Email “Marketing?”

Your contact list is your secret weapon. Use it wisely.

Email is a powerful tool for networking, referrals and sales, and it can be far superior to Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media tools.

Why?

• True opt-ins: Your email address book is very different than your followers on social media. One click is all it takes to follow, so lot of people end up following everyone, and paying attention to no one. Email contacts are shared more deliberately, and there’s usually a real-world relationship behind each address. Keep in touch and you’ll strengthen that relationship.
• Trusted friends: Treat your email subscribers as insiders. Bounce ideas off them, offer them sneak previews, get feedback. Respect their time and intelligence, and they’ll be happy to hear from you.
• Block the ad blockers: More and more web surfers are tuning ads out. Now available on the web and on mobile, they are very effective at silencing the incessant noise of distracting, bandwidth-stealing, “targeted” advertising. Email is different. Avoid being “spammy,” and your message will end up right in your recipients’ mailboxes, where it will get seen, considered, and read.
• A quiet conversation: Email is a different environment from social media and the web in general. It feels calm and personal. It doesn’t flash, pop up, or spin. It’s a great place to have genuine, thoughtful, extended conversations.

Email engagement, not “email marketing.”

If your first impulse is to repeatedly blast generic sales messages to your entire list, stop for a minute. Treat it as simply advertising and your audience will quickly tune out. Bombard them with inbox filler, and they’ll unsubscribe. Worse yet, if they “block” your messages or “label as spam” too often, your entire domain may be blocked from major email carriers. That’s why you should never mass email direct from Outlook or other desktop mail clients—once your personal account is flagged as spam, even your non-commercial emails may go directly to the “spam” folder, never to be read.

Keep your contacts opted-in.

1. What do you want to share?
2. What does your recipient need to know?

If those two things are the same, you’ve made the right message decision for that audience. Think about who you like to hear from, and what you like to hear from them. Then tailor your outgoing messaging just as carefully.

1. How often should you email?

That depends on how time-sensitive your content is to your readers. Remember them? Talk to them! Ask them how often they want to hear from you. Send (short!) surveys to find out how your messaging is being received. Then take that advice to heart.

Now choose your tools.

The widest-advertised email marketing service providers are Constant Contact and Mailchimp. We like Mailchimp because while Constant Contact has a generous free 60-day trial, Mailchimp is a “freemium” plan—free forever if you don’t want to upgrade to their more advanced options.

There’s also Drip, SendinBlue, GetResponse, Campaigner, and many other great providers to choose from.

They all feature a drag-and-drop interface for easy content creation, picture and other content editors to add visual interest and increase open rates, web sign-up forms, and—most importantly—spam warnings. If your emails are getting flagged, you’ll get notified by your content manager before your engagement plans get ruined.

Need help getting started?

Radial Creations can help. From choosing a mail client to crafting your messaging, we are ready to help you make a great first—or lasting—impression.