Since the lockdown, email marketing and social media are being used as the primary way of communication and engagement by many companies. Now is a great time to incorporate email marketing into your marketing plan for 2021.

According to Direct Marketing Association, for every dollar a company spends on email marketing, they get a $38 return on investment (ROI). That’s an ROI of 3,800% percent! No other marketing channel comes close to delivering that rate of return.

You’d think email marketing is as easy as writing an email and sending it out to your customers and prospects. Not really. There’s a right way to do it so you receive the maximum benefit.

Build Your List

The first thing you need for your email campaign is a customer email mailing list. You’ll want hundreds, preferably thousands, of email addresses.

If you don’t have this list, it’s time to start building one. Start with the emails of existing customers. Capture emails on your website by offering something of value to them – a newsletter, white paper, discount coupon – that they can only get by giving you their email address.

Be Aware of the Can-Spam Act

When sending out an email marketing campaign, you need to take steps to make sure your emails aren’t flagged as spam. It’s the law! The Can-Spam Act can impose a penalty of up to $40,654 per separate email on companies that create spam.

How does your email avoid being spam? There are steps you can take:

- Don’t use deceptive subject lines. Accurately summarize the content of your email in the subject line.

- Include a postal address. This is required by law.

- Include an “Unsubscribe’ link. You must make it easy for people to unsubscribe to your emails and you must stop sending them emails within 30 days of them requesting to be removed from your list.

Captivating Subject Line

Research has shown that forty-seven percent of email recipients open their email based solely on the subject line.

The subject line must get across the point of your email and entice the recipient to open it.

Above the Fold

Above the fold is a term that is used for content that is visible to your reader without scrolling. After your subject line, the content that is seen ‘above the fold’ is the most important. It must be compelling so that your recipient will open and read your email.

Include a Call-to-Action

What do you want your email recipients to do? Do you want them to make a purchase, sign up for a workshop, or just call for an appointment? Be sure to put that Call-to-Action in your email.