You’ve got your inbound marketing covered. Visitors to your site can sign up for an offer or subscribe to your blog. Once on your list, you’ve got a sales funnel in place, showing you understand your visitors’ business challenges at the top and leading them down to the point where they see you as the solution to their problems. But what about your outbound marketing?
Despite the growing power of social media, email marketing still rules when it comes to lead generation. So if your sales are flat, or you want an additional boost, it’s time to flex your outbound marketing muscle and do a targeted email campaign to your list of ideal clients.
But with billions of emails floating over the internet, how can you make your campaign stand out? How do you avoid being dismissed out of hand or, worse, branded as spam?
Here are some six best practices to incorporate into your next email marketing campaign to make it effective and successful.
6 Best Practices for a Successful Outbound Marketing Campaign
To increase your odds of having a successful email campaign, follow each of these six best practices. You’ll be glad you did!
Tailor Your Approach
When it comes to outbound marketing, one size never fits all. If you just use a boilerplate approach, touting what you offer, and not taking into account the specific needs of your target, you will be ignored or labeled spam.
Send your email to a specific target – a certain job title at a particular business vertical. Don’t begin the message by talking about yourself and the great things you can do. Nobody likes a self-centered boor. First show you understand the recipient’s business challenge and their pain points.
When they start nodding that you get it, then they’ll be ready to hear what you have to offer.
Be Familiar, But Not Too Familiar
Understanding your target and personalizing your email communications are good practices. But if you are too familiar (Dear Bart: How’s life treating you today?) that’s just a turnoff, like a stranger greeting you at a party as if they already know you.
That said, using personalized fields, such as first name, company name, location, etc., are a great way to make the recipient feel as if you are talking directly to them.
Create the Perfect Subject Line
Your email won’t work at all if the recipient doesn’t click on it in their inbox. So your subject line is all-important. It must hook their interest without the kind of loud carnival shouting accompanying huckster offers from overseas princes offering you half their fortunes.
You are sending the email to a specific target with specific business needs. Your subject line should show you understand these and hint that a solution will be offered.
The character count of the subject line is also relevant. Some research shows that 60-to-70 character-count subject lines tend to get ignored, so going longer or shorter than this will often get you better results.
Send at the Right Time
This may seem counterintuitive, the best time to send email is after hours – from 8 pm to midnight – not during the usual working day. The theory is, you want to arrive in your target’s email inbox when it is not crowded with competing email marketing messages. For the same reason, it sometimes works well to send the email during the weekend.
Remember That Mobile Matters
An increasing number of people are consuming their online data through smartphones and other mobile devices. Make sure that you use a responsive design in creating your email, so it looks nice and reads well no matter which device is used for opening.
Don’t Forget Your Call to Action
You met someone by accident at a coffee shop, hit it off, leave feeling good and then remember you forgot to give your phone number and arrange for a date.
Don’t regret lost opportunities. Your outbound sales must have a strong call to action, getting the recipient to ask for more information, to buy your product or services, or to snap up your special offer. You’ve got to close the deal.
Whether you need a strong call to action or a complete content marketing campaign, VirTasktic offers a wide range of business services that will give your company a competitive edge Contact us today to find out how our team of marketing professionals can build your business.
