Engaging in email marketing can help you improve your online marketing strategies and reach a wider target audience. Are you ready to send out those email promotions and newsletters? Wait just yet! Learn the 3 basic rules of email marketing that you should keep in mind to make your email marketing campaign effective and successful.

Permission must be given directly or implied

Before sending out an email, make sure that the recipient gave you permission to do so. Directly given is when a person specifically asks you to send them e-mails to keep them posted. Implied means they may have seen you in events and have registered or given you their business cards directly. Either way, your recipients MUST know and expect that you will be sending them an email.

Avoid cold emails by using these as opening lines: “I got your email from this website” or “This is a one-time only email” just because you get email addresses from other sources and not from your recipients themselves.

Identify yourself as the sender

Make sure that your identity as a sender is clear and contains your company details, website, and contact information, so that your recipients can get in touch with you for further inquiries, and be reminded as well of your last meeting. This would also help create an image about you or your company of being professional and credible in your business.

Give customers the option to opt out or unsubscribe

Whether your email marketing messages got sent through direct email, mailing list, or auto-responder, there must always be an option for recipients to unsubscribe or opt out from your email system when they want to. State clear instructions how to do so at the bottom part of the email as this is where opt out commands are usually displayed.

By default, most entrepreneurs send their marketing campaigns through e-mail. In addition to observing the three rules above, always remember that the adage “content is king” also holds true to this marketing strategy. No matter how perfectly you follow these email marketing rules, if you don’t provide helpful content, your subscriber base may drop from thousands to zero.

Make sure that you do email marketing for the right reasons – to engage to your customers and keep them loyal and coming back to you.