Are you trying to get an Email Marketing Campaign up and running? These steps will
get you started in promoting your business with simple, effective Email Campaigns.
Ask any seasoned Marketer, and they will tell you that a good Email Campaign is worth
its weight in gold. It is one of the most cost-effective methods of building a community
of repeat customers around your brand.
No wonder 80% of Retail Professionals say it is their main customer retention driver.
For Small Business Owners, your Email List can be your most valuable Marketing
asset. It is great for keeping customers informed, promoting products, and distributing
incentives to encourage traffic and sales.
Once you are ready to jump in (or pay someone to), you will want to focus on building
your “List” and converting your Email Campaigns into reliable Marketing tools. Here
are some steps that will help you get there.
Build a Targeted List
Get your mailing list started.
You have a website, you do some advertising or even Marketing, but there is still
something that you need—a way to collect Email signups! This is the first step to
building your company’s email list. You need Compelling Offers and Opt-in boxes
that will help to collect email addresses from your customers.
As a Small Business Owner, you may invest some money into Google or Social
Media Ads to attract traffic and drive sales. As a secondary tactic, the traffic this
inspires will also fuel your Email Marketing practices. Add a signup box or use a
pop-up box to snag interested customers.
Customers will not just add their email addresses to your signup box (opt-in form).
You have to offer them something that they find valuable in return. This is called a
Lead Magnet or Compelling Offer.
Try these Compelling Offers:
A discount or free coupon
An Ebook, Guide, Article, or Whitepaper download
Interesting Case Studies or Exclusive Industry Information
A Free Assessment (SEO companies will use SEO tool assessments)
Once you have collected a set of email addresses, you can target people on
your list for specific promotions or information. Targeting and segmenting your
list is key to your success.
Make Sure Your Design Works
Find the right Email Marketing tools to make your designs.
Email Marketing can indeed create outstanding returns for your small business.
Some companies enjoy a 3800% ROI when they use email as the cornerstone
of their Marketing efforts. But you must design a logical, beautiful email first,
using the right Email Marketing software.
Pick an email service that works with WordPress.
Or if it is an outside program or App, that would work too.
Find one that lets you design your mails like a pro.
Add a plugin. (if using WordPress).
Opt-in Monster, Mailchimp, and Constant Contact are popular choices.
There are some good products out there. And Professionals!
Make sure that your email reads well in HTML format, too, in case your subscribers
block image downloads and formatting styles to prevent spam and phishing attacks.
Personalize each email by selecting the option in your email service to use your
subscribers’ names.
Visual content will attract the eye, so consider adding strong images that support
your message and email goal. If your goal is to get someone to buy a specific product,
then include the best photos of that product you can find (or take new, better ones).
But make sure you do not get carried away. That may land you in the SPAM Folder.
Write Content That Tells a Story
Email is storytelling, so be engaging and worth reading!
Spend some time crafting quality content that is in line with your brand message
and yet also reaches your customers on an emotional level.
When you tell stories in your emails, your customers will learn things about you,
beyond what you sell, strengthening your connection. Stories also tend to be
more memorable, so when you tell them about a product or service, this is what
stands out for your customer.
Write short, anecdotal stories to enhance your emails.
Keep your emails short, sweet, and to the point.
Leave out the platitudes and common jargon and speak
like you are chatting to an important friend.
The best stories are “reason why”, “origin”, “vision”,
and “rapport-building” stories.
Send an email newsletter that your customers will love.
Think about the last great email you received. What made it stand out? Most
emails are terrible, just nonsense that is all about the seller and what they
want. Make your emails about your customers, and they will be clicking as
soon as it hits their inbox.
Subject Lines Are Very Important …
Focus On Them
Use the 80/20 principle and focus on what matters most—
the subject line.
To get your message to your customers, they need to open your email. The one
element that entices your customer to click your mail is the subject line. This short
description explains what your email is about and follows the sender’s name in
your inbox.
Work on your “open rate”
Work on your average “click rate”
Email open rates vary depending on your niche, but the eCommerce average has
been figured at around 15.68% (even though I think that is high). This means that
about 15% of everyone who received the email decided to open it and take a look.
The better your subject line, the higher this metric will be.
Use numbers, be friendly and keep it simple.
Avoid clever subject lines, and instead,
inspire curiosity or create a sense of urgency.
Always add value in your mail and hint at it in your description.
Never use all capital letters or multiple exclamation points (!!!).
As part of your Email Marketing Strategy, you should check out some subject line
examples (there are some good Pro’s out there for this), and adapt them for yourself.
Pick a few of the best ones and test them out. (Or pay someone!).
Create a Call-To-Action
That Captivates or Attracts
Create a single call-to-action that leaps out at your customer.
A big part of creating engaging content in an email is getting your subscriber to click
on your call-to-action prompt. This will be a button or link that directs them to where you
would like them to go. (either a product page, a landing page, or something similar).
All strong CTAs have a clear purpose and use simple language.
Do not get fancy … use what people recognize.
Consider the commitment, size, and placement of your CTAs.
Most email services let you track these metrics to see what your subscribers are
doing and what is getting people to continue along your sales funnel. This is an
integral part of Online Marketing.
Review & Test Your Mail Before Sending
Review and test your email campaign.
You have drafted an amazing looking email. It is snappy and full of personality,
and you are ready to send it out into the world to see if it performs. Before you
do that, you need to test if it works.
Send your email from your business website address
to several other addresses.
Take note of how it looks in different email hosts.
Check how it looks on your mobile phone.
Click on every link and re-read for errors.
If you start small and focus on a few key metrics, you will get the hang of what your
niche wants from you and what works. Do not forget their problems, fears, challenges,
frustrations, uncertainties, concerns, and issues. Make sure your current website hosting
and website design are up to date and in line with what you are sending your subscribers.
And especially, make sure your Compelling Offers, are loaded with a ton of great value.
Start growing revenue and profits, when you dive into your
Email Marketing Campaigns, using this information.
