Email promotions should now be included as part of your promotion mix. They are effective in marketing adult education and continuing education programs. Here are seven tips on successful emarketing for continuing education programs. For more information on eMarketing check out LERN's eMarketing Institute this June in Cleveland.

Keep it short

Email promotions should be short, no more than 10 paragraphs long, with four paragraphs being an ideal length.

Offer info options

Offer as many ways as possible to get more information or have questions answered.

Link to web site

Provide a link to your web site for more information and registration. The link should be to the exact page in your web site concerning the event.

Unsubscribe

Always include an “unsubscribe” option. The unsubscribe option gives your readers the option of not getting your e-mails in the future.

Email 2-3 times

The standard appears to be sending the e-mail out 4 times to a given person for an upcoming session of courses, event, or other major activity.

Subject line should be the same

To create familiarity and get higher readership, the Subject line of your e-mails should always be the same.

Email same time of month

The more regular your e-mails, the more you create anticipation and receptivity. The ideal is to e-mail the same week of the month, same day of the week, and even the same time of day.

Track as much as possible

• Track the effectiveness of your e-mails. Keep track of these rates:
• Bounce, or do not get through to the intended recipient.
• Open, or how many of the e-mails sent actually get opened.
• Click through rate, or how many of the e-mail recipients click on a link for more information or registration.

Update e-mail addresses

Like snail mail addresses, e-mail addresses get out of date. For your past participants, it is worth your time and effort to get updated e-mail addresses when your e-mails bounce back.

Do not spam

When someone gives your program their e-mail address, they are giving you permission to e-mail them. You should send e-mails your past participants and those people who have inquired about your program.

But do not spam. Spam is when you get a list of e-mail addresses who are not your customers and you start e-mailing the people without their permission.

Email promotions should now be included as part of your promotion