Email marketing may be an old hat now, but that doesn’t mean it’s ineffective. Email remains one of the most effective ways to drive sales to your business, even with new trends like mobile and social media taking over. But before you get started on your email marketing campaign, you need to understand how it works. That’s where this ultimate guide to email marketing comes in—it explains how to create an email list, choose the right software, develop a strategy, and much more! Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to making your email marketing campaign successful.
What Is Email Marketing?
Email marketing, also known as direct mail marketing or electronic direct mail (EDM), is a form of advertising that uses email to deliver promotional messages directly to consumers. Email messages may be sent as newsletters, promotions, product or service updates and reminders, event invitations, fundraising appeals, etc. It is similar to postal direct mail in that personal information is gathered through a letter or brochure and delivered via email. Email marketing can be used by small businesses and larger corporations with equal effectiveness.
Why Use Email?
There are many ways of marketing your business, whether you have a brick-and-mortar location or sell products online. Many businesses choose to use email because it’s easy and inexpensive. Most importantly, however, it allows you to build trust with customers by communicating directly with them about special offers, promotions, and, new products or services in an extremely personalized way. Here are three reasons why email is such an effective marketing strategy:
1) It’s targeted: Email allows you to send customized messages to specific groups of people based on their interests, demographics, and purchasing history.
2) It increases sales: Studies show that email increases overall sales for businesses by as much as 70 percent—more than any other form of advertising.
3) It builds brand awareness: Having customers opt into receiving emails from your company means they are more likely to pay attention when they receive an email from you, increasing the chances that they will become loyal followers.
How Does Email Work in Businesses?
In short, email is a marketing method that allows a business or individual to send an advertisement (or any other sort of information) directly into your inbox. If you’re selling a product or service, using email can help you build interest in your company and make sales; if you’re promoting a cause, such as environmentalism or animal rights, it can increase awareness and boost donations. However, just because some businesses make use of email doesn’t mean it should be done haphazardly—there are guidelines for best practices (and even state laws) when it comes to sending emails.
What Tools Do I Need for Effective Email Campaigns?
Just about every online business needs an email marketing platform for effective campaigns. To get started, you can use a cloud-based solution such as MailChimp or Send Grid. Both platforms offer simple templates, and professional designs and integrate with many apps. With that said, MailChimp is a favorite among small businesses because of its pricing structure: It offers one free plan for up to 2,000 contacts and 12,000 emails sent per month (the first 250 emails are free). For anything more than that, you’ll need to pay $10 per month.
10 Best Practices of Running an Email Campaign
1. Be relevant. Before you send any e-mails, ask yourself: Would I click on it? If not, change it or take it out.
2. Readability is key. Simple font choices and a clean layout are what email recipients need to digest your information quickly and easily.
3. Have more than one call-to-action (CTA). Asking for an email address is one thing, but asking for multiple responses from customers will help maximize sales through your campaign.
4. Make sure it's easy to share. There’s no better way to expand your reach across social media than by making it simple for people to forward your email or share it on their accounts.
5. Keep them short and sweet – aim at a maximum of 50 words per message
6. Don't be afraid of unsubscribes
7. Overtime use surveys as another means of communication with subscribers
8. Don't be afraid of testing different types of content
9. Releasing an email campaign without anticipating changes can cause some serious damage
10. Include testimonials, readers who understand that they aren't alone when using products that make them feel more comfortable purchasing.
Hope this article was helpful. If you are searching for the best Digital Marketing agency, do contact Social Croww. Want to learn more? Connect-with-us. We will be happy to answer your queries.
We offer all kinds of digital marketing services that can give your brand the boost it deserves. Send your questions and requirements to us and we will be happy to help!