Email marketing basics
Building a successful email marketing campaigns is very important to the success of any business or brand. Studies show that email has proven to be one of the highest converting marketing channels.
Here are 13 email marketing basics
- Choose an email marketing tool. You can try free platforms like MailChimp.com – They offer a free account for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month.
- Focus on building a an opt-in email list. It is important to get people’s permission. Click here for tips on how to grow your list.
- Keep your email’s content engaging. Avoid the hard sell – Keep a healthy balance between promotional and informational content.
- Be personal – people prefer a personal tone, in fact, a personal tone seems to increase click ratios.
- Interact with your readers. You can do this by asking for feedback or offering tips or special discounts.
Offer a discount to engage readers
- Share your experience and knowledge with readers. Not only do they get more informed, their trust in the products you are offering will increase.
- A/B test your emails to test which subject line gives you the highest open rate.
- Make your emails mobile friendly. Almost 50% of all newsletters is being opened on mobile. choose an email template that is mobile friendly.
- Respect privacy: Never share a list – Sharing your list could damage your reputation, hurt customer relationships, and ruin the trust you’ve worked hard to build. You should also avoid purchasing a list from a third-party vendor. These lists are full of people who don’t know your business, didn’t sign up to receive updates from you, and will likely ignore your emails or mark them as spam when they show up in their inbox.
- Integrate email with other marketing channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
- Manage Expectations with Follow-Up Efforts. When someone signs up to receive your email communications, they expect to receive something of value. If you don’t communicate clearly what that value is, your audience might lose interest quickly. Have a strong call to action. Make sure your follow-up is consistent.
- Make use of analytics. Your open and click-through rates is the most effective metrics to determine how your email campaigns are performing. These metrics can be influenced by the content you include, the frequency that you send, and whether or not people recognize your emails in their inbox. You should also pay attention to metrics like bounces and unsubscribes. These metrics allow you to determine potential problem areas.
- Use Auto-responders. They are a great way to deliver follow-up messages which can be tailored to suit your needs.
Bonus
Here is are some great articles on email marketing best practices: –
40 Tips for Dramatically Better Emails
Email Marketing Best Practices: 125 Links to Help You Be a Better Marketer