Despite the rise in social media's popularity, when it comes to marketing your business, there is no better way to do it than email. A US study suggested that potential clients are more likely to convert from an email than any other form of marketing. But email isn't the same as it was just a few years ago, so your company needs to use the advancements in digital marketing to its advantage.
Today people are on their smartphones more and more, and email based marketing has to adapt to this new format that is likely to increase in popularity. Many companies still think of email as a replacement for paper, but this comparison is no longer valid. The next generation of internet user wants personalised, engaging content. Knowing how to deliver it will separate you from your competition, and give you a way to connect to your demographic.
Your email campaign starts with customer data. Buying it is a really bad idea, so don't even consider it. You need to create organic interest. Today's internet user isn't going to sit on their smartphone for half an hour filling out a long form for your email list. Joining your email programme has to be easy. At most you want to ask for a name and an email address, or better yet, give them an option to join via Facebook with one click.
You also have to entice them. Advertising your discounts is ok, but offering a special one for signing up is better. The combination of a special discount and something for free can be good too. The bottom line is that if you want to create organic interest in your email promotions, you have to pony up something of value. This lets the potential client know you are serious about offering value to them, and delivering great offers.
If you are still using the customer's name at the head of your email, stop. It's creepy and puts people off. Your potential clients know that there is an application that plugs their name into the email, and that feels like being served ice cold spam on a plastic plate. You need to show your clients that you get them.
This is where personalisation comes into play. Your emails need to have content that applies to what your customer likes, and not include everything but the kitchen sink in every letter. Emails have to be focused on what a client loves, and brief. This is not only going to make a client happy to look through your email, but they will know that you really do want to help them find things they want to buy.
If you aren't streamlined for mobile, you are losing out on almost 50% of your customer base. And this means click-through optimisation for mobile that takes potential customers to mobile friendly landing pages. People need to be able to use your emails to get to your site easily, and with one click. Buttons in the email have to be designed for mobile users, otherwise you may as well not use email marketing at all.
This is another area that suffers from a “paper hangover”. You now have the ability to track what kind of content works, and what gets you the most conversions. A/B testing isn't hard to implement, and it can offer you some real advantages. Unlike paper mailings, you can track who clicks through, and from what kind of device. This allows you to isolate what works, and drop what doesn’t.
Testing can also help you to evaluate what kind of templates and personalisation features are bringing people to your site, and also what percentage of them convert to a sale. Most of these options can be automated to a large degree, so once they are set up, the time needed to perform analysis is minimal. You can also vary your delivery times, as that has been shown to make a difference to conversion rates.
Using content to create interest and define your brand is the way that companies create effective online promotions today. It is unlikely that you have the tools to take advantage of modern online marketing technology in-house, so talking to an agency like JDR will help you a lot. There are a lot of mistakes a business can make inadvertently, and they will all cost your campaign time and money.
Learn more about email marketing with these great articles:
- Why Use Email Marketing For Lead Generation?
- How To Lower The Cost Of Email Marketing
- Email Marketing Best Practices 2017
An agency partner will be able to identify what kind of content works for your business, so that you get all the value that is possible from your budget. We will also be able to show you how to utilise your USPs in new ways, and capitalise on your natural strengths. The world of email marketing is changing quickly, so get involved now and stay ahead of the curve.