Email marketing has so much potential against other forms of advertising and marketing. It is unique in that every aspect of email marketing is measurable, every action taken by a user is traceable, and every outcome can be measured to provide a clear ROI (Return on Investment).

The starting of every campaign should be concerned with whom you wish to email. Obviously existing customers and prospects are your most important resource, as you already have an existing relationship with these, and they have shown a requirement for your service in the past. However since new legislation has spread across the globe, many reputable list owners, have now been able to compile opt-in email addresses of genuine prospects, in a legal and moral setting. This has provided a wealth of external information which you can access to bulk up the size of your promotion, I have covered some of the main criteria when selecting data as below:

Consumer Email Lists
• Where has the data been collected?
• Show proof of the opt-in process?
• How recently has the data been updated?
• Can you select by Age?
• Can you select by Income?
• Can you select by Hobbies / Interests?
• Can you select by Family / Occupation status?
• What Geographical location can it be broken down to?

Business Email Lists
• Where has the data been collected?
• Show proof of the opt-in process?
• How recently has the data been updated?
• Can you select by Job Function?
• Can you select by Industry?
• Can you select by Employees?
• Can you select by Sales Revenue / Turnover?
• What Geographical location can it be broken down to?

After you have assembled your list of tarted prospects, it is now time to turn your attention to your subject line. This is one of the most valuable lines of copy you will ever write, depending on the client emailing software, it may be the only viewable part of your email, as such you must convey your email purpose and grab the attention of the prospect in under 60 characters. Many amateurs fail on this crucial part of the campaign, you must brainstorm and come up with at least ten different versions of your subject line, before choosing your selected one. Key points to look at include:

Subject Line
• Capture the imagination
• Intrigue the prospect / reader
• Do not mislead
• Give enough information to establish interest, but tease the prospect to find out more

The body / creative of your email, this is your chance to finally offer the clinching points to your campaign, and provide the prospect with a call to action. I have listed below some of the most common mistakes:

Body of Email
• Do not use anything other than than standard HTML and Tables to layout your email
• Do not use too many images, most client email software, automatically disable images
• Get your most important benefits in the top third of your email
• Always use a call to action
• Always offer an unsubscribe hyperlink
• Always display your company name, address and contact details

Your campaign is not yet complete, you need to learn from the process. For that to occur you must use a reputable email service provider, they will be able to help in a number of ways. Firstly on tracking, you need to see key indicators within your campaign including delivery rates, open rates, click through rates, ROI, website tracking, forwards etc. Secondly and often forgot, your email needs to be delivered into the inbox not the spambox to have any chance, professional email marketing companies put this high on their list of priorities and you will benefit from the reputation they hold with the ISPs.

This guide unfortunately can only be brief, however I hope to have increased your understanding of what makes a successful campaign, and allow you to benefit from the huge marketing opportunities of email marketing.

One final point, that can not be stressed enough, test, test, test all campaigns no matter how sophisticated need to be tested. Different data, different subject lines, different creative / body, this is the true way to achieve a successful relationship with email marketing.

Antony Wainwright is founder and CEO of http://www.247EmailData.com – A Specialist in Email Marketing Solutions

Author: Antony Wainwright
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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