Email marketing provides businesses with a powerful way to share news about updates, products and sales with their customers - with high ROI making Email a critical component of many inbound strategies.
What is Email Marketing?
Marketing automation can do much of your work for you - an effective strategy for email marketing not only drives sales but also builds community.
Email marketing is using email by businesses to connect and communicate directly with their customers, raise brand awareness and market products or services. Email marketing gives companies an effective tool to increase customer relationships while building brand recognition and understanding of products or services.
Your email strategy should include various kinds of emails. Emails come in all forms.
- Welcome emails.
- Newsletters.
- Promotional emails.
- Lead nurturing emails or re-engagement emails.
- Transactional emails, such as confirmation emails and password reset notifications.
- Emails for feedback or surveys.
- Emails to mark milestones, like a customer's birthday or anniversary.
Marketing E-mails: Types
Email marketing can be a promotional tool to inform customers or guide them through buying.
Promotional Emails
Email campaigns can promote new products, special offers, gated content (such as ebooks and webinars ), and your brand. A campaign typically comprises three to ten emails over several days or weeks.
CTA stands for "call-to-action" in promotional emails. A CTA refers to an action you want your reader to perform - such as visiting a particular webpage on your site or redeeming an offer code to make purchases.
Your email marketing frequency depends on your business's sales and marketing cycles.
On critical periods, such as black friday, you may send multiple promotional emails within one 24-hour period. On slower marketing periods, however, campaigns may stretch over several weeks or more.
Informational Emails
Newsletters - A newsletter is a way to share news about your business. Consider highlighting new milestones, new product capabilities or valuable content such as case studies. Sending newsletters regularly - weekly, biweekly or monthly - helps maintain consistency with your subscribers.
A newsletter lets you share your insights, ideas, and tips with your audience.
An email has long been considered the go-to channel for communicating important messages, from website malfunctions and shipping delays to malfunctions of software/systems. Email provides an instant, secure method of sharing your vital information as it fits any formality or announcement that may arise.
Re-engagement Emails
Re-engagement emails are another necessary marketing email type. As the name implies, re-engagement emails help customers or subscribers reconnect who have yet to be active.
Email Marketing Tools: Benefits
Effective email marketing strategies are essential to the growth and management of your business. From newsletters to order confirmations, they play a crucial role in managing your company.
Email marketing have three main objectives:
Conversions (Selling your Products and Services)
Are you launching a promotion or sale? Sending your subscribers an email campaign can help you drive sales. Use these email marketing strategies to boost your conversions.
Abandoned cart emails are triggered when visitors add a product to their cart but do not check out.
Brand Awareness
Effective email marketing campaign is one of the best ways to connect with someone. Emails allow for one-on-one correspondence, and people are no longer giving access to any business or publication in their inbox - it has become their haven.
Your brand will stay at the forefront of subscribers' minds if it appears in their email inboxes regularly. A personalized email is far more impactful than a post on social media, where there's no telling whether someone saw it.
Scalability is one of the key advantages of email marketing.
Customer Loyalty
Email marketing creates customer loyalty across the buyer journey - from lead nurturing and conversion through onboarding and retention. Email can also be integrated with sales CRM systems for improved communication.
As we explore in our guide on building relationships via Email, Email is an effective way of creating a sense of community.
Best Practices for Email Marketing
An effective email campaign can help your company meet its marketing goals, engage existing customers and draw in new ones. A well-planned campaign that strategically addresses customers with timely and relevant messages will increase customer retention.
When you're creating your email marketing campaign, remember these tips:
- Create eye-catching subject lines for your emails.
- Structure your message.
- Keep your design simple.
- Email-only those who have opted into your list.
- Plan your emailing
- Tests and keep track of your progress.
Take a Look at Each Tip
Create Eye-Catching Subject Lines for Your Emails
Subject lines pique readers' curiosity and make them open your message. In contrast, message content should emphasize your value proposition and encourage readers to take immediate action.
A compelling subject line will help your email stand out amongst the rest. With such a high volume of emails sent every day, competition in inboxes can be fierce, as evidenced by only 21.33 per cent opening rates across industries for brand emails sent out daily.
Subject lines that are unique and intriguing will draw readers in. To enhance your subject line:
It is essential to state the promotion clearly. Get 15% off your next purchase.
- Create an urgency
- Inspire curiosity
- Highlight a specific period.
- Personalize it
Structure Your Message
Marketing emails follow suit by being written with structure in mind.
By structuring your message effectively, you can quickly communicate the value proposition of your product or service to readers without wasting their time. According to one study, email users will spend, on average, just 10 seconds per email by 2021 reading brand-named emails; your message could only take seconds.
Structure your email carefully to maximize its impact in the limited time available. In particular, consider the following:
- Send them an email with the most essential information, like the promotion that you want to be seen.
- Scanning the document will help readers find information quickly.
- Use links to redirect readers to longer articles, such as the blog posts referenced in your email marketing agencies.
- Include CTAs, such as links, throughout your article.
- Be sure to include a CTA that is clear at the end of your email. This will direct people who have read the entire email.
Keep Your Design Simple
Finding the balance between eye-catching visual designs and those that may distract can be tricky. You aim to create visually stimulating designs while communicating critical information clearly - simple techniques work best.
When designing an email marketing campaign, you should consider the following:
- Send your emails in three or fewer colours. Reduced palettes are eye-catching and not too distracting.
- Your logo and branding should be prominent. You want to ensure the recipient knows who sent the message and where to find your product.
- CTAs should be visually highlighted.
- Optimize your message for mobile devices. Your letter should be optimized for mobile devices.
Email-only Those Who Have Opted Into Your List
Digital marketing agencies requires opt-ins. This practice serves several functions.
Though technically possible to purchase lists of email addresses from third-party vendors, such activity is typically forbidden on most marketing platforms.
Sending marketing emails to people who have opt-out may be illegal under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which forbids this practice and provides that any email sent in violation can incur fines of $43,792 as penalties.
Sending unsolicited emails could be more efficient; email marketing works best when targeting specific audiences. While sending as many emails to as many people as possible may only increase unsubscribe rates or lead them into spam folders and won't meet your marketing objectives.
Plan Your Emailing
Timing is critical in email marketing: Sending the appropriate message at the right moment is often the key to increasing customer engagement and meeting your email marketing objectives.
Email marketing agencies is an affordable digital marketing method that can easily be automated. Automating email marketing enables you to send targeted emails at specific times or events of the year (such as during holidays) or after taking particular actions, such as subscribing to your list.
Automated nurture series help keep recipients engaged by sending timely, relevant emails that increase brand recognition and guide customers down your marketing funnel.
Tests and Keep Track of Your Progress
Digital marketing provides the added advantage of providing regular data about the success of your campaigns, which is invaluable when developing them further and finding more efficient methods of reaching out to your audience.
Email marketing platforms allow you to keep tabs on critical data points like open, conversion, and click-through rates. Many of these platforms also enable A/B testing, comparing the performance of various campaigns to identify characteristics of successful emails.
Regular data analysis and testing will boost the performance of email marketing campaigns. You can use your collected information to develop email templates based on what works for your business, making future campaigns more cost-effective.
Email Marketing Challenges
Six of the biggest challenges in successful email campaings marketing are gaining new subscribers, increasing your open rate, retaining your subscribers, increasing click-through rates and achieving measurable results.
Challenging to Gain Subscribers
If you want to email people legally, they must opt-in. You'll be banned from the email platform if you try to use an email list you bought in a campaign. Building an organic email list is essential, even if it takes time.
It Takes Work to Increase Email Open Rates
Mailchimp reports that the average email open rate is 21%. However, this rate varies by industry. Email design that are not read don't serve you, so increasing Email available rates can improve email marketing campaigns.
Your Campaign Will Only Be Successful if You Have High Deliverability Rates
If your email is sent to spam, it doesn't matter how compelling the subject line of your email may be. Email marketing agencies has always faced a considerable challenge: getting past the spam filter. Deliverability problems are also caused by full inboxes or non-existent emails.
ISPs can block you if your deliverability rate falls below a certain threshold. Poor deliverability can indicate that you've spent money, time and effort.
It is Essential to Retain Email Subscribers
Keep an eye on unsubscribes. Do your subscribers regularly click the "unsubscribe" link? If this is the case, there could be an issue with your frequency, content or relevance. It pays to do everything you can to retain your active subscribers.
Low Click-through Rates Can Ruin Your Campaign
A top email marketing companies challenge involves improving the email click-through rate (CTR) and maintaining an even number. Even if your recipients open your email, they will still need to read the content or click on any links. You can only convert non-clickers into paying customers if they click.
It Isn't Easy to Measure Roi
It takes work to measure digital marketing ROI. You may have seen a 4% rise in CTR, but has this translated into an increase in leads or conversions
At What Time of Day Should an Email Marketing Campaign Be Sent?
Be mindful when selecting an successful email campaigns sending time and date; consider your target audience's profile before choosing an optimal time to deliver their emails.
What works well for most may not work for you. Therefore, you should experiment with various timings to identify what best serves your audience.
Email Marketing Success Strategies: 10 Tips
The following section will focus on email marketing strategies and best practices.
Buy Email Lists Only When You Need Them
Building an email list can take a long time, especially if you are starting. It might be tempting to buy a list, but this is a bad idea.
A list can put your business in danger because:
- By GDPR and CAN-SPAM, sending unsolicited emails or storing people's data in your CRM system is illegal without their consent.
- Unsolicited emails are more likely than not to be marked as spam. This can damage your reputation as a sender, and you could end up on a blocklist.
- Email marketing services are reluctant to accept your lists because they can affect the delivery of emails to other users who share IP addresses.
In short, wait to buy email lists. You'll reap long-term benefits if you build your list organically, however slowly.
Use double opt-in
As mentioned above, the term "opt-in" refers to the process of signing up. Email marketing opt-ins can be of two types:
- When a subscriber signs up for an email list, they are added as a single opt-in.
- When you send an email confirmation with a link for each new subscriber, this is called double opt-in. They will need this verification to receive your emails.
Double opt-in is an additional step you can take to ensure subscribers are added to the list and deliverability rates are high. This process should not be seen as an obstacle but instead as an essential component.
Double opt-in is designed to prevent incorrectly spelt email addresses from leading to hard bounces while also serving as proof of consent from subscribers, an essential requirement of GDPR compliance. Double opt-in for better email marketing is the way to do it.
Segment Your Mailing List
Your email list will likely include buyers from various demographics as it expands.List segmentation is organizing your subscriber list into smaller sub-lists based on similar characteristics to offer subscribers more targeted and pertinent emails.
Contact lists can often be segmented based on demographic data like age and location and customer details like lead score or past purchases, making an email-integrated CRM for sales, especially helpful.
Asking email recipients their preferred frequency and content frequency will provide the foundation for segmentation.
Personalization
Consumers generally appreciate brands that pay attention to the small details and add personal touches. A little effort can go a long way in making us feel valued and understood.Email marketing is no exception.
Personalization of emails is crucial to building relationships between prospects and customers.
You can personalize your emails to increase the open, click-through, and conversion rates.
- Include the first name of your subscribers in both the subject line and email content.
- When scheduling your campaigns, consider time zones to increase the likelihood that your emails will be read. Where is the majority of your subscribers?
- Segment your contacts to ensure your message is relevant and targeted.
- Use emails that are triggered by the behaviour of your customers.
Continue reading: Personalized emails: How to reach customers and generate sales?
Optimize the Subject Line of Your Emails, as Well as the Sender Name and Preview Text
Email Subject Line
Introduce one of the most crucial elements of your email campaign: the subject line.
The words you use in your email can determine whether it is read. They need to be noticed in an inbox crowded with other emails.
In a few short words, create intrigue and a desire to read.
- Limit the subject to 50 characters.
- Your most attractive offer should be highlighted.
- Your subscribers' emotions and aspirations are what you should appeal to.
Continue reading: 150 email subject lines: Examples, best practices, and more.
Sender Name
What's the very first thing you check when you receive an email? Most likely, it's who sent it.
The sender's name answers the recipient's first subconscious question. Is it genuine or spam?
Use the same sender address and name for all campaigns to be recognized easily in the inbox.
Avoid using no-reply emails, which can reduce trust in your brand by preventing subscribers from contacting you with questions.
Preheader/Preview Text
Email preheaders are texts that appear beneath the subject line in emails on mobile devices, particularly for recipients using smartphones and other handheld devices.
Preheaders can add context and improve open rates for your email subject lines, creating a story for readers. Together, the subject line and preheader tell the tale.
As well as stimulating curiosity among readers, a good message should capture their attention and motivate them to read further and discover more.
The email client will only see the first line if you don't set a preview. While this might be fine, you could miss an opportunity to grab subscribers' attention and drive sales.
A/b Test Your Email Marketing Content
Do you need help selecting an email subject line and content that will appeal to your audience? A/B tests can be an excellent way to discover this and optimize your campaigns' open and click-through rates.
Start experimenting with various subject line formulas and CTAs; once you see which emails garner the highest engagement rates, adjust your strategy based on which emails get more click-throughs.
Optimize Email Deliverability
Email marketing solution success hinges more on reliable email delivery than on subject lines, call to action or copy.
Email deliverability is an essential aspect of email marketing trends. This refers to an email's ability to reach its intended recipient's inbox.
If everything goes according to plan, your email should pass the spam filter and reach its intended recipient. However, if deliverability issues occur, it could end up in spam or worse, your ISP could blocklist its IP.
You can employ various non-technical strategies to ensure that your email newsletters make their way into customers' inboxes.
Here are some best practices for delivering goods:
- Check that the subject line of your email seems normal and promotional. Your deliverability rate will suffer if a contact considers your email spam before opening it.
- Update your subscriber database with inactive and unengaged addresses.
- Only send opt-in subscribers. Sending Unlemails to people who have never heard of your brand will likely result in them reporting you as spam. It will affect your deliverability in the future.
- Include a link to unsubscribe. Under the GDPR (Europe's data protection regulations), a person has the right to decide how their data will be used. Unsubscribing is a part of those rights, so it should always be possible.
Continue reading: 8 Easy Ways to Improve Deliverability of Emails [+ Free Ebook]
Regularly Clean Your Email List
Maintain your database to maximize email delivery and engagement. Have subscribers that have dropped off your radar? Reactivation emails or opt-in requests can keep these unlimited contacts engaged again with your emails and what's being sent out. Attempt to bring back subscribers interested in what you offer them by getting back in touch.
If none of your subscribers engage, remove them from your list.Email list cleansing will gradually enhance your deliverability and increase its success rate.
Make unsubscribing easy with a clearly-visible unsubscribe button. People are more likely to consider you spam if they can't unsubscribe.
A good unsubscribe ratio is 0.5 or lower.
Track Email Marketing Metrics
You can improve your email marketing companies strategy by analyzing key metrics. Most ESPs offer an analytics dashboard that includes at least these real-time metrics. Many email marketing software helps to track.
- Open rate: The ratio between the number of recipients divided by the number of emails opened.
- Click-through rate: This is the ratio between the number of people that clicked on the link in your email and the total number.
- Unsubscribe rate: The total number of subscribers divided by the number of unsubscribers. If you find this number high, it is time to review the frequency of your emails and segmentation.
- Bounce rate: Number of emails not delivered divided by the total number of emails sent.
- Soft bounces can be caused by temporary issues, such as the recipient's email inbox.
- Hard Bounces are caused by permanent issues such as inactive email.
Improve your performance by managing your email list to increase engagement.
Autoresponders and Email Automation Can Help You Scale
Once you've perfected your email strategy, automate it for maximum business growth. Email automation can be made straight forward using autoresponders.
Autoresponders send tailored emails at various points in the buyer journey, enabling you to unlimited contact subscribers without being physically present. Most email marketing services include an autoresponder advanced feature for automated email campaigns.
With an email automation program, you can take things one step further by creating complex email sequences using if/then/else. These types of email series can be beneficial in lead nurturing and scoring.
Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our consultants!
Conclusion
Sometimes it can be easy to become overwhelmed by all the different trends and tactics associated with digital marketing, causing us to overlook one powerful yet often underappreciated tactic: unlimited email signatures. While these may appear insignificant to your digital strategy, they can act as powerful allies when marketing efforts begin.
An email marketing software can serve many functions for digital marketers: it can boost brand recognition, drive web traffic, add personalization and be a cost-effective marketing tool. Take notice of its power in your digital marketing arsenal: make every pixel count and put it to use as part of your digital strategy.
