Welcome to part 1 of our mini-series on email marketing. In this 3-part series, we’ll take you from email basics right through to email expert. Let’s get started…
Year on year research proves that email marketing is still a successful way to communicate with clients and prospects, and even more so since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Successful email marketing requires careful targeting, testing and analysis. The companies that stand victorious are those who succeed in finding the perfectly constructed and balanced email messages, sent at just the right time and to just the right audience.
The end goal is making sure your email stands out enough to pique the recipient’s interest and have them open it, read it and take the action you want them to.
So, how do you reach that goal?
Our top 9 tips:
1.Plan a clear strategy with an end goal/objective in mind and plan how you will measure the results of your email marketing campaign. This will stop you from becoming distracted or losing focus over the course of your campaign.
2.Personalise your emails so the recipient feels that you understand them. Use their behaviour and the language they use to drive the content you present to them.
3.Give the reader value and something that is relevant to their industry and job function. Get in there early with your ‘hook’ -Your message should be apparent from the start (never assume they’ll read to the end to get to the punchline).
4.Keep your email concise and to the point. You don’t want to overcomplicate things or give the reader too many options or an essay to read – in this case, they may choose nothing at all if they find your email too much like hard work
5. Different audiences prefer to receive content in different guises. A Managing Director might want to receive a more formal ‘outlook style’ email, whereas a Marketing Executive would be likely to respond better to something more visual with lots of imagery.
6. Ensure your copy sounds human and approachable and is in line with your company tone of voice. If you come across as distant and robotic, your audience will feel alienated and could mistake your email for spam or unsubscribe.
7. Ensure your email can be viewed correctly on all devices (mobiles, tablets, PCs etc). A study by Statista shows that mobile phones account for roughly half of all website traffic worldwide.
If your emails contain huge chunks of text that are difficult to read on small devices, then you’re just chipping away at your own chances of success. Test, test and test again.
8. Use a very obvious call to action. This could be a button or a link that is coloured and underlined, or an image with a play button overlay Make your call to action (CTA) as eye-catching and simple to follow as possible.
9. Use social media to boost your email marketing. Social media is a very effective way to build up a database of information on potential leads. If your prospects are on social media, you should be too. Each week send out a prompt on your social channels for prospects with a link to join your mailing list and remind them of all the great insights they’ll get.
CONCLUSION
ROI can never be guaranteed with email marketing as there are so many factors that must be taken into account, such as your budget, industry and audience. But if you manage to incorporate these tips into your next email marketing campaign, chances are you’ll increase your likelihood of succeeding.
At Marketscan, we have market-leading data for volume and quality. We’re able to use our industry knowledge to not just provide you with new data but also work with you to turn these contacts into sales qualified leads.
Read the next blog in the series: 5 Steps to Email Marketing Success
