er value, geographic location and response to incentives. Figleaves, for instance, know which customers respond to sales and which buy at full price – this would be a useful way to divide your database, if you have that kind of information available. As with all copywriting though, the lifestyle of your target customer should define your style. Buzzwords, used sparingly and appropriately, can demonstrate your knowledge of the cuSending emails to existing and potential customers is said to have a response rate of 3-5%, which towers over direct mail or press advertising. Why is it so successful and how can you maximise your chances of success?

Questions to consider before starting an email campaign

Who makes up your customer base? What are their interests? Are they Sunday Times readers or Big Brother viewers? Would it be worth segmenting your database and sending out variants to improve the chances of a response?

What are your objectives? What are you aiming to achieve by sending this email? Web sales? Catalogue requests? More visits to your site? Brand recognition? Improved customer relations? Data gathering?

Should you outsource the work? Who will create, produce and distribute your email marketing? If you don’t have in-house expertise, and if your budget allows, outsourcing is worth considering – as emails can take upwards of a day for one person to compile and produce. Many ecommerce companies offer e-marketing – try E-in Business.

How will the emails be distributed? Email distribution software can do much of the work for you – check out ConstantContact.com – and is a cheap option if your database is reasonably small. It’s not a good idea to send out emails ‘from’ the MD’s email address – think of all the returns and unsubscribe requests.

Creating the campaign – routes to success

Relevancy

Taking into account your typical customer is standard practice through all of your marketing activities, and emails are no different. Segmentation is a good idea – it won’t cost a huge amount to produce two or three variations on your email campaign, according to factors such as order value, geographic location and response to incentives. Figleaves, for instance, know which customers respond to sales and which buy at full price – this would be a useful way to divide your database, if you have that kind of information available. As with all copywriting though, the lifestyle of your target customer should define your style. Buzzwords, used sparingly and appropriately, can demonstrate your knowledge of the cus

ur database and sending out variants to improve the chances of a response?

What are your objectives? What are you aiming to achieve by sending this email? Web sales? Catalogue requests? More visits to your site? Brand recognition? Improved customer relations? Data gathering?

Should you outsource the work? Who will create, produce and distribute your email marketing? If you don’t have in-house expertise, and if your budget allows, outsourcing is worth considering – as emails can take upwards of a day for one person to compile and produce. Many ecommerce companies offer e-marketing – try E-in Business.

How will the emails be distributed? Email distribution software can do much of the work for you – check out ConstantContact.com – and is a cheap option if your database is reasonably small. It’s not a good idea to send out emails ‘from’ the MD’s email address – think of all the returns and unsubscribe requests.

Creating the campaign – routes to success

Relevancy

Taking into account your typical customer is standard practice through all of your marketing activities, and emails are no different. Segmentation is a good idea – it won’t cost a huge amount to produce two or three variations on your email campaign, according to factors such as order value, geographic location and response to incentives. Figleaves, for instance, know which customers respond to sales and which buy at full price – this would be a useful way to divide your database, if you have that kind of information available. As with all copywriting though, the lifestyle of your target customer should define your style. Buzzwords, used sparingly and appropriately, can demonstrate your knowledge of the cu

ur budget allows, outsourcing is worth considering – as emails can take upwards of a day for one person to compile and produce. Many ecommerce companies offer e-marketing – try E-in Business.

How will the emails be distributed? Email distribution software can do much of the work for you – check out ConstantContact.com – and is a cheap option if your database is reasonably small. It’s not a good idea to send out emails ‘from’ the MD’s email address – think of all the returns and unsubscribe requests.

Creating the campaign – routes to success

Relevancy

Taking into account your typical customer is standard practice through all of your marketing activities, and emails are no different. Segmentation is a good idea – it won’t cost a huge amount to produce two or three variations on your email campaign, according to factors such as order value, geographic location and response to incentives. Figleaves, for instance, know which customers respond to sales and which buy at full price – this would be a useful way to divide your database, if you have that kind of information available. As with all copywriting though, the lifestyle of your target customer should define your style. Buzzwords, used sparingly and appropriately, can demonstrate your knowledge of the cu

m’ the MD’s email address – think of all the returns and unsubscribe requests.

Creating the campaign – routes to success

Relevancy

Taking into account your typical customer is standard practice through all of your marketing activities, and emails are no different. Segmentation is a good idea – it won’t cost a huge amount to produce two or three variations on your email campaign, according to factors such as order value, geographic location and response to incentives. Figleaves, for instance, know which customers respond to sales and which buy at full price – this would be a useful way to divide your database, if you have that kind of information available. As with all copywriting though, the lifestyle of your target customer should define your style. Buzzwords, used sparingly and appropriately, can demonstrate your knowledge of the cu

er value, geographic location and response to incentives. Figleaves, for instance, know which customers respond to sales and which buy at full price – this would be a useful way to divide your database, if you have that kind of information available. As with all copywriting though, the lifestyle of your target customer should define your style. Buzzwords, used sparingly and appropriately, can demonstrate your knowledge of the customer base – but be careful; there’s nothing more cringeworthy than using out-of-date slang!

Incentives & Click-through links

This is a great opportunity to test special offers and incentives – you can send one offer to half the database and one to the other, or send different deals to different geographical areas; the options are endless. If you can create special landing sites to make the click traceable, so much the better. A time-limited offer is a good idea, as it encourages an immediate or fast response.

Written Style

• Clarity. Edit, edit, edit; avoid jargon and multiple adjectives. Like web copy, email copy should be snappy and easy on the brain.

• Humour. A dash of personality can only improve your chances of identifying with the reader.

• Scannable. Subheadings are good; bold or highlighted keywords are great for a reader with little time and patience.

• Short. There is some debate on the desirable length of email copy; some people like to read, but others just want a short message. The safest bet is to put the key messages at the top for the impatient, and then develop them further down for those who like to read details.

• Conversational. Think about the emails we are used to receiving from friends and family – written in an informal style. If you write the way you speak, there will be less jargon and less formality.

• Demonstrate a knowledge of the customer and market. As discussed above, some buzzwords can be effective. Lastminute’s style is satirical, with a finger firmly on the pulse of its readership. Achieving this is difficult, but it pays to understand your customer culture – and will improve all of your communication output.