Creating E-mails That Customers Want to Read: 10 Proven Tips and Suggestions

In today's business environment. keeping in touch is the key to keeping customers. And while many franchise owners incorrectly might equate e-mail marketing with spam and dismiss it, e-mail is actually a highly-effective marketing tool that provides an incredible return on investment. According to a Direct Marketing Association survey, e-mail returns an impressive $57.25 for every dollar spent, while driving $7.7 billion in consumer sales and $8.8 billion in business-to-business sales. When done properly, e-mail can be a crucial part of a franchise's overall marketing strategy.

E-mail also has a number of advantages over traditional marketing methods. Companies can precisely target and personalize messages to recipients. as well as track such detailed results as open rates, click rates and conversion rates. And best of all, e-mail marketing is incredibly low-cost when compared to such traditional one-to-one messaging as direct mail.

The trick, of course, is discovering how a franchise can create e-mail that people actually want to receive and to learn how to avoid getting banished to the spam folder or deleted.

Here are 10 proven tips and suggestions:

1. Personalize and localize

The more personally the e-mails are crafted, the more likely a positive outcome will result. An effective e-mail message will address the recipient by first name. More importantly, make sure that the e-mails come from an individual or appear that way. The franchise corporate office should have the ability to send e-mails to employees, where the "from" contains the name and the message might include a photo and contact information. No one wants to feel like they are on a list of thousands of people copied on a mass e-mail; make it personal.

2. Review opt-in procedures

Franchises thrive on local customer relationships. Unsolicited corporate e-mail can break down customer trust and loyalty. First and foremost, make sure the company has permission to send the e-mail in the first place. Avoid pre-checked opt-in boxes, which can result in a list of subscribers who aren't aware that they've opted in. Allowing subscribers to manually check a box ensures that the company is only sending e-mail to those who've actively requested it. Make sure the procedures for unsubscribing, changing an e-mail address and maintaining a user profile are readily accessible and user-friendly.