This month's tip is a shortened version of the White Paper by the same name on our website. Please feel free to click here to download and read the full version.

Using eMail Marketing To Drive Traffic to your Website

Chances are, no matter how much traffic is visiting your website daily, you would like to see more. More companies are embracing search engine marketing and search engine optimization than ever before. According to the report "The State of Search Engine Marketing," SEM has reached $10 billion (86% pay-per-click/14% organic), so where does eMail Marketing fit in.

From Search Engine Optimization (SEO) standpoint, companies can enhance their search position by sending targeted emails to subscribers. Below are some of the core strategies that can generate strong click-through rates, conversion, and ROI.

Set Up for Success

Utilize opt-in forms. The opt-in form should be short, using drop down menus, radio buttons, and checkboxes to make it quick and easy for subscribers to fill out; but it should also capture pertinent information about your subscribers.

The Importance of Landing Pages

Often overlooked, the landing page can make or break an email campaign. The landing page should provide the exact information subscribers were expecting. Marketers only have three seconds to capture someone's attention and the most effective way of doing that is to build specific landing pages that provide the information subscribers need.

Increasing Click-Through Traffic

Know your audience: Customer preferences and a segmented database are just the beginning. To increase traffic, you must know details such as the best day and time to email your customers, whether your customers prefer HTML or text only email messages, and what your message is competing against in your subscriber's inbox.

Only send out new, relevant information: The content of an email must be useful to subscribers - it must be new information that they haven't read before and it must be relevant to their business in order to drive the traffic to your website.

Give them a snapshot: The email must present enough content to interest and inform readers while keeping it light enough so the readers may easily scan through the information.

Include a clear call to action: When writing the content of your email message, it is important to have in mind one clear call to action that you want your readers to respond to. Do you want readers to make a purchase, download a white paper, etc.?

To read the expanded version and get more ideas about the use of email marketing to increase traffic to your website, click here to download the complete White Paper.