Doubling Promotional Ecommerce Sales with Email Marketing - By: Heather P. Knight

One of the best aspects of email marketing is that it has the ability to turn out considerable revenue from a promotional email campaign or ecommerce. But the common perception of this type of marketing is that you design your email, forward it to a list of subscribers and then wait and watch the revenue rolling in. But it is not that easy.

For an ecommerce program to be successful it takes more than just emailing the newsletter. And because of this, companies jeopardize lot of money by not dividing their customers into segments and utilizing more advanced emailing features. Segmentation can be done on the basis of demographics, personalization, actions, customers responses detail tracking and trigger based emails. By considering these variables, a lot of investment may not be made in infrastructure or technology.

The revenue of an ecommerce program can be doubled or even tripled within few months with a little extra effort, analysis, refinement and testing. The things to be taken care of here are list building, content creativity, list management, segmentation and testing.

List building is the most effective means for increasing revenue. The email subscription form must be optimized for growth of the email list. Just a good home page won't do the trick of capturing new subscribers. An eye catching link to the subscription form must be placed on every page of the website, possibly with an impossible to miss image. Many readers expect incentives when they sign-up for something. Try to offer 'free shipping' or '$25 off on the first order', or something like it. The email address of a customer should be captured on the shopping cart form. Then a transaction confirmation email can be sent which includes link to the subscription form. This opportunity can also be used to get additional information from the customer in order to target them better. Demographics such as gender, product interests, and preferences can be asked about.

Try to use a search engine pay-per-click or PPC program, because search is the most frequently used way for customers to buy products they desire. PPC program increases the traffic towards your website. If such programs are used, the signing up process must be made easier for visitors who have or haven't bought products from your website. Making the website search engine optimized is the most cost effective method of getting traffic and improving your list. This optimization can be done either internally or by hiring an external SEO consultant. Every page of the website must be optimized to get the top rankings. The 'Send-to-a-friend' feature must be included in every eNewsletter as this feature generates a considerable amount of new subscribers. Although the number won't be big, but it will be enough to satisfy the number of unsubscribes every month.

If the business or shop is located somewhere, in-store promotion offers can be sent via emails. Sign-up forms can be given at cash registers and subscriptions can be promoted at the point of purchase.

According to researches, a compelling subject line can increase the open rate by fifty percent. Solid offers and great design are the perfect blend for doubling the click through rate. Give customers options from which they can choose the most appropriate one which suits their appetite. The products must be divided into categories. Personalization helps in increasing the response rate. Emails can be personalized by referring to the customers by their first name or by their past purchase history. Since the email is just an extension of the website, it is better to leverage the website's navigation. If the website has search capability, it must be incorporated in the email.

The personality of the company should be reflected in their emails and its designs. Emails main job is motivating the recipients to click on the links to go to the website or subscription form. Some other very important links can be included, but a clutter shouldn't be formed so that the most important one cannot be located. Graphic buttons and images can be used to draw attention. Great subject lines, top lines and offers just to wonders.

List should be managed by calculating email churns and fatigues. Incorrect email entry can be solved by including a second email entry box. Send out confirmation to check the validity. Update email address and manage account link should be included in every email.

Testing is very critical in optimizing the email program. Majority of the email variables must be checked before the emails have been send out.

About the Author

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