E-shotting your customers is not new technology, however it seems to be something that is often missed or not even considered in marketing plans. Why? Because we all get annoying spam emails through and you don’t want to tarnish your company and brand with the same annoying brush. That’s understandable, however if you are using your own company database of prospects and customers, you won’t be spamming. Believe it or not, your customers may like some regular correspondence from you. The worst case scenario would be no reaction from your contact, however you’ll be in their mind should they decide to buy at a later date.


E-shotting should not replace your existing marketing activity. It should compliment all other pieces of communication. It’s very cost effective, so won’t break the bank either. My advice would be to send a minimum of two e-shots a month, let them be informational, contain hints, tips and advice that would benefit the recipient. The continual hard sell will result in a lot of unsubscribers and that impression of spam.


Here are some simple tips that you can take to your design agency to ensure you deliver


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emails that customers and prospects will benefit from receiving.


1. The list In my opinion, this is one of the most important parts of e-shotting. I stress, please don’t go out and buy 10,000 email addresses – a waste of your money. Put the e-shot database together consisting of current customers, past customers, enquirers and prospects. The software these days allows you to split contacts into their own lists, so if you have an e-shot solely aimed at customers, it ensures that your prospects won’t get it.


It’ll take some time to do this and put the list together, but it’s worth the work. You’ll end up with several lists of targeted companies you either work with or want to work with.


How can you build this list?


• Add a subscription form on your website • Ask all enquirers for an email address • Take a business card from every meeting you go to.


2. The design So now you have your list ready, you need to make your email visually appealing.


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