Direct email campaigns are a very effective marketing strategy. It’s the next generation of direct mail, just the internet age version. They are an affordable and effective way to reach your customers or affiliates. We use this strategy everyday for our clients. Direct email is powerful because you control exactly who sees your marketing message, so there is no marketing waste.
When deciding who to email, it’s important to research the market. One strategy we use is to find groups on social networks, like LinkedIn and Facebook, that are related to your industry. For example, say you are a company that sells weight loss products. You would look for groups on social networks that were all about losing weight, eating healthy, etc. Compile a list of groups and include contact information of the owner. You want to email the owner of the group because he/she could potentially contact the members of the group.
Crafting the email is an important step, because it cannot sound spammy. No one is going to take it seriously or even read it. Make it friendly and engaging, and offer something for free. Also, make sure the title of the email isn’t spammy, or it might get put in the spam folder or ignored. Be straight forward about the content of the email.
Have a system established for responding to your emails. If you are looking for affiliates, make sure you have affiliate links established and ready to use. It would be very unprofessional to contact people and then take weeks to respond, so be prompt and timely with all responses. When you get a positive response, ask them if they know anyone that would also be interested in your product/service. Referrals are the most effective way to gain customers.
