Back to the August 2006 issue.

How to Utilize Email Marketing to Increase Ecommerce Sales

(by Craig Cooke, CEO)

So you have an ecommerce site, and business is good. You utilize a mix of search marketing and traditional advertising to drive sales. But what about email? How are you using email to increase sales for your ecommerce site? Let’s explore some helpful tips that may work for you.

  1. Build your permission email database. All you have to do is include a checkbox during the checkout process, asking customers if they would like to receive news and promotions from you in the future. People that opt-in are genuinely interested in hearing from you. This database is your goldmine.
  2. Start an email newsletter. Decide what you can handle as far as developing content. Even if it is only quarterly, offering information that is valuable, and not just a sales pitch, is a great method for building brand loyalty. Ask website viewers to subscribe to your newsletter throughout your site.
  3. Utilize email to deliver promotional offers. Be sure to send only to your opt-in list. Sending email unsolicited is considered spam, illegal and damaging to your brand. But do it the right way, and you will find customers will take advantage of your offers.
  4. Include marketing messages in email customer receipts, order confirmations, and other automated emails triggered by user behavior. Many sites send text-only emails without any promotional offer or suggestive selling. Include calls-to-action in a limited form as to not overload these functional emails with marketing messages; but a small amount will motivate users to click. Include calls-to-action to investigate new products, use coupons, or suggest items similar to what they have already purchased.
  5. Use an email communications platform (such as RhythmMail) to manage your email marketing efforts. At a minimum, a good system will allow you to manage lists, create emails, send emails with high deliverability rates, and track performance data. This level of commitment will help you conduct email marketing properly.

These are a few methods to get you started. With some creative thinking, you can develop more ideas to implement. As always, I recommend working with expert consultants to at least get you running. Start today and help drive those ecommerce sales stats through the roof.

To learn more about online marketing, please contact us at 949.215.1250.





Statistics Corner

According to Hitwise, MySpace.com is the most highly visited website on the Internet, surpassing even Yahoo and Google.

A new study on advertising ratios and budgets from Schonfeld & Associates, Inc., projects direct mail catalogers’ ad spending will increase to $1.3 billion.

A recent study by Forrester Research claims that firms will spend $26 billion on Internet marketing by 2010.

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