Many times I’ve cautioned you against imitating what Big Brands do in their advertising.
It’s true, marketing at the small business level is very different. But there is one area where you can reliably do the same things the Big Guys are doing, and win:
Email Marketing.
It’s worthwhile subscribing to some of these just for tips. Newegg, Omaha Steaks, Groupon are some examples of companies whose email broadcasts are a model of “How to Do it.”
Here are some points to look at. Some of them apply only to promotional broadcasts, if yours are primarily informational, use what does apply.
1. Subject Line. These are always very well thought-out, to create interest. Usually they offer a discount. They also avoid certain words that trigger spam filters (you can Google that).
2. Layout. Simple but eye-catching. No more than two columns. A relatively narrow width, so even if you can’t see the whole thing in your preview pane, you can see the meat of it. and of course, it matches the branding of the website.
3. Use of Imagery. They are big on imagery without depending on it – since many people will not see the images until they click to download them.
4. Links. LOTS of links you can click on to go to their website. Even if they all go to the home page, they seem to offer different things.
5. Unsubscribe. Very easy unsubscribe, at bottom of the screen. In most cases, they now offer a “partial unsubscribe” such as to receive emails less often, or on fewer topics.
and of course….
6. Message Continuation. When you arrive on the website, the offer or item in the email is right in front of you, in the same words as the email.
