By Maxym Martineau

I love a good deal. I’m not an extreme coupon clipper by any means, but when I open up my email I’m quick to save any message that promises a discount (and to trash the ones that don’t).

So the question is, what prompts me to open one email over another? The even bigger question is: Are you one of the business owners whose emails end up in the trash bucket instead of the discount folder? Are you even trying to connect with me at all?

If you’re a small business owner, adding another job to your already overflowing plate can seem like a nightmare. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make your email campaigns work for you, not against you. And because emails are the most cost effective form of marketing, it’s time to start expanding your business. 

Pick a target

Don’t be one of those businesses that sends out massive amounts of emails all willy-nilly; take your target audience into consideration. There’s a reason I toss out more than half of the emails I receive: They don’t apply to me. If you’re writing and sending emails that don’t make the right offers to the right people, then you’re wasting company time and dollars.

Our friends over at Mad Mimi are quick to acknowledge this awesome fact: 

“If you want to take your email campaign to the next level, you need to use a strategy to segment your email list.”

Before you even start to craft your campaign, take these three segmentations into consideration: location, gender and age. You wouldn’t target a teenage female for a denture campaign, and you wouldn’t send coupons for women’s clothing to adult men.

Get their attention

Here comes the fun part: getting customers to open your emails. With so many emails to sift through, you’ll need a strong subject line to grab their attention. Creating an awesome subject line has a lot to do with your audience. You can choose to be witty or straight to the point — either could work, but only if it fits with your target audience.

In general, if you lead with a personal subject line you’re more likely to see a higher click-through rate. Be friendly, but most of all, be yourself and tell your story.

Reel them in

Now that your email is open and in the hands of a potential customer, how do you reel them in? There are a few key things to keep in mind when it comes to the body of your email:

1.     Maintain the personal connection.
2.     Remind your customers if a promotion is expiring.
3.     Don’t ever be afraid to hand out a freebie.
4.     Give them a way to connect with you on social media.

You don’t have to jam all of these points into one correspondence. Not all of these tips will apply to every campaign you send, and that’s perfectly OK. Just be sure that your subject and message align with each other and you’re good to go.

End with a strong call to action

Finally, close that email with a bang. Generate more click-throughs by utilizing an audience-appropriate call to action.

•       Save 10% today!
•       Volunteer now!
•       Get started with us!

If you have a fitting call to action, you’re sure to see an increase in your customer base.

Now you’re ready for the world of email marketing. Just keep these tips in mind next time you are creating your email campaign. Soon, you’ll be driving customers to your business simply by clicking the “send” button.

Bio:

Maxym Martineau is a content writer for Professional Web Services at GoDaddy and a freelance writer based out of Arizona. She’s an avid reader with a love for social media and blogging. The world’s largest domain name registrar and Web hosting provider, GoDaddy gives small business owners the tools to name their idea, build a beautiful online presence, attract customers and manage their business. To get more tips for your small business, visit the GoDaddy Garage.