing service software or providers.  You might be surprised to know that a vendor that tops almost all review lists does not actually have auto responders or its equivalent. What a waste it could have been if you’ve signed up for full subscription only to find out that the feature you are looking out for is actually not available for you.

2) Avoid spamming, at all costs. Stating the obvious, spamming does not work. It is not only illegal, but the act of sending emails to a large number of people who have not requested such emails will turn off current contacts or potential customers.  You run the risk of having your business reputation ruined, or worse, facing a lawsuit in court.

3) Know What Is Single Opt-in, Double Opt-in, Opt-out. In single opt-in lists, anybody’s email address can be submitted by anyone to a list, and remains in such list until it is unsubscribed.  In double opt-in, a user subscribes to an email list or newsletter and then confirms such subscription by responding to a confirmation message.

The significance lies on the fact that studies show that customers who have chosen to receive email feel like they are in control and would more likely answer positively to subsequent messages. While with double opt-ins, there is that high risk of losing a subscriber who would not confirm a subscription, it would at least give you a streamline list of subscribers who have answered affirmatively to your mailings, and who are guaranteed to become your repeat customers.

4) Keep design clean and simple. If you are creating a newsletter or an email in HTML, always remember that nothing can go wrong with having a clean and simple design.  Templates are often available in most email marketing software products and these offer you the flexibility of modifying elements such as layout, graphic images, color and others.

5) Always keep your content fresh, interesting and updated. Keep in mind that the real challenge is not in getting them to sign up, but in having them remain in the list by their own choice.  You can do the writing yourself, but if you have difficulty coming up with ideas you can search and get ideas from free content or articles. Keep your messages fun, interesting, and informative enough to keep your subscribers to your list.