Engaging with customers via social media platforms has become the shiny new star in the online marketing world. This doesn't mean that tried and tested marketing methods such as email is dead. In fact, email content still leads to more purchases, subscriptions, and other types of conversions than social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

While social media is changing the internet landscape, email is still the preferred and most effective method of reaching consumers with online promotions and branding messages. It is also one of the most popular ways consumers like to share information with friends or family, with share activity rates for people using email of over 46%.

Making Over Your Email Marketing
The lagging economy has boosted rather than hindered the success of email marketing. Marketers are continuing to increase their investment in building email lists and honing their email marketing efforts, and still find it to be a cost effective tool for reaching existing and potential customers, and in getting the best return on investment for their marketing budget.

So how can you cash in on the power of email marketing? Here are some tips:

Segment Your List
When you first start email marketing, you'll most likely send the same messages and offers to everyone on the list. This is fine when your list is small but as it grows, you'll want to begin tailoring your message to the specific tastes and needs of each individual person on your list.

Segmenting, or separating and categorising the members on your list according to factors such as age, hobbies, sex, or click history will help you to maximise the efficiency of your messages and the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Design an Effective Email
Design your email using a combination of plain text and graphics. A well crafted design will not only effectively convey your brand, it will also help direct readers to the main promotional offers and demonstrate their appeal.

When preparing your design, keep in mind the increasing number of people checking their emails from mobile devices. Ideally, your message should be just as easily read – and actioned – on the go.

Take Time Over the Copy
Your email copy should be an extension of your company's ‘online persona'. Use a tone that your customers will relate to and try to build trust with your readers.

As well as achieving the right tone of voice, use action words that describe how your product or website can solve a unique problem or provide a useful service.

Use a Strong Call to Action
A call to action is simply an eye catching offer or selling phrase that will draw people to your website after they read your email. You can use price as a call to action and offer a huge discount, great rate or time sensitive promotions.

The call to action needs to be short and concise, leaving the reader in no doubt what to do to take the next step. Keep in mind that your call to action will have a lot of competition. Identify your strengths in order to make your offers stand out from your competitors.

Bringing it All Together
Once you have created an effective email list, segmented it, and designed email messages that work, you should make sure that the landing page on your website is also attractive and will convert visitors into customers – but that's a whole new article.

Finally, track conversions carefully to determine which call to action links are creating the most conversions. Tracking the effectiveness of your campaigns will enable you to adjust your efforts accordingly. If you would like help improving your email marketing activities, call us on 08450 740068.