It’s one of the oldest sources of business-to-business marketing and everyone uses it. As email marketing grows, so does the amount of emails in every inbox. The question is: are you doing everything you can to make sure your emails are opened, read, and responded to?

Know Your Audience

You may have very effective messaging, but it means nothing if it isn’t targeted at the right audience. Think about your target audience: what content will provide it with the most value?

Being empathetic about the needs and concerns of your target audience is the quickest way to create meaningful email content and campaigns that will be valuable to your customers.

In exchange for contact information, offer your customers something of value: a newsletter, a free seminar, or more information about your products and services. When gathering contact information, only ask for the information you really need. Asking unnecessary questions annoys people and may keep them from signing up.

Craft Your Message

An interesting message offers value to any email campaign. Research what others are doing. When you get online newsletters from other companies, pay attention to what makes you open some and delete others without reading.

The subject line is the element that will hook your audience. It should always make sense and should standout.

When crafting yur content, stick to the inverted pyramid model of message construction i.e. start with the most important information and then provide more details in the sentences below it.

Online readers have limited attention spans and are always in a hurry so keep your message short, to-the-point and relevant.

Choose The Right Format

Once you have the right message, you need to present it in the right way. HTML and rich media messages that include audio, video and animation generate high response rates, but it’s still important to have a text version for people who prefer or can only receive text.

Always include a hyperlinked table of contents at the top of your message so people can click or scroll right to the section of their choice. People won't look beyond the first screen if there's nothing immediately interesting to them.

Give them a reason to scroll down. Use bullet points and lots of white space for plain text messages.

Test Your Message & Audience

Test your campaign before you send it. Experiment with different fonts for both content and links, re-position images such as logos and buttons and experiment with different emailing patterns.

Over time, test sending your campaign out at different times or on different days, and compare the click-through stats. This way you will be sending the right mix of content and images that will attract more visitors, and ultimately more generate more leads.

Look for Measurable email marketing Results

Being able to measure your email marketing efforts is key. Measuring allows you to understand what works and what doesn’t so you can improve each and every campaign. Always analyse results and think of new ways to provide value.

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