Email marketing has become a very important part of any business. It is not only for sales, but it is also to keep your subscribers up-to-date on your company’s news. Email blast on the other hand is where email marketers send a single email to many recipients. It is a form of email marketing but many businesses have moved away from this as technology evolves. It however does not have targeting and thus goes to everyone.
How Do I do Email Marketing?
Many businesses have found to be an effective way of marketing because it cuts across B2B and B2C markets.
Without the right tools and the right platforms, many email marketers are left working very hard to make the right email which will not be as captivating as needed. This in turn drags down their productivity as well as the return on investment. Some of the reasons why many marketers have turned to this method are because;
- It’s able to reach many people and thus creating awareness for many people. The fact that almost everyone has an email and is able to check their mail every day makes it a good strategy.
- It is able to integrate with other applications easily thus you can reach many customers using various platforms.
- By driving more traffic to your site you are able to convert more leads.
- Its conversion rate is high hence more return on investment.
Before you get excited, it is good that you are able to define some of the goals that you want to achieve in email marketing. This is because it will determine the kind of email campaigns you should send, it will also define your target audience, the content you should put and how well you are able to measure its success rate.
The best email marketing strategy should be one that aligns best with your company’s long terms goals and marketing plan. This will be a great advantage in email design and implementation, as you will be able to create better-performing emails that will align with the overall company’s marketing goals.
One of the questions you should ask yourself is what am I looking for in a provider? Here are some of the things you should consider before choosing a provider;
- Cost – this will determine how far you are willing to go and invest as different platforms provide different plans. You should be able to choose a plan you can afford and that aligns with your interest. You can always upgrade as business booms.
- Integration with other websites so that you can be able to track and make amends accordingly. Look for a platform that will integrate with your customer relations manager easily.
- Automation – this means it can send messages according to your set rules. Autoresponders will be good at building trust with customers as they will show the customer you have received the message and taking the necessary steps.
- Tracking good software will enable you to track your emails and segments and show you where you need to amend and improve.
- Customizations and personalization is a key feature you should look for. This is because you want your emails to stand out from the crowd.
Types Of Emails
There are many types of emails that companies can send to their clients. However, these emails are only sent to people who have opted to receive them. They are categorized as follows.
Informational emails are emails that inform the clients on what is happening to your company or any updates that are of value to them. Below are some few examples;
Newsletter
It tells the customers of current and upcoming promotions as well as any news that might be of use to the customer. It mostly includes sales
Announcement Emails
Announcement emails can also be referred to as marketing emails. They are mostly sent to tell the client of upcoming functions like new launches, webinars, et cetera. They mostly come with a call to action link for the offer.
Invitation Emails
These emails are used to tell clients of upcoming events and a call to action which is to attend the event. Your call to action is supposed to have a link where the client can confirm attendance. Additionally, they come with a visual presentation of the theme. Again they have instructions on what will be happening on the events and what the client is supposed to come with.
Internal updates
These are meant for your employees. It informs them of any latest news, offers or new product lines. It also informs them how they shall be affected and what is going to happen in detail.
Transactional emails These are mostly triggered by an action by the client. Transactional emails can also be sent in real-time. Below are examples of transactional emails.
Receipt Emails
As the name suggests, they are emails sent to confirm orders once the customer has checked out. Moreover, you can add a link for feedback and product reviews after the customer has tested the products.
Sales follow up Emails
These types of emails are mainly used in products that are shipped from overseas or locally and may take a few days to reach the customer. They tell the customer about the progress of the product. The customer can also track their products here using a link if it is provided.
Cart abandonment emails
These are sent to remind the customer that they have items on the shopping carts. They are a call to action emails that are sent to customers to convince them to complete their transaction.
Time-sensitive Emails
There are emails sent to customers to remind them of a product promotion which is ending soon. It could also be an offer or discount which the customer has not yet taken advantage of and is about to end.
How will I build my email marketing list?
Having defined your goals, it is time to start building your list. The truth is that people always come back when there is something good they are getting. As for this case ensure that your content is to die for. Consequently, prospects will want to join and there is more retention of already existing customers. The following are the steps to build your email list;
1- Find an Email Marketing That Aligns With Your Goals
Find email marketing that aligns with your goals. Do your due diligence on some platforms that provide email marketing. My recommendations are AWeber, MailChimp, and Constant Contact. These platforms are the best performers and have good reviews with better benefits that you may want.
2- Determine the purpose of your campaigns
Determine the purpose of your campaigns by knowing your audience you get to take time to learn the needs of each audience/segment and that will help you in designing the best emails according to their specific needs. This is done through the segmentation of the database. Some of the segmentations include; geography, past purchases, firmographics, demographics, and amount filters, interests, email engagements among others.
3- Utilize your existing database of emails
Utilize your existing database of emails before starting new email lists from scratch, it’s good to use what you have. In this manner, you will have saved some capital as well as establish your first customer base. Additionally, you can use contact management systems that synchronize with your social media accounts and you can obtain contacts with a click of a button.
4- Design Your Email
Design your email and create a campaign this is the part where you create your emails according to the needs of each segment/audience. The platforms take you through several steps by filling a template. Generally, the structure looks like below;
Write a Header
It will have the content of the message you want to send. It is the information people see when they get the mail. It contains the following;
- Sender’s name which might be your company or the specific person sending the email.
- The subject should be simple, personalized and actionable.
- Pre-header is the information that comes just below the subject. It can also be your call to action, however, not all devices allow this.
The body
This is where you write your message. It should be direct, precise and should be personal. Include some visuals if need be, and include some CTA phrases centered all over so that if they see something they like they are able to click on the link easily.
It’s also good to note that the email should be readable. They don’t need compositions of message it should be simple and direct. Again keep your design consistent so that customers know what to expect.
Footer
This is the signing off part. You should ensure you leave your contact information, social sites where they can reach you, and also you can include a call to action.
Include Auto Responders
Include autoresponders that send the emails according to specific actions or triggers. This is mostly used by marketers to show the client that the mail has been received and appropriate action is being taken. Some of the most popular autoresponders include the following:
- Welcome emails
- Thank you emails
- Transactional emails to remind you of invoices or orders you need to sort
- Antinational emails that let you activate your emails on specific sites
- Post-purchase emails usually are for follow up and survey by providing feedback
- Date triggered are emails that inform you of something happening on a certain day.
- Upselling emails are sent to complement what you have already bought or look at other products.
- Shopping cart abandonment emails remind you that you have some orders you left open
5- Tracking Campaigns
Tracking will help in tracking your campaigns and their performance. The platform you choose should be able to have these metrics so as to help you make informed changes and improve where there are drags. Below are some of the metrics you should consider;
- The open rate shows how many people have opened your email. Furthermore, you should be able to differentiate on those customers who opened the email a few more times.
- Click through rate shows how many people have clicked on your emails as well as other links on your site.
- Click to open rate shows you exactly how many people clicked on your link as well as those who opened the email.
- The bounce rate shows the number of emails that did not go through. They are divided into two which are hard and soft bounces. Hard bounces are the emails that did not go through to the recipient as the email address is invalid while the soft bounces are as a result of mails being too large. It also occurs when you have unresponsive subscribers that is why you need to automate activation emails so that you get only subscribers that want in.
- Unsubscribe rate shows you the number of people who are unsubscribing from your site. Anything above 1% tells you to go back to your drawing board re-strategize your content.
- Spam complaint rate shows the rate at which your emails are disregarded and don’t have value to clients. A higher rate may lead you to be barred from the platform.
6- Now Send your Email
Finally, send your email. You learn from your failures so don’t lose focus when your first email marketing fails. By making adjustments and alterations you will find that you are heading well.
Best Email Strategies You Can Use
- Personalize your emails this is done by figuring out their likes and purchase history h shows the customer you have done your homework. Again, it adds familiarity and trust which makes the customer come again to your store.
- Use catchphrases with fewer characters many customers prefer emails that are enticing, short, and straight to the point. This will also attract those people who just glimpse and skim through emails and will want to know what it’s about.
- Capitalize on the best times to send your email research has shown that the best time to send emails is between 8 PM and midnight. This is because many people are skimming through their work schedules for the next day or what has actually happened during the day. Additionally, most people check their emails in the morning for proper planning.
- Give something away this being that many people love free things, and for that reason, you may want to entice your customers with something so that they come to your site.
- Mobile-friendly in that, your emails are readable anywhere. This is because my smartphones are integrated with emails and as such you are able to reach many prospects.
- Re-engaging with inactive customers this is because as much as they are subscribed to your email list they are not actively following up on you. This means it’s your job to remind them through email remarketing.
What Are The Best Email Marketing Services?
Some of the present email marketing platforms areas listed below. The pros and cons that follow, are direct reviews from customers on what they appreciate about the platform and what they would want to improve. They range from either free plans, paid or convenience.
1. Constant Contact
Originating in 1995, this is the most commonly known email marketing service. It is affordable for small businesses and their prices depend on the number of contacts you want to reach. For 500 contacts, you will have to pay $20 every month. Additionally, Constant Contact also offers a 10-15% discount depending on your pre-payment on the plans but also offers a 60-day free trial.
Pros
- User friendly
- Multiple templates to choose from
- Ability see contacts who have opened the sent emails and resend to those who have not
- Good delivery and functionality
Cons
- The clients complain customer service is not fast and fully efficient.
- Lacks automation features
- Lacks easy management of several accounts.
2. AWeber
This is another website that has been in the top ranks of email marketing. Starting with a 30-day trial this giant provides a variety of benefits including autoresponders, email builders, segments, and many others whilst letting you send high targeted mails through their AWeber list.
They mainly target medium-sized businesses and small business.it is considered one of the easiest platforms due to its easy integration with other sites like WordPress. It is charged %19/ month after the trial period.
Pros
- Has excellent customer service 24hrs
- It is easy to navigate and use
- Provides better templates and easy to integrate with other programs
- Provide educational resources for beginners
Cons
- A bit overprices as compared to other platforms
- Does not have free plans
- Does not allow subscriptions bought from third parties
3. Hub spot
Hubspot has been in the market for a while now, and they have gained a lot of buzzes providing one of the best platforms in email design. Their integrated email package is one that is both easy and convenient to use for both small business and large scale business enterprises. It marries your inbound and outbound marketing strategies in a way that aligns with your goals.
The email editor is useful in that it is easy to personalize it to your liking as well as modify the pre-installed templates. Additionally, it features its own Hubspot analytics program that measures the metrics of the emails you have sent. Using the dashboard you are able to know how many clients clicked on your email, those who are skimming as well as those who have just glanced at it.
Some of the benefits that you gain from being their clients a
Pros
- Email and Phone support
- You get inbound leads as well as email and ad analytics that help in knowing where you need to improve your emails.
- Mobile optimization
- Integrated calendar for making appointments
- Automated sequences
- Comes with a free plan
- Featured CRM
- Form builders to ensure a customer is able to utilize its full potential
- Gmail extensions
Cons
- The price goes really high once you list grows
- It lacks flexibility for companies whose sales processes are intricate
- Does not provide split testing for cheap and free plans.
- Being a bit new it does not offer most of the features that other established platforms have
4. Get Response
Since 1998, Get response has grown its clientele to over 300,000 clients. It is considered the best email marketing platform to grow your business. It offers email marketing, landing pages, webinar hosting, and their most unique feature, the Auto funnel. The autoresponders are also a great addition which allows your subscribers to get e-newsletters at intervals of your choosing.
Get Response is preferred by most users for good delivery sine the emails are delivered in the subscriber’s inboxes rather than in the spam mails
Pros
- Easy and time-saving in creating campaigns
- Top-notch email automation
- Easy management of your list
- Email designing is made easy by the drag and drop feature
- It has a great email editor hence it’s easy to customize your emails.
Cons
- Some of the available templates seem outdated
- Tricky supervision and management of multiple accounts
- The analytics are a drag
5. MailChimp
Among the rest of the platforms, MailChimp is one with the most clients. It has over 17 million users with over a billion emails sent to subscribers daily. Their charge is also based on the number of emails in your list. Besides the paid plans, they offer a free plan where you are able to send 10000 emails to 2000 subscribers per month.
It is considered the best platform for bloggers and small businesses. The free plan comes with which features like third-party integration, autoresponders, analytics, and transactional emails. It is also interesting that one can access the services through a mobile application that’s free of charge.
Pros
- It comes with a free plan
- Easy to send email campaigns
- Easy to use
- Great customization options. There rea templates that allow you to personalize you email designs
- You are able to compare your metrics with other MailChimp users
Cons
- If you are receiving complaints about your emails or many people are unsubscribing, MailChimp has all the right to cancel your account or put it on hold.
- The hassle is where MailChimp does not allow users to send emails to many subscribers’ lists. They limit users to sending one list at a time.
- Email automation is limited. Essential advanced automation is lacking.
- Basic reporting
6. ConvertKit
ConvertKit started in 2013. It has so far been considered the best email marketing tool for bloggers to enhance their brands. Its best features are the form features and landing page. It is also defined by its simplicity in a way that you can fully focus on the growth of your enterprise. Another good attribute is the simple tagging and segmentation feature. By tagging, you label a subscriber as their action towards your email and by segmenting this enables your emails to reach the intended subscribers
Pros
- Very easy to use
- Has a good design
- You can create numerous forms
- Simple automation tools
Cons
- The A/B testing is not satisfactory
- Does not offer a free plan
- Has limited customization features for templates and forms
Final Words
For business growth, email marketing strategy is essential. Choosing the best platform is key in order to keep your subscribers captivated and involved. As you can see above it is good to adapt to the market and trends for you to make it in this market. People have since moved away from email blasts and have gone to personalization in order to build trust with customers.