Whether you are building your business online, offline or both, growing a list of your perfect audience is essential.

You see …

Building and nurturing relationships via email is a great way to level up the business.

As it allows you to make an offer, follow up, build the trust in your brand so you can close more to get sales and sign-ups.

It just makes sense to take advantage of communicating with your list.

Really, the benefits of email marketing are huge.

But in order to grow a list of warm prospects (customers and reps), you need to understand your target market are interested in … their needs and wants.

When you figure that out, you’ll be able to marry your product or service to their problems.

However …

Most marketers forget that (READ:) each lead on their email list is a human being (not a number) with a problem that he or she is looking to fix!

It’s important I type this again:

Each lead on their email list is a human being (not a number) with a problem that he or she is looking to fix!

Instead, they go to this selling mode where every single email is written in a strange sales language and aimed at getting you to buy something every day.

As a result, a large number of marketers still treat their mailing list like total strangers, rather than building a relationship with them. Instead, start off by providing your lists with good, solid content so you can establish a relationship with them.

Which means you start educating your laser targeted audience.

Because, if the content isn’t valuable to the reader, sending weekly emails isn’t worth it.

Sending out a newsletter just for the sake of showing up in your clients’ inboxes will turn them off. Your clients, on the other hand, will stick with you if they believe you are providing value.

With that said, here’s a little list of the best email marketing tips:

17 Effective Email Marketing Tips

1. Lead capture form.

For example, above this paragraph and on the top right hand side of this particular post is a guide, which you can download.

It is a free guide that’ll give you 8 actionable steps to becoming an awesome recruiter without chasing or begging.

Another example is this landing page here. Again you can subscribe for the a free lead magnet.

When you provide your name and email, you are then automatically included into my list.

In order to get this going, use an autoresponder like Aweber to automate your list building efforts, schedule a series of messages (loaded with good content), follow up with your prospects and re-communicate with people on your email list.

This is the beauty of list building, it keeps your personal brand in front of your best audience.

2. Email Subject line matters.

If you want your email campaigns to be successful, make sure your subject line is compelling to your audience. It is the first thing they read.

So make it count.

It will either tempt them to read further, or ignore your message!

Unfortunately, no magic formula exists to create the perfect subject line, but there are elements that can make it appealing to the majority of people.

Humor, numbers, emojis, questions, surprise effects, etc., are a few.

For starters, here are a few suggestions.

Hey, forget something? Here’s 20% off.
15 amazing pictures for the Facebook profile
How I reached 10,000 Instagram followers in 2 months
You only have 24 HOURS to see this
Here’s your new gumboots.

Lastly …

Do NOT use deceptive subject lines. Otherwise you will lose the all important ‘trust’ and lower your open rates.

3. Personalize your emails

Addressing your subscriber by their first name (like “Hello [FIRST NAME].”) is not enough. They’ll see right through it because it is forced.

Instead segment your subscriber according to their needs or situation and have different funnels set up for each segment.

Say you’re helping network marketers. For each network marketer in your database, you group or segment each networker that have shown interest in either – social marketing or Facebook Ads.

Each group of networkers are then sent relevant content via email to help improve their game.

It’s just a simple example. But that’s what you need to do.

And with a handy autoresponder, you’ll be able to provide valuable content that addresses your subscriber’s frustrations and struggles.

Which grabs their interest.

Which then leads to your open and engagement rates going up.

Again, you want to be sending relevant and personal content to them.

Healthy relationships are what will give customers a long-term value and serve as the driving force for your company’s growth.

Another effective marketing tip is to send other people’s content. Provided it’s helpful.

Just be sure to give credit to the author.

Compared to writing your own article from scratch, it’s a lot easier.

While your clients will appreciate the article, they’ll be even happier that you’re providing value.

4. Promote but …

Although email marketing’s ultimate goal is to grow your business, it’s important to keep in mind that promotions aren’t the focus of email marketing. Positive client relationships should be at the heart of your email marketing.

5. Tell them what to do next.

What’s the point of sending out emails that promote products without getting your customers to take action?

You have to prompt the prospect to take the next step – click on a link, complete a survey, or make a purchase. Make sure a ‘Call To Action‘ is present in the emails you send!

Make sense?

6. Short and sweet helps!

You can get a better response from your marketing campaign by keeping your emails short and personal. In other words, write as you would to a friend.

And …

Your email messages need to be clear and concise so that your subscribers understand what you’re saying … and then, take action.

If your prospect is interested in your offer, he or she will visit your website to learn more. As a result, your prospect/customer will be more likely to take action if your emails are concise and clear.

7. Keep your copy simple

Use small paragraphs and simple to read language to give your customers the time they need to read the stuff in your emails. If you want to expand on a particular point, create a landing page on your website that links to the rest of the story.

And craft your messages in a personal and casual tone. People (like me) skim read.

So your message has to be simple. Avoid the corporate marketing tone.

8. Write from a unique perspective and in a fresh style..

It’s important to write in a lively manner. Try to steer clear of the usual marketing jargon and present your idea in a unique manner instead.

Do not be afraid to experiment with your writing. Use active verbs in the content.

Be unique and creative. If you do, you’ll capture the reader’s attention in your own way and gain their trust. And they will appreciate it.

Again … creating useful and valuable content that is both educational and helpful will build the relationship with your prospects and loyal customers. Which will lead to a higher open rate and engagement.

9. Ask questions.

Want more engagements? Why not throw in a question.

You with me?

10. Include a P.S.

Lots of people do go right to the end of a post, an article and even emails before reading the whole thing.

And the P.S. is a nice spot to repeat the main points of the offer, post and so on.

So it makes senses to include a link there. I do…

11. Keep the layout simple.

Your layout shouldn’t be overloaded with flashy graphics, large fonts, and other distracting elements. Keep it simple and uncluttered.

12. Mobile friendly content.

Mobile devices are becoming more and more popular for checking emails. This means your content must be compatible with all types of devices.

What’s more, the site must be designed so that it can be reproduced on mobile devices as well as on desktop computers.

If the majority of your users access email from a mobile device, you need to make sure that your email is mobile-friendly and accessible.

Because of this, you must create an email marketing campaign that can be viewed and used on ANY screen.

13. Metrics.

You should pay attention to your stats. That is, unsubscribe, click and open rates of your emails.

If the unsubscribe rate is more than 1 percent, it’s a a sign that you need to pay attention.

However …

An open rate of at least 30%, you’re doing something really right.

14. Ask your readers to share.

Ensure that you include an ‘opt-in’ option in every email you send to encourage readers to forwards your emails.

With the help of a compelling giveaway, you can speed up the process.

15. Don’t focus too much on the statistics. 

While it’s great to know the maximum number of characters in the subject line, it is more important to build a relationship with your audience. This should be the priority.

16. Study others.

Research on other email marketers. Sign up for other newsletter in your niche and draw tips and inspiration to improve your own campaign.

17. Commit to it.

Commit to posting useful emails at least once a week. By focusing your effort on your audience, you are providing great value and building up the trust with them.

Be consistent!

There you have it…

17 of the best email marketing tips and best practices to level up your business.

If you haven’t so, start building a list of your ideal prospects and customers.

And start building a relationship with your audience.

With email marketing, it allows you, your personal brand, to stay in front of your audience and create as much goodwill as you can in the process.

Which leads to more sales and sign-ups for your business.

The benefits of email marketing are tremendous.

Sincerely,

Jason Ou

P.S In case you’re one of the people (like me) who skim to the P.S before you read the page, here’s what this is about:

1. This isn’t about spamming people with rubbish. Instead, it’s about delivering good content so you can get more people interested in you, and your business.

2. Easy ways to get people reading your emails.

Aweber

Building an email list of a growing audience is essential for the longevity of any business.  This autoresponder service is easy to use, and it is a great starting point for someone looking to kickstart their email campaign. You can try their free account here.

Bluehost

Bluehost is a great starting point for beginners or bloggers who want to switch to a reliable web hosting service. And it gives you the best bang for your buck – starting at $2.95 a month*.

With the entry-level hosting plan, you’ll get a free domain name for one year, free SSL, free CDN, reliable customer support, and 30 day money back guarantee.

You can sign up with Bluehost here.

WPX Hosting

It’s a web-hosting service I love using.  It specializes in WordPress hosting, and depending on what package you opt for, you can host 5 or more sites on one account. The best bit is – the quick turnaround in support is top notch.

For bloggers who have an established blog, this is a fantastic option.

You can learn more about this service here.