If you are looking for a way to use email newsletters and email advertising to directly target current customers and potential customers, that is a wise move. These days, email marketing is one of the fastest-growing advertising methods, which could mean great results for you.

Here are some tips on how you can target your audience via email marketing:

Think about what you are looking for

Take some time to think about which part of the audience you would like to target, and what you would like to sell. It is important to begin with the end of mind – what would you like to achieve?

Segment your email list

You should have a certain amount of information about your customers, such as where they live, what they like to buy, what they click on in your newsletters, and perhaps even more demographic information. You can segment your email list to send out emails to target specific customers. For example, if you sell music, you could send an email about offering specials on jazz music, and only send that email to customers who have bought jazz.

In many cases, you might find that such specific emails might get more of a reaction – including increased sales – than with a scattershot email list. And if you had more demographic information, you could find even more ways to tweak your list and target specific people. So why not offer some sort of discount or even a contest in exchange for further demographic info, like age, number of children, or other specific questions.

You also might want to do a survey asking for feedback about new and current products. Asking current customers for such information is a good idea because they are interested enough in your product in order to buy it. The information you glean could help you come up with ideas for future promotions for your customers.

Run email newsletter ads

You don’t just want to target current customers, of course, You would like to find new ones. There are ways to do that easily via running ads in other email newsletters, targeted to possible new customers. For example, if you sell yarn, you might want to reach out to crafters via their newsletters. These days, you don’t even have to worry about finding the newsletters or selling the ads yourself. Some specialized websites can find email newsletters for you that would be perfect for your target audience.

These ads are effective, too. Studies have shown that the click-through late on newsletter ads is higher than other forms of advertising. That’s due in part to the halo effect – people who read the newsletter trust the ads in the publication and that could mean more sales for you.

In summary, why not target your audience via email marketing? It could mean great results for you.

Lisa Swan writes about various topics and sites including www.liveintent.com,