What is email marketing?
Email marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves sending targeted messages and promotional content to a group of recipients via email. It is a direct communication channel between businesses and their audience, commonly used to build and nurture customer relationships, promote products or services, and drive engagement.
It allows organisations to deliver personalised and relevant content, track user interactions, and measure the effectiveness of campaigns through metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. It is a cost-effective and efficient way for businesses to stay connected with their audience, deliver valuable information, and encourage desired actions, ultimately contributing to brand awareness and customer retention.
Benefits of email marketing
Email marketing is recognised as one of the top tools for converting prospects. According to a study by SaleCycle, over 50% of people make a purchase based on a marketing email at least once a month, and 6 in 10 are influenced to make purchase decisions.
They yield a high return on investment (ROI) and should form an important part of your marketing plan. So, how can you make sure your email marketing campaigns are effective?
Keep reading for our email marketing tips.
How to build an email list
Since 2016, there have been laws surrounding the collection of people’s data (GDPR). Although the regulations make gathering leads more difficult, you can be sure that the data you do hold is of high-quality and more meaningful to your business.
Building a database of email contacts can take time, but it will yield rewards and contribute towards an effective and successful marketing campaign.
There are many great ways to gather email leads. These include:
- landing page sign-up forms
- lead generation ads on social media
- offering digital goods via sign-up (for example, an e-book or whitepaper)
- in person at events (the ‘old-fashioned’ way).
Create a cohesive journey
Automated emails are automatically sent out by your email marketing tool based on a set of pre-defined rules.
These can create a cohesive journey and introduce the brand to your prospect – for example, emails such as a thank you for subscribing, introductory offers and a product/service overview. Or they may react to a user action, such as an abandoned cart, purchase or back in stock notification.
Grab ‘em with the subject line
One of the most vital parts of any email marketing strategy is the subject line. If it isn’t catchy and enticing, the recipient won’t open it and all your efforts will have gone to waste. According to optinmonster.com, 47% of recipients will decide whether to open your email or not, based soley on the subject line.
Create subject lines that induce curiosity, add an element of scarcity or something that might address your customers’ pain points.
It’s also a great area for trying out A/B testing.
Align with your marketing goals
It’s important that ALL your marketing efforts align with your objectives. Are you looking to sell more of a certain service or product? Focus on this and include a call to action they can’t refuse.
Do you want to drive more visitors to your website? Make sure you include links. Just trying to build a connection with the customer and increase loyalty? Personalise the email and cater for their pain points.
There are so many different tweaks you can make to your email marketing activities and campaigns to optimise your results. Would you like to find out more, and discover how RED can help boost your email marketing? Get in contact.