Email marketing is an effective and cost-efficient way for businesses and organizations to connect with their target audiences. Email is a cost-efficient solution to build brand recognition, increase sales, develop customer loyalty and promote new products/services/offers – it is therefore vital for marketers to learn its ins-and-outs for optimal use.
Customers’ most preferred means for receiving business information were email, social media, text messages, mobile apps, direct mail ads and print ads. More than 70% of subscribers prefer engaging with brands through email and this medium can be used to announce product launches, company news, leadership changes, holiday promotions and much more.
Email marketing campaigns require clear goals in order to be effective. This should help shape which types of emails you send when and to whom, how often, and the content included in them. For example, if your goal is sales generation it may make sense to incorporate a call-to-action (CTA) in every email campaign; but if your goal is building long-term relationships with customers and prospects you may wish to focus more on providing valuable content while building rapport over trying to sell directly to them immediately.
Subject lines are the first impression your subscribers see when opening your email and can have an immense effect on whether or not they decide to click through and learn more. Emails that include clear and compelling titles with relevant messages tend to receive much higher click-through rates compared to emails without one. It may be worth testing different subject lines and titles against your target audience to find which works best.
Once an email has been opened, the next step should be encouraging subscribers to take an action. Depending on your campaign goals, this could include encouraging subscribers to visit your website, subscribe to your newsletter, follow social media accounts, attend an event or make a purchase. Emails can include CTA buttons, banner images or hyperlinked text; regardless of how links are presented they must convince readers that clicking them will be worthwhile.
Emails can also serve as an excellent means of collecting feedback or soliciting opinions from your target market. Utilizing this feedback to guide future decisions and enhance overall experience of products/services is key for companies dedicated to customer satisfaction. Due to this, having a solid email marketing platform in place that allows for the easy creation and administration of surveys is paramount. Preferably, this platform should offer pre-made templates which can be personalized with your own logo and colors for optimal performance. Your chosen provider should feature a WYSIWYG editor that makes it simple to drag-and-drop elements such as hero images, header text, CTA buttons and dividers into place. Furthermore, look for one with preloaded templates specifically tailored for announcements, promotions or newsletters – it will save time!
