To a lot of people, the term “email marketing” automatically conjures images of an email intent on one thing – selling. In actual fact, there are a number of types of email communications you can use to your advantage, some of which are not directly sales related but can certainly contribute to your bottom line in other ways.
Quick Announcements
Often called postcard emails, these are simple, brief announcements you might want to make informing customers of a special offer, a popular new product or quick fire sale. These types of emails are typically restricted to a single call-to-action and should be easy for the recipient to scan in a few seconds.
Email Newsletters
The primary purpose of an email newsletter is to build upon your relationship with your customers. Of course, this might (and should) indirectly result in an increase in sales, but the focus should be on providing relevant, useful content your subscribers might be interested in.
Often the content isn’t directly related to your products either. For example, an online grocer might send a monthly newsletter featuring a few recipes, a story on the benefits of organic produce and a column with exercising tips.
Catalogue Emails
A catalogue based email is fairly self explanatory, being an electronic version of a print brochure listing particular products, with the primary goal to encourage customers to purchase.
Press Releases
Email press releases can be a great way to attract news coverage. Of course, there are a number of services that can distribute your press releases to the media, but maintaining your own list of media contacts can be a great way for you to send targeted, personalized press releases only to those contacts who will be interested.
Not sure what will work?
The best thing about email is that it’s so measurable. Try a newsletter for a month or two and then look at the results. Mix up the the topics you cover to see which garners the most interest.