10 Tips to Optimize Your Email Marketing Campaigns

4. Think strategically. As a business owner/manager, you must market yourself based on the best reason to do business with you. There might be many impressive aspects to your company, but think about the primary reason people actually choose to buy from it. This can really be different than your first instinct for email marketing.

5. Lead the reader intuitively to buy. Some of the best emails I've seen give very compelling reasons that naturally convince subscribers to "click here" for more information or to get the stellar offer being advertised. Simply adding a link back to your website won't give you as many clicks or sales.

6. Identify your target market. Choose a large enough market for you to get results in the right areas and with the best demographic information (if applicable). Consider who your current customers are and who you'd like to reach. This might not be simply residents nearest your place of business; it could in fact be a more family-oriented suburb a couple of ZIP codes over, for example. You also might want to consider expanding your radius to really saturate your target area.

7. Repetition is key. Email marketing studies have shown that most prospects must see the same or similar email three times to seven times in order to buy. Don't give up after one or two email campaigns that don't get the initial results you're looking for. Remember, it takes time for a prospect to grow used to seeing your offer and to trust you. It won't happen if they only see your emails once or twice. Persistence and continued relevance can and will pay off.

8. Make a good offer. An information or benefit-driven email usually isn't enough. A good offer will entice readers to act, especially if it's a limited-time offer. This creates urgency which drives buying behavior. Typical "limited-time-only offers" include a dollar value savings or giving something away for free that's inexpensive for you but of value to your prospects. If your offer is a percentage off, remember to include the original price. These types of offers aren't as effective unless the reader knows what the initial cost was so they know how much they're saving.