Emails offer a great opportunity to generate traffic to your website. The most common method is to include a link within the body of the message you are sending out, but there are other opportunities too.

The most obvious is to include links to your blog, Facebook, and Twitter accounts after your signature at the bottom of the email. You can also include ads. Just write text ones for those who don’t receive your HTML emails. But I’ve recently spotted one opportunity that is often missed.

I get too many emails. It’s my own fault because I like to keep my finger on the pulse and see what’s happening in the internet marketing world. The good thing about this is I have plenty of information to look at. Yet only recently did it occur to me that it’s been a while since I analysed the emails themselves rather than just read the content. That’s when I spotted the confirmation emails.

If you’ve ever made a purchase online or subscribed to a newsletter you will almost certainly have received a confirmation email. These tend to follow a template, probably because the most popular autoresponder services provide one. The template usually includes an opportunity to enter your name, address and website URL, but I’ve yet to see a confirmation email that includes the links you usually find in the follow up emails – your blog, Facebook account, etc.

Surely this is a lost opportunity. Of all the emails you send the confirmation email is one of the most likely to be opened. The recipient has only just finished purchasing or subscribing. They’re bound to be enthusiastic about reading your communications.

If you use an autoresponder take a look at the confirmation emails you send out. Could you encourage further reader interaction without distracting them from subscribing? If you sell online are you making the most of your first communication with your new customers?

Part of generating traffic is giving people plenty of opportunities to visit your site. Make sure your emails are optimised to be part of that process.