In this article, Loren McDonald tells us to put the R’s of email marketing to work, and you’ll make your email marketing program more strategic, results-oriented and effective:

These are his eight R’s for e-mail marketing success.

Requested
A successful e-mail program starts with a list of subscribers who ask to hear from you. Make sure you send e-mails that are requested by recipients: always get explicit permission, use a double opt-in process and resist such tactics as pre-checking boxes on registration forms.

Relationship
E-mail marketing is about building long-term relationships. With each e-mail you send, you either build trust or destroy it. Greet new users with a welcome e-mail that sets expectations around frequency and content, encourages feedback and invites them to manage your relationship through preference centers.
 

Reputation
ISPs use your reputation to determine where to deliver your message:
the inbox, the bulk folder or a black hole. Authenticate your e-mails
and maintain a solid sender reputation through consistent list hygiene
and minimizing spam complaints.

Received
It’s obvious that if your e-mail is not received in the inbox, it has
little chance of being read. Monitor your deliverability rates and
watch for red flags such as a dirty list, funky HTML coding and spammy
content.

Rendering
Design your e-mail so it renders correctly, and avoid the double whammy
effect of subscribers using preview panes and blocking images. Convey
your message with text and don’t depend solely on large, pretty images
that many recipients won’t actually see.

Relevance
Give recipients a reason to read your e-mails by sending well-designed,
well-written and relevant content that meets their needs. Learn what
they want, and segment lists based on behavior such as clicked links,
purchases, RFM or actions they’ve taken on the site.

Reporting
Process metrics, like open, click-through and bounce rates provide
insight into your e-mail program but are of little value to your CEO.
Measure performance against your company’s business goals, such as
revenue, leads and brand impact, then report how e-mail contributes to
the success of the marketing mix.

Resources
Many companies lack budget and resources such as dedicated e-mail
marketing specialists who understand e-mail and privacy laws, implement
best practices and drive sophisticated programs using dynamic content
and Web analytics-driven segmentation. Build the right team or leverage
outside experts to consistently deliver phenomenal e-mail ROI.

Source: DMNews