Homestead Newsletters

In the Spring 2007 issue of Homestead’s website newsletter, we offered you a guide to creating an email mailing list that can be a powerful tool for marketing your site. This time around we’ve got some new tips on making good use of your list:

1. Managing Relationships & The Law
Email marketing is all about managing your relationship with the people on your mailing list. If you do this well you’ll find it easy to remain compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act, the government’s tool to curb the proliferation of email spam. The Federal Trade Commission has a good summary of what CAN-SPAM requires when you send out email newsletters, notifications of your latest promotions or other campaigns. Complying isn’t hard at all, it’s just common sense. If your emails are honest, relevant and well-timed people will be more likely to read them. Conversely, if they’re not people will be more likely to delete them, ask to be unsubscribed from your list, or even mark your emails as spam. Remember, people receive a lot of email, including spam, so it’s important to carefully manage your relationships with the people on your lists!

2. “From” & “Subject” Lines
The “from” and “subject” line should be clear, telling your customer who is sending them the email and what it is about. Many people decide whether to read emails based solely on what is in these two critical fields! Make sure the “from” field gives your business name instead of a complicated email address like email@yourbusinessname.com; people who are expecting your emails will know it’s from a trusted sender. The “subject” line should be specific but concise, and offer a clear reason to open your email. If you have a promotion inside, say so.

3. Make your Email Body Relevant & Concise
Like your “from” and “subject” lines, the content in your email should be relevant and concise. Send the right message to the right person; you wouldn’t send a promotion for dog food to people who don’t own dogs! The person reading your email doesn’t have a lot of time, so be specific and get to the point without making them read through unnecessary text. Finally, give a clear call to action: what do you want the reader to do?

4. Timing & Frequency
The timing and frequency of your emails should match the expectations of the people on your mailing list. It’s best to set the proper expectations when you get their email address. For example, people who sign up for a weekly promotions newsletter may be annoyed if the emails suddenly start showing up every day.

Keep these basic principles in mind, and you should see a better response to your emails!