Is your digital marketing strategy as strong as it could be? Do you think you’re getting all of the best leads, or that these leads are all ending up as conversions?
A strong digital marketing campaign includes a strong email marketing strategy. Email marketing isn’t as popular as it should be. While many large and successful companies and corporations utilize it, small businesses don’t often take advantage of its many benefits. They may use some form of email marketing, but this doesn’t mean that they’re using it to its full potential.
This puts them at a disadvantage.
But how can you run a successful email marketing campaign? If you’re new to this, it can be confusing. That’s why we’re here.
Keep reading to learn some of our favorite tips and tricks for making an email marketing campaign that works.
1. Plan and Set Clear Goals
One of the most important tips for any kind of marketing campaign is that you should always set clear goals before you get started. What exactly do you want from your email marketing strategy?
Who’s your target audience? Are you aiming to connect with anyone regardless of gender? What age group are you aiming for?
Furthermore, how do you want them to react to your email? Most productive emails end in a call to action, and these calls should relate directly to your goals. Do you want them to buy a certain product, or visit your brick and mortar location? Do you want them to take advantage of online food ordering?
What do you consider a successful conversion?
If you don’t set these goals and plan ahead, you won’t know if your email marketing strategy is successful later on when you’re looking at your progress and results.
2. Make Sign-Up Easy and Unobtrusive
It should be easy to subscribe to your email list. People shouldn’t have to go through a complicated questionnaire. Putting an email address into a box is often good enough, and it’s so easy that everyone can do it.
If you’re intent on getting as many subscribers as possible, consider adding an incentive for those who sign up. This can be something small, like an e-book, or a personal coupon for a product or service.
It should be easy for your subscribers to find the sign-up location, but it shouldn’t get in the way of your website. People don’t react well to pop-ups that are hard to click out of, and those may dissuade potential subscribers.
3. Create Easy-to-Read Content
The average person may only spend a few seconds trying to parse through dense or difficult content. You want to aim for small words, short paragraphs, and keywords sprinkled in that are easy for your subscribers to spot.
This will ensure that your email is easy to skim and react to. Consider your own user experience with emails from other businesses. Do you ever read through a dense email, or do you skip it?
4. Get Personal
For most industries, you want your marketing emails to feel friendly and personal. There are a few ways to go about this.
You can include the subscriber’s name if you have it. This makes the email seem more exclusive and personal so they’re more likely to open it. The overall tone in the email should also be friendly and light. This makes it seem less like your subscriber is being seen as a number or a potential paycheck.
People appreciate emails that are personal. Don’t get too technical.
5. Use a Hook
A hook is one of the most important parts of any kind of writing, and emails are no exception.
There are two places that you can put a hook. Take advantage of both of them or choose which one works better for your needs.
The first place is the subject line. You want to have a subject line that pops. Remember, you need to get your subscribers’ attention right away so they click on the email.
After this, the first line of the email is your first “real” impression. Let your subscribers know what to expect and why they should care about it. This will keep them reading on for details. The first line also appears in most people’s inboxes before they open the email.
6. Offer Value
All email campaigns should offer value to the customer. Otherwise, why would they stay signed up? You’re destined for the spam folder if you don’t give something back to your subscribers.
Value looks different depending on what your business has to offer. This is similar to the incentives that we talked about before, but the value should be consistent throughout your campaign, not only at the beginning.
We suggest things like access to exclusive discounts or sales, early access to products and services that haven’t been offered to non-subscribers yet, or valuable e-books. For example, if you run a restaurant, consider sending out a brief e-book about DIY cocktails or other types of recipes that complement (but don’t compete with) your restaurant’s menu.
7. Analyze Results
When you’re done crafting your ideal email marketing strategy it’s time to pay attention to the results. This lets you know what’s working and what you need to change.
How often are people clicking the links in your email to get to your website? Have your online or in-person orders increased since you started? By what percentage?
These are all things that help you move forward in your email marketing campaign.
Email Marketing Will Help Your Business
Don’t neglect the power of email marketing. If you want to generate leads and retain your customer base, it can be a game-changer.
Are you ready to amp up your email marketing campaign? Does this all seem a bit confusing? We’ve got you covered. If you need some of the best email marketing services around, we’re the people to call.
Our SEO and email marketing agency is here to help grow your business. Get in touch with us so we can discuss your project and create a plan for you.