Thomas Ligor of New York is a marketing strategist for the Chelsea Market. In the following article, Thomas Ligor discusses best practices of email marketing for business, and why this strategy is an important aspect of advertising.
Looking to expand a new business? There are few ways more effective than email marketing. Those on your email list may not remain interested if the proper strategies are not used. In order to prevent this, Thomas Ligor reviews what’s best for building and maintaining a strong email list.
First, a business should look to create the best first impression possible. In addition, a good marketer will review the subscriber list and remove all invalid email receivers, as well as obtaining accurate permissions.
In this article, Thomas Ligor of New York reviews the five best practices for building and maintaining a strong email list. This way, any new business owner or simply anyone new to email marketing will be able to get the most out of how to build and maintain a strong, engaged subscriber list.
Maintaining a Strong Email List
Once an entrepreneur has their email list, they should start sending out promotional material and general advertising right away. However, there are ways to do this that succeed and ways to do this that will, unfortunately, fail.
Thomas Ligor of New York has compiled a list of the best practices for success when it comes to building and maintaining a strong email list:
- Start With the Best Foot Forward
- Clean Out Invalid Email Addresses
- Obtain Explicit Permissions
- Allow Audience to Manage Their Own Subscribing
- Win Back The Attention of Quiet Subscribers
A closer look at each of these practices is discussed below so that anyone interested in utilizing these techniques can be sure to get the absolute most out of their efforts.
Start with the Best Foot Forward
Thomas Ligor of New York explains that before anything else, a subscriber should receive an email welcoming them to the company’s email list, or newsletter. It should include a greeting that mentions the name of the subscriber for a personal touch. Another tip is to include some instructions, if applicable, for the customer to follow in order to enjoy the services or products offered by the company.
This can sometimes include a welcome bonus or coupon, which is always a great way to win the hearts of potential customers. Additionally, this is a great time to remind the customer to add the business to their list of automatically-approved senders.
Don’t forget to cap it all off with an encouragement for customers to provide feedback on how the business can best suit the needs of the customer.
Clean Out Invalid Email Addresses
Subscribers that have provided an invalid email address can clutter up a customer list. This can cause a cluttered inbox and can reduce responses to actual customers.
Also, Thomas Ligor says that providers of email services keep watch over the IP addresses of emails that have high rates of returned or “bounced” emails and could add the new company to a type of blacklist! The more emails that make it to valid addresses safely, the less chances there are of those same emails being sifted into a recipient’s spam or junk folder over time.
Finally, it will also cost the sender less money over time to reduce the email list, and only pay to send to actual customers that are opening the notifications from your business.
Obtain Explicit Permissions
It is important for an email list operator to allow subscribers to join on their own. The permission of the recipient has to be received before relevant messages can be sent.
Allow the subscriber to use a sign-up form on the business’ website. Then, Thomas Ligor suggests using a two-step process that has the subscriber confirm that address and check a box confirming that they do want to receive emails. This covers all legal bases, too.
Allow Audience to Manage Their Own Subscribing
According to HubSpot’s data, as many as sixty-nine percent of United States email users choose to unsubscribe from a listing that sends emails too frequently. Send emails on a limited basis – Once per week should suffice, unless there is a valid reason to send more – like a contest or promo.
Try to offer subscription preferences. This way, the subscriber feels that their opinion matters and they have freedom of control, while the sender stays off of the unsubscribe list!
Additionally, Thomas Ligor suggests making ways to unsubscribe very easy. Just knowing that this option is there can, again, increase that feeling of trust between sender and recipient.
Win Back the Attention of Quiet Subscribers
Finally, it is important to perform the due-diligence required even to subscribers that are inactive. Keep the subjects of emails compelling, and uncluttered. Make sure the campaigns of marketing are personalized to the target audience.
Thomas Ligor also says that businesses should offer coupons and discounts frequently, but not on a routine basis to keep up interest. As a last-ditch effort, send an email warning the inactive subscriber that they’re about to be removed from the list.
In Conclusion
Implementing best practices for email marketing can significantly enhance a business’s outreach and success. By crafting targeted and personalized messages, and regularly monitoring and analyzing campaigns, companies can ensure that emails are not only opened, but also engage and convert the target audience.
With these strategies in place, businesses can build long-term relationships with potential customers and email subscribers, driving revenue for the business. Remember, email marketing is not just about sending emails, but about creating valuable connections with the target audience. So, start implementing these best practices today and watch your business thrive!
