Email may be one of the oldest ways to communicate with customers but email still reigns supreme when it comes to communication. With over 4 billion people using it, email marketing remains the king of all Marketing channels.
In addition, email marketing according to Constant contact has an ROI of $36 for every dollar spent.
This is the reason every marketer needs to have email marketing in his digital marketing box.
Despite the rise of social media marketing, it is no doubt that people still use email more than all the other platforms. People constantly check their emails more than their social media.
Building a successful email marketing campaign is more important than ever today because the number of email users worldwide is increasing every day.
Also with email marketing, you don’t have to bother about algorithm changes because you own the connection.
The only unfortunate thing is many are not capable of running these campaigns successfully.
In this article, we will see tips and strategies to run a successful marketing campaign.
You can also read here how to become a digital marketer.
WHAT IS EMAIL MARKETING?
Email marketing is the act of sending promotional emails to a large number of people. The goal behind this act is mostly to generate leads or sales. It can also be to drive traffic to a website or landing page.
One thing you must always remember when doing email marketing is that you are a guest in people’s inboxes.
People are always invaded on a daily basis with emails selling, promoting, or advertising.
You may think your message is special but to the reader, it is just another email in a billion that he always has to deal with. He may not show interest at all.
We are now going to look at how to build your email marketing strategy from scratch.
HOW DOES EMAIL MARKETING WORK?
There’s no doubt that email marketing is one of the best-performing strategies, partly due to its simplicity and automation.
Basically, an effective and successful email marketing campaign requires three elements.
1. We need an email list.
An email list is a database of email addresses of people who have expressed interest in receiving marketing communications from your brand.
An email list is very important because, without it, you can set up a successful email marketing campaign.
To create an email list, you have to create an offer that your audience will be interested in. This is generally called a lead magnet.
To be able to benefit from the offer, they have to submit their email address. These emails are what you gather and that is how you create an email list.
There are other ways of collecting email addresses but the most effective way is the one explained above.
2. Email service provider
An email service provider (ESP) is software that helps you manage your email list and your email marketing campaigns.
It also helps automate and execute and also track the actions of your audience on your campaigns.
You can therefore determine the next action you will take towards each and every one of them.
3. A well-defined goal
Before setting up an email marketing campaign, you need to have a clear goal. You can use email campaigns to achieve many business goals like
- drive traffic to the website
- boost brand awareness
- generate leads
- keep customers engaged
- increase customer loyalty
Remember that for your campaign to be effective, your email list, ESP, and goals must align.
Another topic you may consider reading is 6 ways digital marketing helps grow your business.
PROS AND CONS OF EMAIL MARKETING
Just like every business or let me say other marketing channels have advantages and disadvantages, so does email marketing also.
We will now observe some pros and cons and cons of email marketing
PROS OF EMAIL MARKETING
You are allowed to send emails.
This means that the owner of the email address by subscribing to your newsletter on your site has given you permission to send them emails.
It is like when somebody gives you the key to his house. You can show up at any time and you will be welcomed. But showing up in somebody’s house without being invited does not guarantee any warm welcome
You reach your audience directly
Email marketing gives you direct access to your subscribers.
The fact people check their emails on a daily basis makes it easy to communicate directly with them.
You have the control
Compared to the other marketing platforms, email marketing gives you control of things.
But on the other marketing channels, you don’t own the platform. If the platform goes down at any time, all your hard work will be lost too.
Measurable and Scalable
Automated email marketing makes measuring your campaign a breeze.
Also, email marketing can easily scale up without you having to go through additional strain on your resources.
CONS OF EMAIL MARKETING
You must build an email list
Before starting an email marketing campaign, you must, first of all, have an email list. Sometimes it can take a lot of time to build an email list.
Tough competition
Email marketing is a high competition domain with almost every business in every niche doing it. Due to this, it is very difficult to stand out unless you are very creative.
Tough rules and regulations
There are many rules and regulations governing email marketing. Some examples are GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CCPA. All of these stipulate you can’t send unsolicited emails.
Another thing also is that some subscribers will also report your emails as spam, and Google can block you from sending emails to them.
Delivery issues
Sometimes your emails will not land in the recipient’s primary inbox but in the spam box.
This can cause the subscriber to not open the emails.
This is a fact that you must be ready to cope with if you choose to do email marketing.
HOW TO AUTOMATE YOUR EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
The first thing you need to know when it comes to automating your email marketing is that the automation process varies with each Email service provider.
For a successful email campaign automation, you need to fill in the following steps.
1. Define your segment
Segmentation means classifying your subscribers into different groups using the data you have about all of them.
By segmenting your email list you can send targeted and personalized emails to them. By doing this you can easily fulfill your objectives.
2. Define your workflow
The next thing to do after you have segmented your email list is to design a workflow. This consists of a series of emails you are going to use to attain your objectives.
3. Determine the right triggers
Examples of triggers that you can see include customers opening your email, having to click on your link, etc… This is the next thing to do after you have designed your workflow.
How to write an email marketing draft that drives results
No matter your goal when it comes to email marketing, your main email is important. If all the necessary parameters are not met in your email copy, it will be difficult to reach your goal.
The following are some of the things you must put in mind when writing your email copy.
1. Know your Audience
Knowing your audience is the most important thing before launching an email marketing campaign.
You will do a better segmentation of your subscribers and a targeted email copy.
2. Write a hard captivating subject line
Another important thing to do is to take your time to write a hard to ignore subject line. The subject line is a very important element of a marketing email.
The headline will make subscribers decide whether or not to open your email.
To write a hard to ignore subject line, below are some things to put into consideration.
- Use keywords
- Market benefit driven
- Use a live voice
- Personalize as much as possible
3. Write an Easy to read emails
Your email copy must be very easy to read and understand. Remember people are very busy and have a lot of emails in their mailboxes.
Use short sentences and paragraphs. Also, you must avoid using jargon. Your readers will engage more with your email if they find it easy to read and understand.
conclusion
You have now seen the essentials of email marketing and I believe you are now ready to set up your business online.
If you already have a website or you are still planning to start, make sure you choose the best hosting provider for beginners.
For any help or inquiry, you can leave a message in the contact or leave a comment below. I will be glad to offer you my assistance
this is a very simple and direct to the point article. I found it very instructive.