Questions answered in this post:
Where do I start with email marketing?
How often should I send emails?
How do you design email campaigns?
Email marketing can be intimidating, and with the advent of social media, you may wonder why it’s important. However, when done well, email marketing can provide an unparalleled route to customer’s eyes. Open rates may vary, but you can nearly guarantee that the people you send it to will at least see the headline. And it’s cost effective- for every $1 spent you get an average return of $42.
Although it may seem complicated, there are a few simple steps to get started:
1) Choose a platform
2) Design your emails
3) Grow your list
Choosing a Platform
There are many different platforms for email marketing, which are all fairly similar. Which platform you choose depends on the KPIs you want to track, how much you budget for email marketing, the data you want for your mailing list, and more. It’s hard to go wrong, but if you want advice specific to your business you can request a free consultation.
Designing Emails
The types of emails you send will primarily depend on what kind of business you offer. If you offer a service, such as consulting, you may consider a content-centered newsletter to demonstrate your expertise on the subject matter. If you sell products, your newsletters can have content, but will likely more often be promotional materials or product announcements. You can also create content showing new and innovative ways to use the product, testimonials, company updates and more.
Whichever type of email you are crafting, you want it to be concise, engaging, and add value. Before drafting a newsletter, brainstorm a short purpose, such as “to announce a sale,” “to teach about XYZ,” or “to announce company green initiative.” Then your email should deliver your message in one to two short paragraphs. If it is appropriate for the subject, you can also add a visual such as a product shot, diagram, or video. Email, like social media, is a platform for short-form content, so make sure to convey your message within the first few lines.
The final and most important advice is to follow-up. On nearly every email marketing platform you can automatically send emails to contacts on your mailing list who haven’t opened the original email. For example, if you sent a educational email, you can add a line “In case you missed this…,” or if you are advertising a sale, you can update how long is left in the promotion.
These are a few general tips, but to craft emails that have great open and click-through rates, there is a lot more to consider.
Growing your List
Although there are many different avenues for growing your mailing list, by far the most effective one is from your website. Instead of spending energy marketing your newsletter, you should devote the most time to improving your website SEO and making your newsletter signup clear and attractive on the homepage. If you’re curious on where to start with SEO, you can read more here.
It is also possible to direct followers from social media platforms to your newsletter, so you should have the signup link in the bio to your profiles. To read more about starting on social media, click here.
Conclusion
In summary, email marketing can be an extremely effective tool to engage your customer base and track important KPIs. Before launching your newsletter, choose a platform, think about what content you are writing, aim for concise, engaging emails, and work on your website SEO and social media accounts to grow your mailing list.
Do you want help getting started with email marketing?
Check out some of our work on our portfolio page.
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