Using the Email Header to Highlight Your offer

The future is now with regard to email marketing's role as a key digital marketing choice for today's challenging economic times. A recent StrongMail study showed that more than half (51 percent) of the nearly 1,000 global business leaders polled plan to increase their marketing budgets in 2009 to focus on programs that yield a higher return on investment, such as email marketing and search. Let's take a look at a few key items to drive your response results immediately!

1. Use the Header copy to your advantage and highlight the offer.
2. Optimize for mobile viewers.
3. Use alt tags.
4. Preference Center is the new "go to" web page for your customers

An example by Harry & David using text copy above the graphic email banner to allow recipients to either view the email as a web page or on a mobile device. Plus they have also highlighted the key action and subject of the email. clicking in the mobile device provides a text email that is optimized for the small screen of PDAs.

So many email browsers block images by default. Why take a chance that the recipient has not enabled images. Use alt tags and text so the person can understand what the image represents.

Normally,  companies offer an email signup page and/or website registration form to capture consumers' opt-ins, which are the most valuable commodities in the digital world - an opportunity to build a two way dialogue with your customer!  Remember, these are customers and prospects raising their hands to say, "Yes, please market to me." E marketing can be the "connective glue" in your marketing programs. Consider:

• How do they want to receive communications i.e. multiple platforms (email, mobile, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• Provide the ability to change preferences, formats, languages, etc.
• Let them choose frequency of updates
• Asking them their preferences as it relates to the products or services you offer 
• Let them choose types of communications and adjust as you go, as opposed to unsubscribing from all
• Provide a sneak peak of any offered communications
• Tell them how data will be treated and information on other privacy issues
• Explain how to remove oneself with ease from any or all communications

A great way to obtain this additional information is in the confirmation email, after they have initially said "yes" to communication. An immediate incentive or offer can help the customer go the extra mile to link to the customer profile page to fill out / update the other information.

Note, the nice use of tabs above for both updating preferences and changing your email by HP.