How To And The Rules Of Email Marketing
Email marketing is a must for every business. Emails assist businesses in connecting, communicating, selling, and celebrating with customers and are an integral part of maintaining long-term relationships, which can lead to brand loyalty. Are you using emails correctly? Be sure to optimise them for mobile; reports state that more than 50% of email campaigns are viewed on mobile but not effectively optimised. Mobile emails have a 65% higher likelihood of bringing customers to your website, and according to HubSpot, 78% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months.
There is an email type for almost every moment in your brand lifecycle and the customer's relationship. Statista states that the global email marketing market was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to increase to $17.9 billion by 2027, so there's never been a better time to adapt or implement an email strategy into your marketing plan. In this blog for Jane Hayes Consulting, we will break down five of the most common email types to help you on your way to email marketing perfection, but before we do, there are some rules you should abide by.
Email marketing rules:
Have a short, relevant subject line. Gain attention and increase your open rates with a short, catchy, and relevant subject line. According to Campaign Monitor, the shorter the subject line, the greater the open rates. It's recommended that you use no more than 3-5 words.
1. Use the recipient's first name:
When personalising your emails, use the recipient's first name, not surname. Referring to an email recipient by their surname is impersonal and can be preserved as though the recipient is a number, not a person and meaningful to the company.
2. Don't be overly familiar:
Personalise, but don't be overly familiar with your email send-outs. This can be off-putting to customers and damaging to your brand.
3. Include a call to action:
No matter the email type, include a call to action. This may be a redirection to your website, encouragement to email or call, or to purchase during sale time. Make your cta clear and remove any unnecessary steps by hyperlinking text or buttons; doing so can help customer relationships.
4. Connect all digital channels:
All emails should include links to your social channels and website. Use every email as an opportunity to create additional connections and feature them at the email sign-off.
5. Stay on brand:
An email is not an opportunity to go off-brand. Be sure to be mindful of your colour pallet, typography, voice, and logo positioning when creating your emails—doing so assists in developing and continuing brand trust.
6. Have a clean database:
It's not about having the most extensive email list; it's about having the right ones. Clear out old and double-up emails to assist in gaining traction from your send-outs and to assist in data and reporting.
7. Don't over-design:
Don't overcrowd your emails by including too many images, videos, and accoutrement. Keep it clean and on-brand and let the text shine.
8. Test and refine:
A/B testing can be an effective way to see your ideas' effectiveness. Send out emails with slight changes; to a divided email list. You might change the heading, wording in the links etc., to see which receives the most significant reaction. This can assist you in honing your craft and make for more effective email send-outs in the future.
9. Measure:
Be sure to track the success of your emails by measuring the backend data from your mailing system. Measuring the success of your send-outs will help you create more effective campaigns by identifying what content works best.
Five of the most common email types:
Newsletter
Lead nurturing
Promotional
Milestone
Survey
1. Newsletter:
An email newsletter is a recurring email that keeps subscribed customers or potential customers aware of business or industry updates. These emails can be used at different ends of the marketing funnel from the consideration stage – top of the funnel (tofu) to the bottom of the funnel, which covers brand advocacy – bottom of the funnel (bofu).
2. Lead nurturing:
Lead nurturing emails are a tool that assists a customer in transitioning from the consideration stage of the marketing funnel to the decision stage; in other words, it helps them convert to being a consumer. The lead nurturing email includes more information about your product range or service and highlights the main features. These emails traditionally feature customer-generated content and reviews, which help a potential customer bond to a brand and influence decision-making.
Aesop showcases its carefully honed style in its awareness and promotional emails.
3. Promotional:
Create brand and product/service awareness with promotional emails. Have a sale, a new collection launching soon or a seasonal giveaway? Use promotional emails as part of your strategy to get your message out there. Take the pressure off your customer by including links in the email to the exact point on the website, as relying on the customer to do the work can reduce the rate of customers taking action.
4. Milestone:
Celebrate your customers via milestone emails. Milestone emails are the perfect opportunity to show your customers that you care. You might use this email to celebrate a customer’s birthday or anniversary with an included celebration discount. Milestone emails, when used correctly, can lead to brand referrals. Below we see an example of a milestone email from Grammarly in which they offer a discount at the 1-year mark.
Grammarly celebrates a milestone.
5. Survey:
Survey emails can be a great way to check in with customers and see what they think of your service and products. Send an email survey to customers after a purchase or interaction to see if they are happy with your business; this helps create post-sale relationships. Post-service surveys can assist you in securing a return sale as they show a level of care and that the customer isn’t just a number.
Airbnb follows up a booking with a survey.
Jane Hayes Consulting, Leading You Through The Digital World:
Jane Hayes Consulting is an independent digital marketing agency founded to help businesses create consistent, creatively aligned, and strategic content. Jane Hayes Consulting can help you put your best foot forward with our expertly crafted team covering website design and building, marketing strategy, content creation, brand creation, and project management. We work within budget restraints and look toward the future. Need assistance in developing your digital strategy and creating a business advantage? Contact Jane Hayes Consulting today and sign up for our newsletter.