Email marketing is one of the most cost effective and results driven strategies that a business can use. But, while some people may look at their inbox and only see spam, there are prospects out there who want to receive emails from businesses because they genuinely want to know more about the products or service that the business supplies.

Here are 5 steps to make your email marketing campaigns effective rather than be regarded as spam.

1. Get Prospects To Opt-in To Your Email List

When a prospect has given you their approval to send them emails, your emails will not be seen as spam. To gain this permission from a prospect, you have to provide them with something of value in exchange for their email address. This could be a free report or a subscription to your newsletter. Use an opt-in form on your website or landing page that clearly explains what you are going to send them.

2. Deliver What You Promise

Once a prospect has inserted their email into your opt-in form you have to deliver what you promised in exchange for their email. Email marketing fails when you promise one thing but deliver another. Whatever you offered for free should provide helpful and useful information for your prospect and not just be a sales message about your product or service.

3. Continue To Provide Value

Don’t constantly bombard your subscribers with hard sell messages. Continue to provide them with useful ideas and tips that are connected to your industry, market, products or services. If your prospects see you as someone who knows what they are doing and saying, they will trust you quickly and be more prepared to buy from you.

4. Use Guarantees and Testimonials

When it does come to selling your products and services, if you remove any risk from the buying process, it makes it easier for your prospects to make a decision. Email marketing gives you the opportunity to talk about the guarantee you provide on your products or testimonials about your service received from satisfied customers.

5. Let People Unsubscribe

Make it easy for people on your email list to unsubscribe. This may sound counter-productive but it show that you’re not there to trap subscribers. Many people are wary that they may be stuck for life and would have to abandon their email accounts when they get pestered with spam. If you have an unsubscribe button on every email you send, they know that they can opt-out whenever they want. But, if you’re providing good value to your prospects, they will want to stay on your list and, when they are ready to buy, it’s you that they will come to first.