email marketing tips

6 Email Marketing Tips for Beginners

6-Email-Marketing-Tips-for-Beginners

Fifteen-second videos that link to an eCommerce store. Chatbots that automatically respond to customer queries. With so many amazing and trendy digital marketing tactics, who has time to even consider good old email marketing? Turns out, every business owner worth their salt should.

Email Marketing: Why It’s Still as Powerful as Ever

The wide array of marketing tools today can be overwhelming especially to beginners. As a sensible entrepreneur, you want to funnel your resources to the best possible investments.

Although many trendy marketing tools appear too promising to resist, it is tried-and-tested tactics like email marketing that sustains a brand in the long haul. In a nutshell, email marketing is a process wherein businesses use email as a means of building a relationship with an audience.

The following email marketing facts and figures show its valuable role in business today:

email-marketing-statistics

By 2022, global email users are expected to reach 4.3 billion (Statista)
320% of business revenue is attributed to welcome emails
81% of small to midsize businesses name email as their primary customer acquisition tool
80% of retailers claim email is their strongest driver for customer retention
40% of marketers say email is critical for B2B content marketing success
99% of consumers access and check their emails every day
86% of professionals prefer email as a means of business communications
73% of millennials prefer to receive business-related messages via email
59% of consumers admit that email has influenced their shopping
49% of consumers say they like receiving promotional emails from their favourite brands every week

These data show the influence that email has over businesses and consumers. It also emphasizes how email has become such an important part of everyday life. Because the business world can sometimes be a blur of passing fads and fluctuating ventures, you need to put in your investments in something as solid as email.

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Benefits of Email Marketing

It gives you full control. Broadcast, a type of traditional marketing, often requires brands to collaborate with experts to fine-tune an ad. The campaign is also broadcasted to the general public, which could include people who may or may not be interested in your offer. With email, however, you have full control over the kind of campaigns you want to run, the design assets, and the audience who will receive your message.
It’s targeted. You put in hours, time, and talent when you create a campaign – it’s only fitting to show it to people who can appreciate or get it. This is what happens when you market via email: people need to proactively subscribe to get your messages. This initial step alone shows the intent of the audience to listen to what you have to say, follow directives, or support what you have to offer.
It’s easy to use. Email has been around almost as long as the World Wide Web. As a business owner, you already have a solid foundation of how it works. You also know from experience that receiving generic promotional messages can sometimes prompt the recipient to skip opening it or mark it as Spam. This ease of use will prompt you to make more creative and effective email marketing plans. Unlike social media where different channels have a different dominant group of users, email is such a common tool that it is indiscriminately used by people of all ages, gender, or walks of life. Thus, it’s a versatile promotional and communications channel.
It’s cheap. No money to spend on elaborate marketing programs? No problem! Email, with its intricate campaign-making details, is affordable even for startups. In fact, MailChimp lets users send up to 10,000 messages and list 2,000 contacts for free.

The Beginner’s Guide on How to Email Market Effectively

Now that the crucial role of email has been established, it’s time to learn how to leverage it for your marketing advantage. Create an email marketing strategy with intent and proficiency, starting with these 6 effective email marketing tips:

email-marketing-guide

1. Cover the basics.

A list of email marketing tips should start by taking care of the basics. This will help you map out an action plan that covers the most important facets of email marketing. Although more details can be added as your business and market expand, your basic email line of attack should include:

Knowing your long-term objectives. Do you want to increase your subscribers by 10% at the end of the quarter? Do you want to send promotional messages to boost sales by 20% by the end of the year? Define targeted and measurable goals that you want to achieve through your email campaigns.
Defining your target audience. Building your subscriber list will be easier and more effective if you know your target audience. Identifying their basic demographics, needs, goals, and preferences will help you curate more targeted emails.
Highlighting your advantage. What value can you offer that people can’t find elsewhere? Identifying your competitive advantage will allow you to design a campaign that grabs and holds attention. People receive dozens of emails every day, so presenting a unique, irresistible offer increases your visibility among your throng of rivals. Learn how your business can beat competitors here.
Identifying your metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs). There are many possible metrics and KPIs to follow. It’s best to choose the ones that you can tie to your overall business goals. These could be the size of your email list, your email click-through and open-rate, and conversion rate.
Using a mobile-adaptable design. 66% of emails are opened on a mobile gadget, according to a report by Marketing Land. It’s only imperative to choose mobile-friendly email templates or designs, so your content doesn’t break or freeze.

2. Develop your subscriber list.

Building a subscriber list is a simple, passive process and must, therefore, be done consistently. Don’t get complacent in building your list even if it has already ballooned through the years. Installing a sign-up feature on your website helps you acquire new subscribers that you can eventually turn into customers. Place subscription forms on your business home page, blog, or anywhere that people can easily access.

Don’t miss out on building your subscriber list manually either. When attending business events or industry conferences, proactively ask people to subscribe to your email. Even if you don’t close deals in such events, acquiring new subscribers is still a win.

TIP: Building a subscribers list should go hand in hand with segmentation. That is, organize your contacts or list according to the subscriber’s qualities and shopping history or website activity.

3. Keep it direct and personal.

Generic emails (those cringe-worthy messages that start with Dear Customer for example) are highly likely to end up in the Promotions folder, Spam, or Trash – if they get opened at all. To increase the chances of your messages being opened, add a personal touch whenever possible.

This could mean adding the name of the recipient to the subject line and greeting and incorporating words relating to the recipient’s browsing or shopping history. Most email marketing tools let users enter codes that automatically inputs the recipient’s name when the message is sent. Here are 5 email marketing tactics you can do so your message doesn’t get filtered through the Promotions tab.

4. Write professionally.

This sounds elementary, but you’d be surprised at how many business emails are strewn with typos, peppered with grammatical errors, and structured in a complicated format. You owe your subscribers a good read – and you can only do so with a crisp, clean email. Here are a few things to consider:

Hire a content writer so all your email communications – from templates to newsletters – are written professionally.
Keep sentences short and sweet.
Space paragraphs appropriately.
Use bullet points or numbered lists.
Include graphics that load easily. Use photos to complement your message, rather than break your content.

5. Add direct links and clear calls to action.

Don’t forget that the aim of your email, as with other marketing campaigns, is to prompt the audience into action.

Have a list of goals ready for every message you send, and make sure that these are apparent from the get-go. Are you promoting a new product? Include a link that directly routes customers to the product page. Do you want to increase your social media followers? Incorporate buttons so subscribers can easily follow you on your social pages.

6. Make unsubscribing convenient.

Sometimes, the fastest way to keep people subscribed is to show them an easy way out. People have become wary of spam, clickbait, and aggressive advertising. Seeing promotional messages with an easy Unsubscribe link or button is both refreshing and welcome.

Rather than turning clients away, it encourages them to subscribe or keep receiving your emails when they know they can opt-out anytime. Besides, it’s also a way to prevent your messages from being flagged as Spam.

The most effective email marketing strategy is full of proven tips and tested consistently and purposefully. Use these 6 email marketing tips to fine-tune your email action plan.

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Recommended Reading: 8 Email Productivity Tips that Will Save You Time

7 Email Marketing Sins Every Marketer Should Avoid

One aspect of online business marketing that you should learn is email marketing. Of course, mastering this involves avoiding certain pitfalls that could put all your effort to waste.

By taking note of these email marketing sins, you can be confident that your messages will be effective — meaning, they will be opened and read and your subscribers will take a desirable action.

Disappearing after your “welcome” email

Remember that your subscribers signed up to your list because they are interested in receiving updates and great content from you. That’s why you should make sure that you do not vanish after you have sent out your very first email to them.

Keep the emails coming regularly and don’t think that you will only be a bother to your subscribers. If you’re not sure about what to send to your list members, you could start by sending new blog post notifications or useful content like quick tips on how to use your product or service. Ensure that they’re the first to know about your special offers as well.

Putting everything in one email

This is probably your instant solution when you’re worried that you’re sending too many emails. However, cramming everything in one email is counterproductive. Do not overload your subscribers with different kinds of information. This will only make them tag your email as “for later”, which means your messages will never be read.

Sending boring emails

Using your own unique voice in your emails will make you stand out and help create recall among your subscribers. Every time they see your name on their inbox, they will start anticipating your latest update or anything you want to say. They’ll want to receive and read more from you.

Over or under promoting

You need to strike a balance in the emails you send. Otherwise, your subscribers will only be annoyed by your frequent promotions. Create an email editorial calendar so that you can easily see if you have a balanced mix of promotions and quality content. High-quality and valuable content are as important as your promotional messages because they serve as a way for your subscribers to know you better.

Being alarmed by unsubscribes

It’s normal to feel panicked and disappointed when you see unsubscribe notifications. However, this is something you should be thankful for, believe it or not. People who unsubscribe often do so because they eventually realize that they’re not a fit for your mailing list. This saves you time and money as it trims your list down to include only your ideal audience. Still stressed out with unsubscribe notifs? You should turn them off now.

Sending emails that are not mobile-friendly

Keep in mind that a large portion of online users are on mobile so you always have to assume that every email you send is actually read on cellphones or tablets. Make sure to use a single-column layout and test your emails on different mobile devices before sending them out. Check if your emails are easy to navigate and click on.

Failing to create an email marketing strategy

Having a plan will keep you focused on what you should do now and what steps you could take next. Before going ahead and clicking that “send” button, ensure that you have determined the frequency of your emails or when you’re supposed to send them, what your messages will be about, and how you want your emails to look.

These mistakes are pretty easy to avoid You might want to work with your virtual assistant to improve on these email marketing best practices. Once you have ironed out your email marketing strategy, you could pass on the entire task to your assistant. This way, you could free up more of your time and make your VA feel more appreciated that you’re able to entrust him/her with this type of work too.

Next: 10 Easy Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

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Email Marketing 101: How to get started

Email marketing is one of the best tools for increasing brand awareness, sales and revenue and boosting customer loyalty and engagement. However, to properly run an effective email marketing campaign, you have to prepare properly. Here are some tips and information on how to get started on email marketing.

Market research

Your email marketing campaign should start on the right foot. One way to help you do this is to establish and understand who your target audience is. From this information, you can then brainstorm and formulate your approach for reaching out to your target audience. Gather enough information about your target audience so you can reach out and connect with them in the most efficient and effective way.

Pick a theme

By determining who your target audience is, you can then decide the theme or approach you want to use. You can then choose what type of email you will be sending out to your target audience so they can be persuaded to buy your product or avail the services you provide. You can send those emails about an upcoming sale or an email about business tips in connection with your brand. You can also send call-to-action emails so that you can elicit interaction and participation from your market while you also gain in return.

Follow a publishing calendar

To keep things organized and well managed, it’s advised to make use of a publishing calendar. By using a publishing calendar, you can keep track of what emails you have sent out, the date and time and how many you’ve been sending on a weekly basis. You can monitor all of this once you use a publishing calendar.

You don’t want to overwhelm your target audience as much as you don’t want to send out marketing emails on the wrong day and at the wrong time. This can be prevented by planning your strategy and making use of a publishing calendar.

Email marketing service

You can use the best email marketing service that fits your business plan and email marketing plan. You should always look into the delivery success score and its efficiency in connection with your business model and marketing plan. There are a lot of popular email marketing services that you can use, each with their different set of advantages and disadvantages. You can try out and check the best application or service for reaching your customers that would properly fit in with your business model.

Test and improve your emails

As you run your email marketing campaign, you will make adjustments depending on what doesn’t work well and what gives you more positive results. Changes in the subject line, content, images, fonts, colours and even call-to-action buttons can be done depending on how the reader or the potential customer response to your previous email. Your aim is to improve every time you send out emails. Even if you receive a good amount of positive responses, the need to improve and optimize your emails will not end.

The good news is that with all the information above, you don’t need to feel overwhelmed. Assign these admin jobs and admin duties to your virtual assistant. Work with your virtual secretary to properly plan out and execute your business’ email marketing campaign. Remember the importance of email marketing and its potential to provide you with new customers and how it can keep your current customers loyal. By following the steps mentioned above, this will have a positive impact on your email marketing campaign and your aim to reach your business goals.

Next: 5 Weird Marketing Strategies That Actually Worked

Ready to have access to incredible people with incredible skills in the most cost-effective way? Give us a call at our toll free number 1 (443) 856-4882 today!