Category: Email Marketing

Linked in the ICO newsletter yesterday was a marketing checklist PDF. It’s worth reviewing particularly if you use bought in email lists.

How to use email marketing effectively

Notes

Uses for email marketing

• Regular newsletter
• Sales promotions
• Nudge down the funnel

What is a good open rate?

20% seems to be about right
(via mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing- benchmarks/)

Selmach case study

More focused emails Increased customer calls

Plan

• Set out the goals
• Who emails where aimed at Sketch or Wireframe
• Plan ahead

From 18% to 21% open rate
From 14% to 30% click rate (7% to recipients) Above average 😀

Witley Jones case study

• Tricky audience
• Customers mention email content
• Interesting content or video most clicked

Communion Case study

• Use email to follow-up downloads
• communionarchitects.com/resources/
• Worth watching my interview with Michelle L Evans on developing sold out marketing funnels

Email Tools

• mailchimp.com – Bulk email sending (free plan)
• campaignmonitor.com – Bulk email sending 
• autopilothq.com – Marketing automation tool 
• mail-tester.com – Email deliverability testing site (free)
• litmus.com – Email testing and deliverability
• Gif Brewery – Video to GIF converter

Email marketing tips

• Streamline
• Clean your list, remove the duds
• Segment your list. Send only to those who want/need it

Personalise

• If possible use their name Can help visibility in the inbox Can increase open rates
• Use a named email rather than a generic one to increase open rates
• Interesting or challenging subject line
• Ask a question Intrigue
• Tell the reader exactly what your email contains

What is the goal?

• Why are you doing this?
• Have purpose
• Include a still or animated GIF
• Including a person seems to get more clicks
• Use video
• Ask for action
• Include a call to action
• Link out to your website Include a phone number
• Draw people to the action

Built trust

• Aim to create an unmissable email
• Make it easy to unsubscribe
• Make it clear why you are contacting them Send consistently

Run experiments

Test out different subject lines or content to find out what works best

Every podcaster who does interview shows struggles in booking, interviewing, and following up on their guests to some degree. Building rapport is an added hurdle at times too.

On this episode, we continue last week’s conversation with Rob & Kennedy of The Email Marketing Show and dig into the process of preparing, emailing, scheduling, & interviewing guests, and reconnecting with them after the podcast goes live.

If you have a podcast, this episode is worth a listen.

Even though we’re changing tack on the podcast and reducing the number of guests, the idea of using automated emails to get guests excited for when their interview is published is a great idea and something I should have done years ago.

Mobile phones have come a long way from the huge, basic bricks that they once were – and today we’re using our smartphones for more and more. With the majority of people using at least one email app on their smartphone to check their mail on the go, email marketers need to make sure that they are optimising the content they send for mobile – otherwise, it’s going to be difficult for any recipients using mobile to read them.

Smartphones have made it easier for people to check their emails more often, which is good news for businesses looking to use email marketing, but on the other hand, an email that’s designed solely to be read on a desktop or laptop could look horrible on a mobile. Here’s what you need to do. 

Use the right email marketing tool

Good email marketing software will not only make it easy for you to get your emails sent out to all your mailing list at once, like this free email blast service, but also provide you with the tools that you need to create interesting, eye-catching marketing email designs. When choosing the right email marketing software for your brand, make sure that you prioritize mobile optimisation. 

Keep the images minimal

Too many images in a marketing email could quickly start to look cluttered on a smartphone screen, so keep it clean and simple when adding photographs, stock photos or graphics. Don’t overdo it with too many images and keep image sizes small; large images could lead to frustration as they could take a while to load on a smartphone using a Wi-Fi connection. 

Break up the text

A large block of text is always going to be more challenging to read than smaller chunks, and this is even truer when reading on a smartphone screen. When writing your email content, you should avoid using large paragraphs and don’t crowd multiple links together at once. Bear in mind that recipients using mobile might be on the go, so try and get straight to the point as soon as possible and use plenty of white space to break up the text. 

Grab attention

Being word-wise is crucial when it comes to grabbing attention with your subject line, preheader text, and ‘from’ label. Consider the fact that when your recipients are checking their email on a smartphone, you have a limited amount of real estate to make sure that you grab the attention of the reader. For example, on an iPhone screen in the Mail app, only the first thirty letters of a subject line are displayed, and the ‘from’ label is more prominent. 

Be touchscreen-friendly

When it comes to calls to action, buttons are a better choice than links as they are easier to click on compared to a link when using a touch screen. And, size your buttons well using plenty of space around them to avoid any mishaps. If you use more than one button, don’t place them too close together. 

To get the results that you want from email marketing, optimising for mobile is crucial. 

In the digital age we live in, small businesses are needing to pull out all the stops to generate sales and spread brand awareness. One of the best ways to get consumers on board is by running targeted email campaigns. Many businesses may opt for traditional marketing strategies, such as television and newspaper spreads; however, as a small company, you may not have the funds to promote your products and services on such platforms.

Email marketing is a popular strategy that more and more businesses are using to drum up interest for their brand. Sending regular communications to your target demographic is not only cost-effective, but easy to do too, so here are some of the best email marketing strategies to use in 2020.

Have a clear goal in mind

Before using email marketing, it’s essential that you have a clear goal in mind for your small business. Understandably, the main purpose of sending out emails is to nurture leads into sales, so figuring out who your audience is, the types of products they’re interested in, as well as how to catch their interest is key.

Don’t hide your email subscription

One of the main problems that many websites face is not having a mailing list that’s easily visible. To increase your opt-ins, consumers need to know how and where to subscribe to your content. The first thing that you need to do is have a sign-up form that’s easy to spot on your webpage, blog, or another resource page. To draw more consumers in, adding a link to the form on your social media channels, email signature, and other relevant locations is advised.

Let consumers know what to expect

Whether the purpose of your emails is to provide your audience with company updates, or you would like to promote your blog posts, it’s important that you tell consumers what to expect before signing up to your business. Providing as much information as possible will give visitors an informed choice, helping to reduce the risk of them unsubscribing in the future.

Offer incentives

If you’re having difficulty drumming up interest for your small business, why not provide an incentive? After all, we all like a freebie or something that will benefit us, so when audiences subscribe to your email newsletter, providing cost-effective incentives such as a discount voucher, a free eBook or a raffle entry can make all the difference between securing more subscribers or consumers losing interest.

Segment your lists

Once your email list begins to gain traction, you should start segmenting them to help you work out what types of emails are best sent to whom. Sure, it will take time to get things right; however, it will all pay off in the long run. You need to remember that all your subscribers will come from different walks of life, so the last thing you want to do is send out a marketing email to the wrong demographic. 

Create the perfect newsletter

To increase the chances of consumers taking an interest and signing up to your brand, it’s important that you create a newsletter that is eye-catching from the get-go. These enewsletter samples can give you a better idea of what you should incorporate into your own to help you stand out from competitors. Remember, consumers will get tons of emails each day from rivals, so you will need to think outside the box and have a USP (unique selling point) to make your presence known. 

Before you send out any emails, make sure that you take the time to thoroughly proofread what you have written. Spelling mistakes and bad grammar can put people off, so if you aren’t sure it’s suitable enough, reaching out to friends and family to have a look can help.

Mobile-friendly is crucial

With technology continuing to advance, so does the popularity of mobile phones. If you want to target a younger audience in particular, the chances are the majority will own a smartphone, so it’s crucial that you optimise your marketing emails so your audience can read about your business while on the go. 

Consistency is key

As a small business owner, it can be disheartening to put your blood, sweat, and tears into email marketing and not see the results you expected. You have to remember that success rarely tends to happen overnight, so even if you’ve curated the best e-newsletter out there, consumers need time to become aware of your brand before you notice an increase in subscribers. Staying consistent with your emails and showing that you’re passionate about your business can help make your target audience take you more seriously.

Email marketing can be a great way to let your target audience know about the latest developments, trends, products, and services that your company has to offer. If you aren’t sure where to begin, using all the email marketing tips listed can you get you off to a good start and help build a loyal following. 

Following my interview with Bik Lee from the RNC I came across this helpful article on accessibility in email from Campaign Monitor in my reading queue.

Blindness and other degrees of vision impairment are more common than many would think. 285 million people worldwide are considered to be visually impaired

Worth reading for those who have a hand in the design of their email campaigns. Many of the points they mention also apply to website development and copywriting.