10 Techniques for successful email marketing

Monday, May 15, 2017

Email marketing is an often overlooked or mismanaged aspect of digital marketing. But if done correctly, it can augment your customer service. Communicating with customers via email lets you cultivate deeper and more meaningful relationships.

Below, we listed 10 techniques to consider when deploying an email-based marketing strategy.

1.   Permission is important.

Sending unsolicited emails can annoy the recipients and hurt your brand. They'll most likely mark your email as spam and your future messages may go unnoticed or ignored.

So make sure to ask for your customers' permission before sending them emails. So if a customer signed up for your newsletter, feel free to send them the content they want. However, make sure to include an "Unsubscribe" button on the footer of your email to give them a chance to opt out anytime. While you don't want this to happen, this option lets customers take control over their interactions with your brand.


2.   Subject lines matter.

Your subject line matters as much as the email's content itself. If it's too vague or boring, recipients would not bother to read your emails. If it overhypes the actual content, customers are likely to lose interest and thus be disappointed once they start reading the email. This makes them more inclined to opt out of their subscription.


3.   Use auto-responders.

You can utilize auto-responders to send new subscribers an automated welcome email. Through it, you may ask customers to confirm their subscription or offer other types of content or promos they may be interested in. However, make sure that all the automated emails you send sound warm, friendly, and human.


4.   Know your audience.

Knowing your audience means familiarizing yourself with their characteristics, preferences, and online browsing habits. This will help you write emails and content that will appeal to them, which ensures that customers will appreciate the messages you deliver. This adds to the success of your email marketing campaign.


5.   Include a call to action in your emails.

A call to action (CTA) message can encourage customers to get to know your brand more and explore the other things that you offer, such as your products or services. Marketing emails work best with a CTA prompt—whether it's for encouraging customers to check out your online shop, to get in touch with you directly, visit your website, or follow your social media accounts. If you can persuade customers to take those actions, you can generate more leads, increase web traffic, boost sales, and build brand awareness.

Keep in mind that having too many CTAs on your email will clutter it and confuse your readers. Thus, use CTAs with caution and think carefully about how they'd help you reach your goals.


6.   Pay attention to formatting.

The format of your email plays a large role in the success of your marketing campaign. Here are several factors you must keep an eye on:

•     Content: Is the message straightforward, concise, and easy to understand? Or is too long, wordy, and packed with too much information?

•     Media: In digital marketing, images and videos are important—whether to supplement your text, liven up the appearance of the email, or keep the message interesting. Check if the media you attach to your emails are appropriate and help you get your point across successfully.

•     Typography: Your text needs to be readable, so choose the right font size, style, and color for your email. Also, carefully curated typography can improve your email and its readability. Enhancing the typography you use can also help you highlight important information like dates, times, and product offers.


7.   Content is key.

Marketing emails aren't a dump for materials that don't make it to your website or social media accounts. Nor is it a place to drone on and on about your services or promos. It's best to view them as tools for cultivating personal relationships with your existing clients or generating interest from prospective ones. Therefore, it's essential to deliver valuable, informative, and relevant emails to your clients.

You may also want to include email writing in your content calendar so you can keep track of the emails that you send. This will also help you plan the content of your future emails.


8.   Test, test, test.

A common mistake in email marketing is sending the emails right after they're drafted. Though you may think that everything looks perfect, the email may be rendered in different ways when viewed using different browsers or applications. You might find that links do not work or that the media you attached are broken. Also, make it a point to check for spelling and grammatical errors. In addition, double-check the recipients and subject line of the email.


9.   Track your marketing analytics.

Email marketing tools let you view and track your campaign's analytics. They can show you how many emails you've sent, how many have read them, how many have clicked on the included links, and other bits of important information. You must consider these details to monitor your campaign's performance and find out what you can improve on.


10.   Practice customer segmentation.

Customer segmentation refers to separating your customers or intended recipients into lists based on specific categories. This lets you send targeted emails. An email list can help you send promotions and content to groups of customers who are most likely to find them relevant. Moreover, you'll be able to tailor-fit your message for different ages, occupations, or cultural backgrounds.