In this day and age, it’s hard to avoid the influence of social media, especially with regards to marketing. However, the fundamentals of marketing through direct mail remain as relevant today as they were 50 years ago.

Since its inception, direct mail marketing has been used successfully to communicate virtually any message to any audience. Even in today’s digital environment, which is characterized by its highly targeted and personalized communication, direct mail marketing is effective because it is, at its core, unsolicited and undiscriminating. As a result, direct mail marketing is a reliable way to reach a large audience – often referred to as the “general public.”

Why Email List Management Is The Key To Effective Direct Mail Marketing

To be effective, direct mail marketing requires an important element known as an email list.

An email list, or a subscriber list as it is sometimes called, is one of the most valuable assets a marketer can have. Essentially, an email list is a list of people, or groups of people, who have voluntarily agreed to receive periodic emails from you. Your list can be as small or as large as you want it to be, but it must contain at least a handful of people. Having a large audience, or a massive list of people, who have opted-in to receive your emails is what gives a marketer the ability to run effective direct mail marketing campaigns.

The reason why an email list is so valuable is because it allows a marketer to precisely target their audience. Rather than broadcasting messages to everyone, or just your friends and family, you can take out a list and send your emails to only those people who will truly benefit from your marketing efforts. By creating and maintaining a large email list, you can ensure you are reaching the right audience and increasing the chances of getting your message across.

The Basics Of Building An Effective Email List

To create an effective email list, you need to do four fundamental things.

First, you must have a list of email addresses. Second, you must have a way to contact the individuals on your list. Third, you must have a way to verify the validity of the email addresses on your list. Fourth, you must have a way to keep track of who you’ve contacted and how many times you’ve contacted them. This last point is particularly important because it allows you to measure the success of your email list and determine whether or not it is worth continuing to build.

Taking The Time To Build An Email List

Once you have a list of email addresses, the next step is to take the time to build a relationship with your audience. One way to do this is by sending out periodic emails, either through a regular email blast or a weekly newsletter. While your emails should be informative and contain value, rather than promotional in nature, you should never, ever send the individual on your email list more than once. By doing this, you are showing them that you are not a trustworthy source and may even be a spammer. Always be sure to send out timely and valuable messages that will keep your audience engaged.

Promoting Your Product Through Email

Once you have a relationship with your audience and you’ve built up enough trust, you can promote your product or service through email. To do this, you will want to consider a few different methods including;;

1. Product Demonstrations

Showing your audience how your product or service works in real life is always the most effective and authentic way to promote a product. Unfortunately, this type of advertising can be expensive. Instead of renting specialized camera phones and paying for studio space, you can take advantage of online videos to show your audience how your product or service works. In general, videos work better than photos in demonstrating a product or service because they tend to be more engaging.

2. Product Reviews

Product reviews are also an effective way to promote a product or service. If you are reviewing a product, make sure that you are doing so from an unbiased standpoint rather than for pay. Even though the goal of a review is to promote a product, you must always keep in mind that the purpose is to help the reader find the best product for their needs. Doing a review for free or with limited resources is often the best way for new bloggers to get their feet wet. Remember to state clearly in your review whether or not you were paid to write it and how much you were paid. This simple act will help the reader know your motives behind the review and keep them more engaged in your content.

3. Case Studies

Another way to promote a product through email is to do a case study. A case study is where you interview a real person, or people, who have used or are using your product or service to find out what their experience has been like. From my own experience, I’ve found that case studies are extremely effective for gaining trust with new audiences. When an online marketer interviews someone who has used or is using a product, rather than simply stating that the product is so-and-so, they can provide a more in-depth explanation of what the product is and how it works. Additionally, since case studies are usually longer than the standard blog post, they allow you to cover more ground.

4. Surveys

Surveys are another form of content that can be used to promote a product through email. However, rather than just taking a survey to get value, you can put a spin on it by having the survey ask questions about the product or service that you are reviewing. For example, if you are reviewing a weight loss product and the survey asks how many pounds someone would have to lose in order to be happy, you would want to make sure that you are showing the survey to people who are in the market for weight loss remedies.

The Basics Of Personal Branding In Email Marketing

The last element of effective direct mail marketing is personal branding. Essentially, having a unique voice, visual style and approach to marketing is called personal branding and it is extremely effective when applied to email marketing. When done well, it can help to make your email marketing stand out from the crowd. For example, if you are doing email marketing for a business located in Australia, you would want to ensure that your emails reflect an Australian approach to marketing rather than a North American approach. Moreover, you can use your personal branding to position yourself as an expert in your industry. You can do this through a blog post, or an email, or both.

The bottom line is that email marketing is a tried and tested method of marketing and it still works well today, because at its core, it is simple, yet effective. Moreover, the fact that it is inexpensive and accessible means that anyone can put it out there and get results. With the right product or service, and the right marketing strategy, you will find that email marketing is a very effective tool in your arsenal.