• Section: Money Guide - Category: Online Business
• Written by Ruth Harris

Email marketing is a two-way street. If your prospects are not interested, they will simply unsubscribe and that's that. It is critical to provide what they want versus what you want to give them.

How do you know what your prospects want? First, look at what got them on your list in the beginning. Did they simply want your freebie gift, did they buy a product, or did they sign up to receive your newsletter? Next, consider if you have provided what they were looking for effectively, or maybe you fell short. If you have a low read rate and/or a high unsubscribe rate, you have missed something.

Probably the easiest way to find out is to ask your list what they want to learn more about. Make it a standard section in your email to ask them questions. Do not send every email with a full-blown survey, one question per email should do.

You can ask any number of targeted questions that will allow you to adapt your campaign and achieve better success.

Possible questions to ask your prospects:

Was your information helpful?
What would they like to hear more about?
Do they have questions about your products and services?
What is keeping them from buying?

Since you want them to answer your questions, you have to make it easy for them to do so. See what capabilities your email server provides. At the very least, simply ask them to email you their answer to the question. Most of your prospects will be intrigued with the interactivity and will be happy to answer so they will not mind taking the time to email you their response.

In some cases, you might be opening up a can of worms with this interactivity. Once you put the questions out there, you must be prepared to follow-up and respond. Be sure to send a thank you to your prospects when they respond. This can also create a great new relationship with your prospects.

To go one step further, you can include a regular spot in your email that highlights the feedback from the question posed in the previous email. This will show your list that you have invested time and effort into getting to know them better and are listening to their comments. Including this feedback and your response to it will also encourage other members of your list to participate. It almost works the same as a forum does on a website.

Good service is hard to come by these days, especially online. Acting on feedback from your list will make you stand out from the crowd. Used properly, adding a little interactivity to your email campaign can help boost the success of the campaign and your business.

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