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Many businesses have an email list they aren’t tapping into. This is unfortunate because typically this list is made up of previous customers or people who are specifically interested in the product or service you provide. Those of us in marketing are familiar with the phrase “The gold is in the list!”. Failing to market and engage this current list of customers on a regular basis is ultimately neglecting your audience. No one likes to walk into a bar or restaurant, sit down, wait to place an order only to wait forever to get table service. This is the equivalent of ghosting on your list. Email is a great way to provide regular, engaging content to your customers that will keep you top of mind when they ultimately get ready to buy. Here are a few key insights into how to begin with managing and utilizing email to keep your prospects engaged:

1. The Cost Of Email Marketing Is Relatively Low
   There are several free email management services out there that you can use. Within a few minutes, you can set up your account, upload your email list and schedule your first email blast to your list. We recommend a service like Mailchimp that offers a free service up to 2,000 subscribers. The downside of managing your email is that you’ll have to invest a considerable amount of time creating and managing the list.

2. Your Email Must Be Enticing, Engaging and Interesting
   In order for your customers to open your email and actually engage with what you’re doing your content must be enticing, engaging and interesting. Need help discovering what to write about? Take a look at trending topics on Facebook and Google. Does anything happening in the world relate to your industry? Write an opinion or perspective on what’s happening. Secondly, don’t just write about it, make it interesting. Use the techniques of humor and sarcasm to write your article or newsletter. Post interesting or funny pictures that your users would think is funny or interesting. Give them a reason to spend the minute’s worth reading.

3. Subject Line, Subject Line
   Choosing the right subject line will actually get your email opened. Personalized subject lines are 22.2% more likely to be opened. [Source:Adestra] In our personal tests, when you place someone’s first name in the subject line, its more likely to be opened. There is no sense putting time and energy into your emails when they will just be sent to spam or not even be opened. Avoid spammy subject lines like “free”, “!!!!” or emojis. Also, attachments like pictures or documents that are not embedded into the email will most likely just get flagged buy spam. 
4. Give, Give, Jab
   This is probably the most common mistake business owners make when it comes to marketing their business. They just blast their features and benefits without really engaging their customers. Posting, blasting your list with “buy now” is a sure way to get ignored, possibly even unsubscribed. We advise you to give, give and then ask. You want to promote content that is actually helpful and useful to your customers before you ask them to do something. When you apply the golden rule of giving, it will be given back to you. Give promotions, discounts and then ask your customers to do something. Don’t just nag your customers to buy. 
5. Test Your Email
   Make sure your email is viewable on cell phones and tablets. Mailchimp and other services provide an easy way for you to send out a test email to see how it looks and is viewed by your customers. Many services offer out of the box mobile friendly templates that can easily be used. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve sent out an email without testing, only to see spelling errors and broken links in my email. 

   If you have an email list and are not using it, I would highly suggest you consider either cleaning up your list yourself or hiring someone to help you manage and execute your email campaigns. Even sending out a once per month email newsletter is a valuable tool to retain and engage your current clients and customers. People who have experienced your service or bought from you in the past will be most likely to buy from you again. If you’re not utilizing the “gold” in this list, then what are you waiting for?