As a small business owner, freelancer, or sole proprietor, the thought of creating an entire email marketing strategy from scratch can be daunting. However, email marketing doesn't have to be complicated. One of the reasons it's such a powerful tool is that it's scalable, doesn't cost a lot to get started, and doesn't cost much compared to other types of digital marketing.
“Email marketing is all about sending the right message to the right person at the right time,” says Dana Kerr, director of email marketing at Optimove. Below are some best practices that further explain these principles.
Create a welcome series
No matter what type of business you run, a welcome series is a great way to let your customers learn about your brand and what you have to offer every time they subscribe to your email newsletter.
Welcome emails are an important way to influence your audience when they first learn about your company.
For businesses just starting out, Kerr says, “Create a one-touch welcome message for everyone who subscribes to your email, include a variation of that message for first-time buyers, and welcome them to your first purchase. I suggested “thank you.”
If you want to get more specific, Carr added that welcome emails can be broken down into the following categories:
- Type of usercustomer or non-customer etc.
- To customers other than customers: Create a development program aimed at converting new subscribers into first-time buyers
- For customers: You can create re-engagement programs aimed at getting subscribers and buyers back engaged.
- Personalized abandonment campaign: You can also create campaigns around cart and browsing abandonment. You can send this in real-time to capture users while their attention is still on your product or service.
Keep your marketing plan consistent
Consistency is key when building brand awareness and trust through email marketing. Your customers need to see that you're delivering on your promises. If your website promises to give you a $10 coupon when you sign up via email (this is a common offer that many companies implement to get emails), then that coupon It is important to actually provide It may seem obvious, but consistent interaction is just as important. For example, if you send an email every Friday, you need to make sure it's consistent. Customers who are used to receiving weekly updates may notice when they don't hear from you, and the inconsistency can affect their trust in your brand.
Consider email frequency
Considering that consistency with email marketing is important, you need to think about a frequency that is reasonable and realistic while also meeting the needs of your customers.
The number of emails you send depends on your business goals and customers. “The frequency and frequency of emailing customers should be fluid, based on the individual's target group and subscriber email engagement activity,” says Kerr.
If you've ever received the same promotional email from a company every day, you know that frequency and timing are key factors in getting email marketing right.
“There's a fine line between getting noticed and getting relegated to the spam folder,” Wiener said. “For most SMBs, a good rule of thumb is about three emails per month to be effective without being overwhelming. This includes one newsletter per month, one promotional email (this is a great time for retargeting campaigns, such as special offers or launches), and emails with more educational or thought leadership purposes. I did.”
Powers added that the right amount of email to send will largely depend on what's going on in your business at the time. “Direct-to-consumer brands launching new products are more likely to send more emails during that particular time than any other time, but they are also more likely to use email for thought leadership. “Brands may choose to send smart, innovative content once at a time, versus weekly or bi-weekly, with lots of fluff,” Powers said.
Diversify the types of emails you write and send
It's important to maintain a balance between the different types of emails you share with your audience. This prevents her from only sharing promotions or only her one type of content, which can get repeat users and drive away customers and potential customers. “Marketers who lack a healthy balance between promotional and non-promotional or educational/content-driven messages will overwhelm and saturate their target audience, resulting in a decline in both engagement and conversions over time.” We may be seeing a trend,” Kerr said. “This can negatively impact deliverability due to increased spam complaints and negative engagement factors due to lack of segmentation.”
Sending a variety of emails, such as educational campaigns, promotional campaigns, and general newsletters, can also help you get to know your audience better and better tailor your future messages. “By leveraging multiple formats, SMBs can not only focus on diversifying their email campaigns to suit different audience segments and sales funnel stages, but also focus on how future campaigns target different audience segments. We can also provide critical analysis to understand how formats work best,” Weiner said.
