Email is one of the oldest tools known out there but by the looks of things, it's not going to be outdated any time soon. While it is also constantly pitted against social media marketing, it's still the reigning champion when it comes to ROI among any marketing channels.
Email generates $42 for every $1 spent. Amazing, right? That's why it comes as no surprise that marketers and business owners are such big fans of it. It can complement your other paid ads and get you a bigger ROI.
That doesn't mean that every email campaign you put out will generate the same results though. It may not even reach half of that especially if your email marketing strategy is lacking and your email marketing efforts will just be wasted.
That's why it's vital to meticulously optimize your email marketing campaigns to maximize your click-through rates and conversion rates. If you're struggling to generate leads or convert visitors with email, your emails probably need work.
Before anything, however, let's clear up what really is email marketing.
Email marketing is a type of direct marketing where you use personalized, mass emails to deliver educational and valuable content to your leads and convince them to take a specific action like making a purchase or subscribing to your email newsletters.
It's a direct and effective way to connect with your leads, nurture them, and turn them into customers.
With an effective email marketing strategy using the right email marketing tool, you can not only convert prospects into customers but also turn one-time buyers into returning customers or fans of your brand.
Much like other marketing campaigns, email marketing is made up of several moving pieces and if you're going to attempt it your first time, it can look complicated. Don't worry because it's not at all. Here's a breakdown:
You can't send out your email marketing campaigns if you don't have anyone to send them to. So before you can even make your campaign, you should first assemble an email list of potential customers each with an accurate email address.
One way you can grow your email subscribers or contact list is to use an email marketing tool like a lead magnet to attract people. Remember though, you won't be able to have a successful email marketing campaign if you don't have the right people on your email contacts list.
Email service providers (ESP) will help your email list segmentation, organization, and the distribution of your personalized email campaigns to your audience. ESPs will also help you track results to improve your future campaigns.
After those two steps, it's only a matter of refining your email list with an accurate email address and creating valuable campaign content that will help you reach and connect with your audience.
Business owners and marketers may be giving a lot of attention to social media nowadays but email continues to be the most effective way to nurture leads and encourage customer loyalty. More than that, the advantages of email marketing have a big effect on your overall digital marketing strategy.
Here are more reasons you should be making email marketing one of your top priorities:
Did you know that 99% of email users check their emails every day? Some even check their emails 20 times a day! It's also a complementary activity. People do it while on vacation while watching TV, or even in bed.
Even better news? 61% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands through email.
Once you find your leads, no one can take them away from you. The best part is you can keep building that list in so many ways.
Email marketing has an ROI of 4200%. That's huge! And that is still higher than social media which still makes email marketing more effective.
When it comes to building your own email marketing strategy, you can't just put out any type of campaign or marketing email. You have to consider what your audiences want to see and read. With that in mind, here are some of the best practices you can adopt to improve your email strategy.
You can write the best email with a great subject line and a great call to action, but if you're sending them to just about everybody and anybody, your efforts would simply be wasted. That's why segmentation is crucial.
The more segmented your email list, the better.
You can segment your list based on what types of emails you're sending and what your action button is. Consider segmenting your potential customers by product, level of engagement, area of interest, or buyer persona.
Your email frequency will mostly depend on the size of your database, your products and services, and your overall marketing strategy. It's important to stick to a frequency your team can stick to though. More than that, it's important to stick to a routine to get your audience used to seeing you in their email inboxes on certain days.
Your call-to-action, preview text, and subject line all have an impact on the personalized experience of the recipient of your email. No matter if you're sending out promotional emails, commercial emails, educational emails, or a confirmation email, make sure that those three are all aligned with your calls to action. Otherwise, your readers might feel misled and skip reading the whole thing.
Although a lot of people use email marketing automation nowadays, your emails still shouldn't look like they were written by a robot. Personalize by adding things like first names or specific information at the start of your email. Personalized content like this will encourage them more to click the CTA and convert.
Your email subject lines should be intriguing and engaging while remaining truthful. CTAs on the other hand should be clear, easy to spot, and attractive to readers.
While it may be tempting to use an "overdesigned" template, a normal email with just a logo and a border humanizes your brand and puts the focus on the message. Text-based emails also work better on mobile and any email client since the formatting won't get botched.
While your email marketing goals may only be focused on conversion rate, looking at other metrics like your unsubscribe rate and bounce rate will help you better determine if you have effective email marketing campaigns. This valuable feedback will also help you make a better email marketing plan for the future.
Our team of email marketers will help create powerful, high converting campaigns, guaranteed to increase your revenue and boost your profits. Get in touch with us today!