It is easy to forget that email marketing is, in essence, nothing more that salesmanship at a distance. Whilst you cannot react to the immediate feedback, looking for those little clues to indicate which way you should go, sophisticated email marketing software allows you to know each individual on your email list. You now have clear pointers as what to emphasise in your email. You now know what they want, what is likely to make them click-through and the price they will pay.

But without sensible planning you are just as likely to make those mistakes that sales staff made before the advent of email marketing. The only difference is that now they will be in plain view to anyone who has access to the returns data.

An error that a lot of those new to the craft make is emphasising a specific feature they want to promote rather than what the customer might want to buy. And this is most apparent in the main thrust of the marketing email.

The item that you want to sell and the one they might buy can be the same thing. It is all down to how you describe it. If you were in the planning stage of the latest upgrade, the sheer technical brilliance of the product might all but overwhelm you. There you were struggling to catch up with the competition and suddenly, with a lot of sweat and tantrums, you are in the vanguard. Of course you want to tell everyone about it.

Those populating your emails lists will not be that interested in your product’s feature that is now just the same as everyone else’s. Mention it by all means, especially if your customers demonstrated their dissatisfaction by going elsewhere. But you need to point out where you lead.

If your product had better graphics, higher connectivity and the best sound reproduction in the business then these are the features to emphasise. Battery life, now merely – although after much effort – as good as it gets, is unlikely to be a selling point.

Best Graphics, Connectivity, Sound

And an unbeaten battery life

That is email marketing.