TYPES OF EMAIL MARKETING

Before you begin your email marketing campaign, you have to consider just what your objective is. Of course, you want to sell, but the business of marketing is a little more subtle than that. In fact, there are many ways to go about selling your product or service via an email campaign. As it were, email, besides being extremely cost effective is also quite flexible.

Direct Email: A direct email approach is pretty straightforward. It consists of sending out a promotional message in an email. The information contained in the email can simply be an announcement of new items, a special offer or discount, or it can be a friendly introduction.

Retention Email: The retention email takes on a different character. In this instance, you're trying to keep customers coming back. You want loyalty. So, instead of a simple promo, a retention email should aim at developing a long term relationship with your customers. It should offer something more than just advertisements. You want to give your customers valuable information. You want to entertain your customers, keep them smiling during the day.

Once you determine what sort of email campaign you want to design, there are many different approaches you can take.

Email Newsletters: An email newsletter doesn't focus directly on sales. The purpose of a newsletter is to foster a relationship with your customer. You do this by giving them information that's of use to them, whether it be a weekly column about how to stay in shape, or a monthly recipe special. The content should be entertaining, easy to read, and thoughtful; it should reflect the core values of your company. Newsletters are an excellent opportunity to develop your brand, to make it stand for something. In the end, a good newsletter will lead to an indirect increase in sales.

Catalog Emails: An email catalog is an electronic representation of your product listing. This approach is more direct than a newsletter; it gets straight to the point. Of course, you do want to deliberate carefully about the design and aesthetics of the catalog. If your email catalog is hastily put together, without thought or care, you might as well abandon your email campaign and start over. Design is everything.

Best of Email: This approach goes along the lines of a catalog, but rather than displaying all your wares, you showcase a selected few that you have handpicked. The structure is fairly simple-all that's required are a few promo shots, some quick copy and links to process orders.

Top Ten Emails: If you don't want to do an all out newsletter or if you want to simply mix things up, you might want to think about sending a top ten email. These consist of facts and tips that will promote your product while giving customers helpful information. Any variation, e.g. top five ways to save money and look beautiful, or seven can't miss tips, etc., works well too.

How To Email: This is very similar to the Top Ten approach, except rather than offering a list, you offer a tutorial. Show your customers how to make a birdhouse or knit a sweater, for example.

Press Release: A press release are the perfect way to get your company news coverage. This is especially useful if you have media contacts.

There is no one size fits all solution. Try out different methods to see what works best for your company. Get creative. Just remember to keep your customers at the forefront.