Simply defined, email marketing is digital marketing strategy that focuses on the use of messages as a form of promotion for products as well as services. Many entities that use email marketing focus on a straight forward approach as it is majorly used to relay precise I formation for instance products, information on product prices, services and the service provision fees.
Simply put, email marketing helps purchasers in making easy and smart purchasing choices hence making it one of the most effective strategies of Digital Marketing.
Why does Email Marketing matter to a purchaser?
Bond building
For starters, email marketing fosters a strong bond between a brand and a purchaser or service consumer. This is majorly because with such an exchange of quality and useful information, purchasers are able to achieve the objective of quick and easier purchasing.
Up to date information.
Most purchasers do not like going through the struggle of trying to gain information on a particular product they could be interested in. How easy would it be for them therefore if that information is readily provided? Bingo! Consumers are always kept in the loop regarding products or services as well as their prices. It could never get better than that for a purchaser.
Why does email marketing matter to a brand?
Communication with customers.
Email marketing is one sure way of keeping close and direct communication with customers or purchasers. With close communication, a brand is liable to get feedback regarding their products or services which gives them a chance to improve where need be.
Affordability.
Of all the digital marketing strategies, email marketing is a more cost effective strategy that enables a brand to reach out to their target audience.
Customer retention.
There is no easier way to retain customers than engaging in Email marketing. You see with email marketing, a brand keeps customers deeply engaged which doesn’t allow a gap to form between the customer and the brand.
Targeted.
It is not just a matter of sending out messages to an audience but rather targeting a particular audience based on their search interests as well as consumer behavior. This is exactly what Email marketing does, and this is exactly what every brand needs.
Best email marketing practices to adopt for effective Digital Marketing.
Make the emails engaging.
Making the emails one way tends to get boring for the recipient. Aside from acquiring email subscribers, there are many other aspects of greater importance for instance customer engagement. It takes a few things like Opt-in incentives, coupons and offers, curated content, and personalized messaging to keep your audience interested and engaged. Such methods are bound to keep your potential customers coming back for more.
Improve delivery of emails.
In case you are to opt for email automation,, you need to watch out for a few factors. You will realize that with all the automation going on for emails, a few things are ignored by brands. There needs to be a close connection with a brand's details. You should therefore ensure that all your details are linked properly and all information is inputted correctly to ensure proper delivery. And also, don’t let your emails get lost in cyberspace. Make sure to properly address your emails, and take steps to ensure that they don’t bounce back or wind up in spam filters by researching what is best for your industry.
Follow laws and guidelines related to email communication.
Following laws and guidelines related to email communications will keep you out of trouble and most importantly out of customers' spam filters straight into customers’ inboxes. Following data protection and anti-spam standards will help you ensure the safety, security, and privacy of emails sent and received. It’s also just good business to make sure you’re not spamming potential customers, or invading their privacy in any way, right?
Ensure creativity and mind blowing content.
A brand needs to keep on it’s toes when it comes to creativity. Emails are not simply a string of words jotted down but rather an art and a science, and for this, efficiency is key for success. It’s important to not only get into the inbox but also to get them to engage with your emails. How then do you keep the customers or purchasers engaged? It is the creativity embedded within your content. From eye-catching subject lines to the beauty of dynamic content, email marketing is not just about what you say but also how you say it.
Types of email Marketing that you need in your grasp.
Many brands go wrong with the type of email marketing and in the end they fail to achieve the results they were so hoping for. I mean, put yourself in a purchaser's shoes. Imagine you keep receiving the same email over and over again from different brands with no originality in the least. I bet you would get tired of the repeated pattern, so much that you would block all marketing emails which could result in you missing out on important product purchasing news or great discounts.
It is important therefore to strike a balance between the right types of email marketing and target the right audience with the right content.
Inbound email Marketing.
Inbound email marketing majorly entails sending marketing emails to your already existing subscribers. It is an email marketing type that targets customers in different stages of their journeys. Such marketing campaigns are usually based on buyer personas that are used for audience segmentation.
Inbound email marketing can have various purposes, such as increasing brand awareness, boosting engagement, improving customer loyalty, etc. You need to keep in mind that inbound email marketing is consent-based, meaning it only targets people who have agreed to receive marketing communication.
Outbound email marketing.
Outbound email marketing on the other hand targets a wider audience for instance people who aren’t yet on your email list. It is right to say that outbound email marketing focuses on bringing in new purchasers or consumers. The major aim of this campaign is to increase brand awareness among potential customers who haven’t interacted with your products or services yet.
Outbound email marketing is mostly based on ideal customer profile research. Considering its character, this type of email marketing doesn’t require consent as it is majorly sent to random product purchasers.
Welcome Emails.
Welcome emails are usually sent out after purchasers subscribe to a brand's email list after visiting their website. They are usually quite brief with the most important of information like the product or service offered, prices of the product or service in a bid to create awareness about products or services offered.
Promotional emails.
Promotional emails, just like the name suggests are meant to promote products or services of a given brand to potential clients or purchasers. Such emails could include upcoming events, product discounts or product announcements.
Costs involved with email marketing.
On average, Email marketing costs $51 – $1000 per month. Companies or brands are paying $751 – $1,000 monthly in regards to paid email marketing tools. Alternatively, some companies that have opted for Email marketing agencies have been esteemed to pay between $51 – $500 per month.
Some corporations however tend to be cheaper that others depending on various factors. For a small scale agency like WebFX which is known for Email marketing services, this service starts at $300 monthly.
There are a few agencies however that can cost a brand $2.500 monthly. Generally, a brand can hire agencies for less, depending on their services and expertise. Before you hire an agency however, you need to check if they have the email marketing know how, skills, and quality to justify their price. There are also agencies that charge hourly rates with a rate of $100 – $200 per hour.
However, if a brand chooses to carry out Email marketing campaigns personally, there are various email marketing software and most of them cost between $0 – $99 per month for a list of 5.000 email contacts.
How to get started with email marketing.
Research your audience.
Get to know exactly whom you are targeting. Understand your target audience before taking any other leap. Knowing your customers helps you to create relevant content for your emails. Your email marketing campaign will be most successful only if you understand who exactly is most likely to be interested in your products.
What I am trying to say is, if your products are women's cosmetics, it would do you no good to send emails loaded with information about female cosmetics to middle aged men.
Set your goals.
Your goals entirely depend on what your brand needs. You need to find purpose behind each email, which can help you stay focused and avoid becoming spam. Your goals should be measurable and help you decide how you will assess your overall results at the end of the day.
You will therefore need a detailed step to step plan on how to go about every step of marketing. If you have ben able to bring in new email subscribers, well then what? You need to cater to exactly why they subscribed, which is feeding them with product information.
Choose your email marketing platform
You need to choose a good platform for this. Choosing a good email marketing platform means you will be able to accomplish the goals you have set for your email marketing campaigns. It enables you to streamline the process of sending out emails and assessing the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
Choose your email marketing campaign.
Determining your campaign type is important because you can focus on what will best reach the audience you’ve defined. Look at your goals as well as your audience as you decide on the type of email marketing campaign you want to launch.
Assemble your email list.
Many brands choose the easy way out and buy an email list. Remember that the easy way out is not always the safe way out. While it may seem like the easier route to take, it’s important not to buy an email list. A purchased email list is likely to waste your time with prospects that are not a part of your audience. The best way to build your email list is to take an organic approach and build a bond with your customers, creating your email list.
One way to acquire an email list is to reach out to customers to request their emails often since it’s easy for interested customers to give you their contact info.
Get creative with your email.
This is where your creativity is meant to take over. Remember to create content that is not only eye catching but also engaging for your audience. It is not just what you say that matters but also how you say it.
Email marketing is one of the best strategies for Digital marketing and however much many brands overlook it, it has great returns and advantages, not only to a brand but also to the consumers. As you swim through the waters of Email marketing, unraveling your creative side, I wish you the best of luck.
