6 Great Email Marketing Tactics

These are the things that the big affiliate marketers are using to generate greater responses, more leads, and better return on investment.

1. Email and Social Media

Social media is the standard bearer for innovative marketing these days. With email marketing going as strong as ever, it makes sense to combine the two to take advantage of the leverage between them. You can post links in your email newsletters to your social networking pages, offering simple calls to action to follow you there. You can relate to specific things you’ve posted on Facebook or Twitter in your email messages.

2. Engage Those Subscribers

Don’t just aim for people to get your messages. Aim to optimize the open rates, the click rates, and the forwarding of that message. In fact, some ISPs are already talking about reducing delivery rates from addresses that don’t generate messages that engage users. In short, if someone doesn’t open your messages enough times, you may lose that subscriber in the ether of delivery failure. This means having high impact subject lines, engaging calls to action, and highly useful information in the body. Back it up with Twitter and Facebook links and constant engagement.

3. Going Viral

Emails are the original viral content – with forwarding being a standard practice since the early 1990s. However, today, you can take it to new levels with some specific actions. Always have a "Forward to a Friend" link, but make sure to customize it to the audience. Additionally, make the content in your messages free and easily accessible. Don’t have logins if you can help it and reduce the need for downloads except for large free reports. You want someone who gets your message as a forward to have instant access to all of your content and tools.

4. Bringing Back the Inactive Subscribers

Most email marketing campaigns have a solid percentage of subscribers who don’t get around to unsubscribing but also don’t open the emails you send. You need to re-engage those readers and convince them to start opening and reading again. Easy ways to do this include offering freebies at random intervals that require them to download from a link. You can create urgency in the subject lines as well, or send those inactive users less messages to reduce email fatigue.

5. Scarcity and Bonuses

One of my favourite tips is to introduce a special offer with scarcity into my emails that will drive sales. For example, if I ran a special 5 day promotion in which I offer extra, exclusive bonuses that subscribers would only receive if they purchase through my link, I create a direct reason to use my links. Every day, I post a subject line that says something like "X Hours Left to Claim your HUGE Bonus Special!" Readers are motivated by scarcity and everyone loves freebies. This is even better if you own the product and can discount it for your special offer.

6. Driving Action Daily

Every message you write needs to drive action – not just the ones that try to sell something. If you write a 500 word message full of tips, end it with a Twitter link or a forward link, or a "read more on my blog" link. Always transition that message into some form of drivable action. Every email message you send out should be seen as the opportunity of a life time to reach dozens or even hundreds of primed prospects that are interested in your niche and your products.