There are plenty of things that you can do (and stop doing) to help make you a better email marketer. But there’s one thing I know for sure that will fail you every time.

Ignore the needs of your subscribers at your own peril.

It seems obvious, but too often we see emails sent out that fail to address the primary question subscribers have when first viewing your email, “what’s in it for me?”

If subscribers can’t find the answer to this question in 1 or 2 seconds, then you’ve lost them. Your email will be ignored and all your hard work and effort goes down the drain.

So how do you know what your subscribers want?

1. One way is to ask them. Using Vision6 it’s easy to setup surveys and update profile forms designed to capture additional information on your subscribers.
2. Another way is to view the statistics of your previous emails and to learn from the past what things have and haven’t worked.
3. Or if you’re new to email marketing or have an email campaign in its infancy, try putting yourself in the mindset of your ideal customer and ask these sorts of questions before you send:

• What sort of things do I find interesting and valuable?
• What tone and language do I use and understand?
• When am I most likely to read this email?

So next time you’re preparing an email campaign, just stop for a moment and reflect on your motives. Are you sending the email because your calendar or boss says you have to?

Or are you sending it because your subscribers will really benefit from it and find it interesting?

Posted by:
Matthew Johnson
EDM Specialist

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