Marketing Profs

As March Madness gets into full swing, there are lessons that email marketers can learn from watching the games. This March, college players are hoping their hard work, preparation and practice will pay off with a NCAA title.

Marketers, like the college teams, can use these five winning strategies to improve their email marketing game:

1. Study your competition

Research the email activity of other organizations in your industry. Some may not be sending email at all, giving you a significant competitive advantage.

If they do have an email marketing program, what are they doing well that you could incorporate into your efforts? Alternatively, what aspects of their game need work that you could capitalize on? Maybe the signup is hard to find on their Web site, or perhaps the opt-in form is too long. Is their content any good?

What's the value of your competitors' email offer vs. the value that you can offer your subscribers? Make sure you're offering a better value and communicating it clearly.

2. Make sure your uniform is clean and your shirt is tucked in

You don't want to look sloppy to your subscribers. Make sure you've tested your email in multiple email clients to ensure that it looks good to everyone. If you're using images, make sure that your message still comes through loud and clear in email clients that disable images.

Be careful of fancy footwork and hook shots. If you're using Flash, video, form fields, or other rich media, make sure it's going to work in all email clients. If it's not, maybe it's safer to just take the lay up: Include a link in the email that takes recipients to a landing page where they will be able to view these media.

3. You must make your free throws

There are shots in every game that you have to make because they're easy and they can make a big difference in the overall outcome of the game. Your welcome message is an easy shot, yet it's very important for the future success of your email campaigns.