Everything You Need to Know to Get Started With Your Email Marketing Strategy

Did you know that email is the most effective digital marketing tool for small businesses? It’s true! It’s estimated that there will be nearly 4.6 billion global email users by 2025. That’s why it’s so important to learn the basics of email marketing efforts and how to get started.

In this blog post, we will discuss the different types of emails you can send, the best time to send them, and some effective email marketing strategies that will help you grow your business. Are you ready to learn how to craft the right email?

Create an Email Marketing Campaign

Like any content marketing channel, there are multiple parts that make an email marketing campaign successful, beginning with researching and planning.

• • First, identify your target audience. Knowing your target audience is step one of every digital marketing strategy. Build your email list by adding a sign-up form to your website (especially on the blog page) and asking customers to subscribe. You can also advertise your newsletter or email list on social media. Once you have a sign up, send a welcome email as a thank you. Convert your email list to customers by directing new subscribers to a landing page with incentives like discounts and coupons.
  • Decide what you want your email content to include. Do you want to launch new products? Offer case studies backing up why your service is the best? Testimonials to upsell your eCommerce store? A good email is one that has a goal.
  • Next, decide how often you want to email subscribers. Once a month? Bi-weekly? To get the best email marketing conversion rates, send emails around 10 a.m. on a weekday.

Now comes the attention to detail.

• • Use email subject lines that are short and catchy, enticing subscribers to open the email. Within the body, email design should be concise, attention-grabbing and fit your brand’s tone.
  • As you plan out your email marketing campaign, it’s crucial to keep mobile devices in mind. How do emails display on a cell phone or tablet? What is formatted for the desktop might not look right on a mobile device — and a lot of people check emails on their phone.
  • To optimize your emails, add calls to action (CTAs). Tell them what you want them to do.

It’s also a great bet to conduct an a/b test, or split test, showing half your audience side “A” and the other half version “B” to see which performs best.

Use Email Automation

If it seems like there’s a lot that goes into an email marketing strategy, that’s because there is. Make it easier on yourself and consider a customer relationship management (CRM) software to send automated emails. Marketing automation means newsletters, updates, and promotional emails are sent by a software – you guessed it – automatically. This email marketing tool helps you never miss a send (as long as you set it up in time)!

While you have to come up with content to put inside the mass emails you want to send, many CRMs have email templates so you can plug in what you want and get to sending.

Different Types of Automated Emails?

• • Welcome email. When someone visits a website as a new customer and enters their email, oftentimes they get a welcome email with some kind of perk.
  • Abandoned cart email. Customers sometimes peruse a website and add items to the shopping cart. A follow-up email for the abandoned cart will include a CTA or call to action like “don’t forget to finish this purchase. Buy now.” Studies show that sending three “reminder” cart abandonment emails lead to nearly 70% more orders.
  • Re-email newsletters. Resending a newsletter a couple days later to people on the subscriber list who didn’t open the newsletter the first time around helps improve the email open rate.

Find a Good ESP

If you’re going to send more than a few emails a month, it’s worth considering an email service provider (ESP). ESP is a software that sends and manages all of your mailings. You can use them to create templates, manage your contacts and subscribers, track open rates and more.

A good ESP will make sure all of the technical details are taken care of so that you don’t have to worry about them. Just know that ESPs are not one-size-fits-all. You’ll want to choose an ESP that meets your needs, which may vary depending on your business model. If you’re sending a lot of transactional emails (for example, receipts for purchases), then it’s worth looking for an ESP that specializes in this type of messaging.

Personalize Your Emails

Personalized messages are the key to making your emails more effective. You can do this by using customer data, email addresses and other types of information in the subject line or body.

Personalized emails are more effective than non-personalized emails because they improve open rates and click-through rates. It also creates customer loyalty, because they’ll see the time you put into making emails unique. Think about it. Anytime you’ve received something specifically addressed to you, doesn’t it make you feel warm and fuzzy?

Divvy Up Your Email List

How do you send personalized emails if you have hundreds or thousands of subscribers? List segmentation allows you to send the right message to the right people. Segmenting is separating or organizing the list on criteria. Segmentation can be based on demographics (age, gender), interests or behaviors (people who bought this item also bought X), so there’s a lot of different ways that you could segment your audience.

The point is: use email segmentation to create a more personal experience for your audience by sending them content that’s relevant for them as individuals rather than just sending blanket messages out there into the world.

Is Your Email Marketing Strategy Working?

Gauge if you have a successful email marketing strategy by looking at metrics. This means looking at the analytical stuff.

Things to check:

• • Email deliverability and bounce rate
  • Number of new email subscribers
  • Email list growth rate
  • Unsubscribe rate
  • Email open rate
  • Click-through rate (CTR)

A re-engagement campaign is worth investing time into when inactive subscribers are discovered.

Lift Marketing to the Email Rescue

There’s a lot that goes into planning an email marketing strategy, let alone making sure it actually works. If you want more great email marketing tips and guidance, we’ve got you covered. Call Lift Marketing to handle your email marketing strategy today!