Whether you sell your products on eBay, another marketplace or your own website, you can significantly increase your repeat sales by using the power of email marketing! Here’s a quick run-down of how to get the most of out of email marketing (plus some recommendations for email marketing providers).

Email Content

When you sit down to write your first email, you might feel slightly at a loss at what to write. Here are some ideas:

• Introduce new products that you have added to your inventory. People appreciate your own personal review of the product that you sell. They are more likely to buy from you if they trust what you are writing about.
• Create a list of your “top 3 hottest selling products”. Buyers love knowing what other’s are buying and this often increases sales of these particular items.
• Promote a discount or special offer. For example, 25% off all women’s clothing or buy two pairs of socks, get the third free. Customize your special offers for your own product inventory.
• Showcase a particular item and include feedback from past customers on the product. This is a great way of promoting products. People can be skeptical of biased reviews, so genuine reviews from customers who have bought your product can help to convince them to buy. Of course, this can work the other way as well, if you get negative feedback on a product, that will affect your future sales.

Email Subject Lines

When you send emails, the subject line plays a very crucial part in getting your email opened. Most web users receive dozens of emails each day so it’s important that your one stands out. Here’s some examples of poor subject lines:

• “[No subject]” – Having no subject is depriving yourself of the opportunity to lure in readers. No one will open an email which has [No Subject], if anything it just looks dodgy.
• “Check this out!”
• “FREE GIVEAWAY!!!!”
• “Contact me now!!”
• “Special rates for you”

Not only do these subject lines look ‘spammy’, most of them will actually get picked up by spam filters and won’t have a chance to get read.

To create a good subject line that will increase your overall open rate, stick to the rule “lead, but do not mislead”. What this means is that you should lead your readers to open the email by writing a catchy subject line, but make sure you always follow-through with the promise or claim in the subject line.

Another tip is to always run your email through a content checker such as the Lyris Content Checker for Email. By running your email through the checker, you can screen out any content that might cause your email to go straight to your recipient’s junk folder.

Pointing Your Customers In The Right Direction

One crucial, but sometimes mistakenly left out, element of email marketing is a link that directs readers to your products. Make sure you give your readers a strong “call to action” that provokes them to take action by viewing or buying a product from you. For example, you could write:

“We have just started stocking hair extensions! These are made from 100% human hair that can be curled or straightened. We have a special introductory price of just $59 per set (usually $89). Check them out now: www.YourWebsite.com/hairextensions”

Always make sure you test the links you include in your emails before you send them to your list. Links are the lifeblood of your email marketing!

Email Marketing Providers

When it comes to sending emails, using your own email account to send emails to multiple customers won’t cut it: You need a professional email marketing software to help you do it the right way. You might be thinking that these are going to be expensive and difficult to use, but don’t worry, they’re not!

Here are some options:

AWeber: $1 for the first month and $19 per month after that. AWeber creates professional-looking emails and is very easy to use.  It it considered the industry standard email marketing provider and is used by thousands of professional businesses.

Mail Chimp: Plans range from free (for a very basic account) to $10-$240 per month depending on how big your email list is.

But what do you think? Do you use email marketing to promote products? Do you think email marketing is a good way to sell to customers? Do you have a question about email marketing? Feel free to ask any questions and leave your opinions in the comments section below.
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Thank you to my Guest Post Author: Alice Delore

Alice is an education specialist for SaleHoo.com, a product sourcing directory and education portal for online retailers and eBay sellers. Aside from their directory of wholesale suppliers, product suite includes ecommerce software and an online retail video training course.
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