By 2020, 4.3 billion people will be using email around the world. It’s easy to see why so many businesses are implementing direct email marketing strategies.
If you’re new to email marketing, this article is for you. You’ll learn everything you need to know about email marketing, so you can launch an email marketing strategy that will move your business forward.
Ready? Let’s get started.
What is Direct Email Marketing?
If you’re still wondering “What is email marketing?” You’re not alone. Direct email marketing happens when a company sends an email directly to potential or current customers. These emails can include a variety of different messages, including:
- Information about new products
- Calls-to-action for a product they’ve been considering
- Deals and promotions
- Interesting content
- Industry insights
- And more
Here are some reasons why email marketing is so effective:
Email is Still The Top Communication Channel
34% of Americans admit that they’re checking their email multiple times throughout the day. Email marketing allows you to reach your customers and prospects where they’re spending the most time online–in their inboxes.
Email Leads to New Customers
When it comes to acquiring new customers for your business, email is almost 40 times more effective than Twitter and Facebook combined.
This is likely to be because email helps you build credibility. Clients and customers choose businesses they like, know, and trust. When you’re sharing informative and helpful content through email, you can more easily connect with prospects.
Email Strengthens Current Relationships
While new customers are important, it’s crucial that you’re communicating with people who have already purchased from your company in the past. When you pop up in their inbox, you’ll stay top-of-mind with these people, which means they’ll be engaged with you and your business even during slow times.
Getting Started With Email Marketing
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons why you should kickstart an email marketing strategy. But for people who are new to email, it can be difficult to know where to begin.
Here’s how you can get started with email marketing:
Build Your List
Without an email list, you have no one to send your emails to. Your focus should be on building a sizeable list of people who actually want to read your emails.
So how do you convince people to hand over their email addresses? Make sure you include a signup bar so people can choose to subscribe to your newsletter. Include persuasive copy which explains why people should be interested–maybe you’ll be giving them information about new specials or products before they’re released, or perhaps it’s for email-only deals and discounts.
Another good option? Offer something free in exchange for their email address. This could be anything from a free ebook to a special discount or trial of your product.
Set Expectations
Email marketing is most successful when you set expectations and act accordingly. If your list is expecting to receive one email a week and you send them out daily, you can expect people to begin hitting that “unsubscribe” button.
However, if someone has signed up for daily updates or information on new products and you fail to deliver, that person is also likely to be upset.
Create a Campaign
There are many different types of campaigns you can send to your subscribers depending on your goals. Here are some of the different types so you can see how they help you achieve your goals for email marketing:
Newsletters
An email marketing newsletter is a regularly distributed campaign. It’s also usually about one topic. This can make it a good idea to segment your list into different categories depending on your readers’ interests. That way, you can target them with the best newsletter topics for their needs.
Marketing Offerings
When you send an email with a marketing offer, your goal is to drive a direct response. This could be a campaign which offers a special promotion or discount on your services or product. It could also be a campaign which showcases some of your latest stock and encourages readers to purchase.
These types of emails should always include a clear call-to-action so you can drive sales.
Announcements
Announcement campaigns are sent when you want to let your readers know about a new service, feature, or product. These work well with current customers, as they’ve already bought from you in the past so they’re likely to want to stay up-to-date on new features or your latest products.
While the main goal with these types of emails is to share information, you may also aim to drive readers back to your website so they can make a purchase.
Triggered Emails
With these types of automated emails, your user’s action triggers a set of relevant, targeted emails. It could be that they put an item in their cart but didn’t check out, bought something, downloaded some content, or clicked a link in one of your emails.
These emails are written ahead of time and sent due to these predetermined actions. They’re hugely effective, and up to 75% of email revenue is generated by businesses using these types of campaigns instead of one-size-fits-all promotional campaigns.
Top Tips for Creating Your Emails
Once you’ve decided on your marketing campaign, you’ll need to build your email. Here are some top tips to ensure your campaigns are as successful as possible:
- Keep it short–avoid long, text-heavy emails
- Use images to break up text and create interest
- Make sure your content is relevant–segment lists if necessary
- Stay on brand–use the same voice, fonts, and colors as elsewhere in your content marketing
- Use a responsive template so your emails are easily read on mobiles and tablets
- Include a clear call-to-action whenever possible
Wrapping up
While direct email marketing may seem difficult at first, the above tips will help you get started. Remember to listen to your readers, and keep an eye on your click-through rates and unsubscribe rates. This will help you see which type of emails are resonating with your readers.
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