Your Mission in Email Marketing is Sales

There. I've said it. In print... for the whole world to see. Email marketers have a mission... sales. The funny thing is, though, we're no different than anyone else. And I do mean anyone.

Salesmen. Saleswomen. Salespersons. That's what we all are and what we do. Doesn't matter who you think you are. We're all selling something out there. We're looking for the like-minded person who wants to know what we have to say or offer that might change or improve their lives.We're trying to persuade someone else to consider either our way of thinking, our way of being, or our way of doing. Even the monks who meditate all day...and all night...long must, in some way, persuade someone to contribute to their well being. Either with a contribution of money, food, or 'followship', there is persuasive interaction.Once you understand it's an energy interchange, sales doesn't seem like such a bad word. Persuasive interaction simply means that you have an opportunity to provide something that may be perceived to be valuable to someone else, who then makes a choice. There's a saying I picked up somewhere along my path: "If we find each other it's beautiful, if not it can't be helped."

Someone probably knows we all look for connection...to people 'like' us...or like we want to be.Right now, I'm hoping that you will be persuaded to keep reading. That what I've said so far has value, and that the choice you make is to get to the heart of this message...how to accomplish your mission.Email marketers' mission is to sell. We're together on that, right? To do that, you must:

• Write copy that grabs prospects attention. Your mission is to create subject lines that are intriguing...that have enough mystery they raise the curiosity level of the audience and get the email opened. That, of course is only the beginning. You must also...

• Convert the attention to continued readership and ultimately to a sale. Do this well and your business will soar. So will your 'followship."

Here are a few rules that I follow...most of the time... to create and hold interest:

1. Create an eye-route. Like a confusing intersection sign, your email can create distraction and confuse the eye. You want your reader to be able to easily track the core elements of your message, and ensure the eye follows through all the way to the action step. Use heat maps.Keep text copy short and manageable. When your text copy is too long, the reader loses interest. And, it fatigues the eye. When you have a lot of copy, use columns. Using 40 characters and spaces in your columns is what's recommended by the experts.Keep your paragraphs interesting and inviting. Use short paragraphs. Long paragraphs are intimidating and discourage readership. Emails aren't written for English teachers...sorry. They're written for readers. That doesn't mean use poor grammar. It just means that some rules are meant to be broken.Put contact information on each page. At the bottom...or top...of each page, include contact information. Make it easy for the prospect to get more information or act
2. Use graphics only to enhance the perceived value of the product or service. This might include charts to enhance credibility, grab the prospect's attention, or drive the impact of important features home.

Wait a minute... before...did I say... Most of the time? Yes, I did, because there are always exceptions to every rule. That's an important rule to remember, also.Remember, your mission is sales. Salesmanship is all about knowing your customer. Anticipating their needs, their wants and desires... and satisfying them. If the rules I've mentioned don't apply to your niche, don't use them. Create your own... video only...text messaging only...whatever you have discovered that will get their attention, be credible, inviting and easy and persuade them to follow you to action.

Nothing to it. You can do it. Nike taught us that!

Jon Penn is a Research Manager with Prospect Email (www.prospectemail.net); Jon Penn is solely responsible for the contents of this article.