Businesses 'should improve their 2009 email campaign'

An industry expert has provided a number of guidelines to help small business improve their online marketing performance in 2009.

The following tips might help companies set up a HTML newsletter campaign or to improve the one they already have, said Luc Vezina, head of marketing for Campaigner.

Firstly, businesses should sort out their list of recipients. This could help improve performance, reputation and delivery rates by ensuring that relevant people are targeted.

Secondly, look back over 2008 and highlight what did not work for the business before and learn from this when planning next year's email campaign.

People are also advised to look at the calendar and take note of relevant dates, holidays and events that they can incorporate into their marketing.

Finally, businesses could try out something new. Technology means HTML email newsletters can include video files or podcasts – which can make the campaign more engaging.

Mr Vezina said: "More and more small businesses rely on email marketing as one of the cornerstones of their growth strategy."

Campaigner provides tools to help small and medium sized companies communicate with their consumers.