Email marketing is a highly effective digital marketing strategy of sending emails to prospects and customers. The goal of this effort is to convert prospects into customers and turn one-time buyers into brand ambassadors.
To effectively maximize this strategy, continually growing your email list is a high priority. Segmenting email list to provide more relevant content to email recipients can improve performance significantly. Although segmentation requires additional time to customize each segmented email list allow you to send targeted emails to a specific audience. Improvements on segmented email list can bring higher open and click rates, happier prospects and customers and ultimately more sales. See the below sample list of segments.
- Geography
- Age
- Gender
- Education level
- Past purchase
- Buying frequency
- Interest level
To take the next step to dominate your email marketing strategy you should focus on delivering timely and consistent content that is relevant and engaging. Email marketing should be no different than any other marketing tactics in search of top-performing results. Since marketers are always in discovery for the best and most effective ways to engage audiences; email marketing compliments other marketing initiatives well.
Consider consistently sending special offers, reminders and expert advice to stay in the good graces of your audience. Sending the right messages at the right time, will lead to more conversions.
Image this, an annual marketing meeting where the results of email marketing performance over the past 12 months had taken the lead over outbound sales calls, social media, direct mail and google ad/ppc campaigns. This is common in most industries and for many reasons, including the fact that emails can be directly tied into e-commerce sales, social media marketing and digital ad campaigns. Regardless of your audience email marketing is a go-to channel for marketers. To grow your business, engage your audience and deliver a positive return on investment, adding an email marketing strategy is a smart move.
Email-marketing strategies should be considered a way to stay in touch with your targeted customer base by offering something in exchange for their attention. Staying relevant with consideration to the influx of emails we receive daily can be a challenge, so having a well defined strategy is the best way to stay off the unsubscribe list. As with all marketing we are constantly sending prospects and customers direct messages that align with business goals. Having the right measureable action items in place to evaluate performance with frequent reporting will allow you to shift gears when needed and email marketing provides that flexibility.
Overall, our email marketing should an objective and purpose for each subject sent with a desired action conveyed to the end user. What do you want them to get from your message, tell them and they will know. If you want to sell more widgets you have to speak the language that will evoke that action and assign metrics to that action with a deadline. For example: Buy one-get-one free widget TODAY only. BUY IT NOW HERE. This is an action message gives the audience the “ why “ and that is because we want you to buy more widgets. If the question cannot be answered, no action will be taken and this is considered an informational email.
Did you know?
Email is the most widely used channel with 2.6 billion unique users worldwide.
Email marketing is no different from any other marketing tactic in that to continue efforts success should be attained. Setting goals and measureable action items will help to check metric of key performance drivers. Metrics vary from company to company and all should be analyzed frequently. Each email campaign has a new story to tell of why prospects should continue to follow your your brand.
Effective Email Marketing Tactic
Simple thank you emails can improve engagement rates with prospects and customers. GoDaddy does this very well. After every contact an email follow-up is sent with an incentive offer and request to comment about the experience. This focus on customer experiences is a proven strategy to increase brand loyalty.
Questions To Ask Before Getting Started
- What goals do you have for this channel?
- What messages does your brand want to consistently delivery?
- What actions will align most with your value proposition and company goals?
Consider email marketing if you want to add another touch point with your targeted audience. This does not require a complicated initiative with a huge marketing budget that will take months to get signed off from leadership. Step by step you can accomplish success in your email marketing strategy to make this channel one of your top performing marketing mediums.
Next Step
Strategy:
- Personalize your message to build trust
- Use subject lines with 70 characters or more – engage readers better
- Segment Subscribers List – Speak to a direct need
- A/B Test: Copy, Text color, design, buttons, times and call to action
- Mobile Responsive Design
- Delivery time – 8:00 p.m. to midnight will return the best open rates. Competition is lower and people are less busy during the evening hours
Metrics To Track:
- Conversions
- Click through rates
- List growth
- Unsubscribes
Focus on developing effective email marketing campaigns that yield growth to your overall business strategy and innovation. Need help? Contact Marketing 4 Real Results for a FREE consultation.
