The value of your existing client base should not be overlooked. According to several sources, it is said to be at least 5 times cheaper to sell to an existing client than it is to acquire a new one. To put this into perspective, think about all the time you spend on initial phone calls, meetings, advertisements, etc… We all long for the day when we can close a deal in one simple phone call or meeting, but realistically it takes some time to acquire new business.

Current clients already understand the value of your services or products, but you must remember to keep them engaged with your business between each sale/job. A great way to do that is through newsletters and email updates – Email Marketing. There are several services online that are fairly easy to use, affordable, straight-to-the-point, and highly effective. You just have to choose the one that’s right for you. Some very popular options include MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Aweber.

Building a Campaign

Chances are you have a nice list of emails from past and current clients. However, it’s typically NOT good practice to blindly send out an email to everyone within the list. If they haven’t signed up to receive updates/newsletters, your emails may be marked as SPAM and no one wants that.

What is SPAM?

Aside from the awkward smelling, yet nutritious canned meat, SPAM is defined as “unsolicited email sent to a whole list of people”. To get more information, read the CAN-SPAM Act. Here are a few examples that can come-back to kick you in the butt:

“I got tons of emails from a tradeshow.”

A great example of this was when I signed up for a Visual Connections Event, where buyers and suppliers of photography, illustration, footage, and fonts get to meet. I was unable to attend due to some prior obligations, but some few days after the event I began to receive emails from a few of the exhibitors. I absolutely did not opt-in (a term often used in email marketing meaning ‘agreed to’ or ‘signed up for’) to receive these promotions or emails. C’mon now, I didn’t even attend the event.

Regardless of whether you purchase a booth at an event, gain permission from the hosting organization, or if the registration form states “exhibitors will be able to send you emails”, if you send a mass email to all attendees you can be marked as SPAM.

“They dropped their cards in the bowl for a contest I was running”
You’ve seen the fish bowls in restaurants to “win a free lunch” or even at tradeshows to win some kind of prize. However, even though the business cards may have email addresses on them it doesn’t mean they agreed to receive emails. Even if you had a large sign with a disclaimer stating, “by dropping your card into this fish bowl you agree to receive updates and emails from us”, you’d still be flagged as SPAM.

“I obtained this list from my chamber of commerce”
Although mighty tempting, don’t do it. Even though the association or organization you have joined has a public directory doesn’t mean you can add them to your campaign list. Instead, send a personalized email to each member from your email account. Yea, it might take some time, but it’ll get a much better response than an ‘out-of-the-blue’ newsletter.

“I bought this long list and it cost me a lot of money”
I so hope that those of you reading this DID NOT purchase a list of email addresses from so-called “advertising professionals”. More often than not, emails listed on these lists are from people or businesses who signed up for networking purposes only and NOT third-party emails or solicitations.

“These addresses were in my contacts folder”
Realize that not everyone in your address book, be it outlook or even Gmail, are going to be your clients. You have to be careful as some email programs will automatically add contacts to an address book if there has been email communication back and forth.

“We’ve done business together… over 5 years ago”
Even 1 year I think is quite a long time to send a previous client an update about your business. If you get flagged for SPAM in this scenario, it’s most likely due to the fact they the customer forgot about you OR several email addresses are no longer active. Many times, email providers will change unused email addresses into SPAM catchers or traps.

Avoid these mishaps by sending out  individually personalized emails to each person on the lists above (yes this will take a very long time, but sending out a few personalized emails per day will help avoid the SPAM label), and begin building your list the right way:

Step 1: Get permission…

by creating an email sign-up or capture form. Many of the services available will allow you to easily create a form that you can link to from anywhere (website, emails, social media sites, etc…) and even create an actual form that can be used on your site (for advanced users).

Step 2: Promote

Once the form is set up, be sure to actively promote the sign-up in your email signatures, your social sites, and website.

Step 3: Design GREAT Email Newsletters

How fancy a design is doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good design. It should be straight-forward, viewable in many email browsers, and provide useful content. Whether you use the service’s templates or create your own, here are several things that should be considered:

1. The “From:” address should be easily recognizable.
If they can’t remember who you are you’ll ultimately become SPAM.

2. Avoid a SPAMMY subject line
Don’t include things like “10% discount” or “Holiday Specials”. These don’t get a very good open- or click-rate. Be clear and direct. If you’re sending out a newsletter for the month of January, include the subject line “January 2010 Newsletter from (business name)”.

3. Personalize the “To:” address
Certain mailing services will allow you to personalize the To: address. Be sure that this is selected for your email campaigns.

4. Don’t forget about the “Unsubscribe” link
It’s good practice to include an easy way for subscribers to opt-out of your mailing list.

5. Provide a link to view the email in a browser.
Select services will include an archived version of your email online allowing for easier viewing and ‘forwards to friends”.

6. Link to your privacy policy
If you collect website visitors’ information in any way, you should have a website privacy policy. If not, you can easily create one with DMA’s privacy policy generator.

7. Include your business’ mailing address
This makes the email look more legit, so include your business’ contact information.

8. Include a “You are receiving this email because…”
Sometimes people forget where or how they signed up for newsletters. Including a reminder about how they signed up for your newsletter is a good way to help people avoid clicking the ‘Junk Mail’ button.

9, Include a Plain-Text Version.
Some mailers don’t allow HTML so it’s always good practice to include a Plain-Text version.

10. Design a Landing Page.
Sending your email subscribers to a specific landing page and directing them to specific areas on your site will allow for an easier way to measure the traffic.

11. Test, Test, and Test some more.
Ensure that your email is viewable in several of the popular mail servers. Not all are built equally and your design will most likely change. If you’re not using an email marketing service, send tests to colleagues and friends. Otherwise, most marketing services will have a preview application that tests several different servers.

Step 4: Do as you promised

Be sure to only send the information that your subscribers have signed up for and only as often as you said you would. If they signed up to receive website updates and discounts for YOUR services, don’t send them third-party advertisements or promotions. If you mentioned “monthly” newsletters, don’t send them weekly updates.

Step 5: Measure the performance

Track your email campaign’s performance. How many people on your list opened the email? What linked items are being click on? Compare it to your website’s traffic and sales to see if it generated additional leads or sales.

Step 6: Analyze the data and create a BETTER campaign

Use the obtained information to help you create the next campaign. Maybe you should try a new subject line or begin breaking up your list into specific groups. You could even try sending out the emails on a different date or at a different time of the day.

What has made your email marketing campaign a success? What issues have you come across? Share your story with the tek-uniQue community.