Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Written by Ray Larson

If you think e-mail marketing is no longer an essential part of your custom content campaign, think again. E-mail is still considered the No. 1 form of communication and the most common strategy used by Internet marketers, according to panelists at the Internet Summit 2009. 

Also, 69% of businesses plan to increase their e-mail marketing budgets for this year, reports StrongMail’s recent survey 2010 Marketing Trends reports. So what can you do to jumpstart your e-mail campaigns?

Gone are the days of e-newsletters filled with just headlines, hyperlinks and a few images. The most effective e-mail communication today consists of a combination of components: relevant content, videos, social media features and, where appropriate, real-time wiki technologies. Consumers want to see products, get educated and immediately respond to the information given.

Content. E-mail marketing must be friendly, engaging in content and style, and approachable. You must understand your audience and give them the information they want. Create content that people feel compelled to share, such as stories or fact sheets. Links to your content via social media sites are like votes of confidence in the value of your campaign.

Video. Adding video has proved to be successful at gaining traffic to your Web site leading to increased profits. It personalizes your message, maintains your audience’s attention and is an effective call-to-action tool. Video ideas include interviews, facts, visual statistical information, how-tos or previews of upcoming products.

Social features. Repurpose your video to your Web site too. Currently, videos are searched and sorted by Meta tags, titles and descriptions. However, Google and Bing have already taken steps towards adding image-recognition to video searches, and further moves are being taken where engines can interpret what the actual content of the video is. When these changes take place, it can mean more targeted traffic to your Web site.

E-mail is still one of the best ways to communicate directly with the people who buy your products and services. By incorporating these various elements to your campaign, you’ll make it easier for your customers to get the information they need.