If there’s anything I’ve learned from the Tim Tebow craze, it’s that giving the right pitch to the right (or wrong) audience can get your name out there, for better or for worse. If your message is irrelevant, if it is controversial or if you’re too aggressive in the delivery, you may end up polarizing your audience or losing followers. Being known for something, whether it’s good or bad, may be beneficial in the media world, but in business communications being infamous can hit you right in the pocketbook. In order to keep your business in the best light, follow these five B2B email best practice tips.

1. Connect with your receivers – We’ve all got a lot of interesting things to say about our business or industry, but bombarding your recipients with too much information will overwhelm them and most likely make them sack your message (otherwise known as delete or unsubscribe). Create your message with relevant and engaging headlines and digestible chunks of content so busy readers can easily scan for valuable information.

2. Get them into the end zone – Design your message with a clear purpose in mind. Whether you want recipients to sign up for a free trial, attend an event or visit your website, the next step should be evident. Each message should have a main call-to-action. Including the same call-to-action more than once can help reinforce the end goal by giving recipients multiple opportunities to take the next step.

3. Target your fans – It’s tough to create one newsletter or promotional email that will successfully engage members of multiple industries, titles and interests. Make your message relevant by segmenting your lists to offer useful and pertinent information to distinct audiences.

4. Spread your coverage – Include social sharing and forward to a friend links in your emails. This allows you to leverage your current customer base and their social networks for referrals and new business. You can also track how popular your emails are by tracking link clicks and social shares.

5. Run the drills – The best way to create effective emails is to examine your analytics and reporting to see what’s working and what’s not. Continue to make your messaging more effective by refining subject lines, calls-to-action, image placement, headlines, send times, cadence and more!

Using these tactics can help you score big with your readers. Do you have a particular tip or practice you’ve found beneficial in your B2B communications?

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