Website Tips

Using E-marketing to Drive Traffic to Your Website

Let's take a look at how you can create E-marketing campaigns that reach out to your customers to drive traffic and business to your website. Get your business website to work for you 24/7/365.

The first step is to consider the various approaches and E-marketing tools available to you:

• E-mail marketing: Just what it sounds like – using targeted E-mail marketing to let customers and qualified prospects know about specials, sales, new products, or just to keep in touch. E-mail marketing can be a very effective web marketing tool, but you should bear a few things in mind:
  • Don't overwhelm the customers' E-mailbox: It is a rare customer who would appreciate getting daily or even weekly E-mail marketing letters. Think about how much E-mail marketing material you need to send, and then think about how often your customers want to hear from you.
  • Have something to say: E-mail marketing works best – like other marketing media – when it offers distinct and special products, services and opportunities.
  • Use a clear, distinctive subject-line: Make sure your E-mail marketing materials stand out from all the rest the customer receives. Your E-mail marketing subject-line should send your marketing message in specific, well-chosen words.
  • Let them opt-out: Include a response-link that lets recipients notify you if they no longer wish to receive E-mail marketing materials (or newsletters, etc) from you. If a customer asks to be removed from this list, do it!
  • Invite them to your homepage: Every E-mail marketing piece should include a link to your business website homepage or the relevant sales/special/new product pages within your site.
  • Make sure your business website homepage (and other business website pages) match what you promise or offer in the E-mail marketing campaign! In other words, update the business website pages before you send the E-mail marketing letters.
• E-mail newsletters: A specific, fresh and lively E-mail newsletter is a terrifically effective way to drive traffic to your website. Again, some points to consider:
  • Create E-mail newsletters they’ll want to read: Your E-mail newsletter should have something to say, say it clearly, and offer information or opportunities that the customers are interested in, rather than just general news or chat. This may mean you send your E-mail newsletter less frequently – but also that it’ll be more effective.
  • Consider a subscription offer: While you can simply send your E-mail newsletter to every name on your mailing list, give some thought to offering it by subscription. Include a small 'newsletter subscribe' button on your business website homepage and all other pages, as well as a link to newsletter subscription-buttons in all of your E-mail marketing materials (including invoices, business E-letterhead, etc.)
  • Make sure the e-mail newsletter matches the business website: as above, update the site before you send the E-mail newsletter.
• Bulk E-mail marketing: Huge E-mail lists are available for purchase from a variety of vendors. While there are advantages to bulk E-mail marketing – reaching a larger audience at far lower prices than traditional mail, global lists, etc., there are some points to consider before investing in bulk E-mail marketing:
  • Do you need it? Are you looking to dramatically expand your business by trying to reach hundreds of thousands – or millions – of people? If not, you may be wasting your money.
  • Are the names qualified leads? Probably not, unless you're buying a targeted (and more expensive) list from a trade association or list-qualifier you may be buying more irrelevant than relevant names.
  • Is the bulk E-mail marketing list vendor reputable? Some aren't: check references and don't deal with "spammers."

Finally, notify all of your recipients that you won't re-sell or otherwise distribute their E-mail addresses or other private information, and include this information on your business website homepage, as well as in all other E-marketing campaign tools. And make sure you stick to your word.

Learn about Website Packages and E-mail from Network Solutions.