Email marketing and corporate newsletters are very powerful forms of communication and, if you thought they had gone out of fashion, think again. As rules have tightened in order to protect consumer rights, many businesses have shrank back on their newsletters.

Is Email Marketing “Worth It”?

A lot of companies are disappointed by their newsletter reports. Low open rates, high bounce rates and an apparent disconnect between newsletter distribution and customer calls have a lot of companies questioning the efficacy of their email marketing.

The thing is, 35% of a 2500-strong database is 875 opens. And they’re not just any “opens”. If you have been maintaining your database ethically and legally, it will only be comprised of current and past clients, and people who have signed up to it. In the sales funnel, those contacts are already considered “hot” leads, not cold calls, but people who are statistically speaking, easier to convert into sales.

The other major, often unnoticed, benefit of email marketing, is that distributing news-worthy content to people who want it, is fulfilling a need. It just might not be your need at that point in time. Those people might not buy from you right there and then, but the next time they do need to, your business will pop up in their minds.

Of course, there are certain rules you can follow to improve your success rate and get better results from newsletters and email marketing. Here are five of them.

Remember Your Manners

As with any interaction in life, getting off on the wrong foot is not likely to bode well for your reputation or the impression you create. So if you only remember one rule, let it be this: Thou Shalt Not Send To Anyone Who Hasn’t Requested It.

It’s called spam and people hate it.

Make It Personal

You want to create rapport with your clients and you are making direct contact with them. Use their names. Send them information they will value, information that they want.

Consider The Timing

Do some research into when your market has the time to read your information. You might find your clients are early-morning risers who like to catch up on news and product information first thing in the day. Or, you might discover that after hours yields better results. If you want to be successful do as much as you can to meet your clients’ needs.