Let's talk about e-mail marketing. More precisely, The power of e-mail marketing, why e-mail marketing is essential for your business, the benefits it brings, and how it is a crucial tool for conversion.
E-mail is NOT dead. In a new era of digital marketing, the explosion of social media, and influencers, you can be forgiven for putting e-mail at the bottom of the list. With the rise of consumer-targeted apps/ platforms, augmented reality, live streaming, and takeovers such as IG and TikTok, you'd be forgiven for thinking this is the only way to stay connected with your customers.
However, these new methods shouldn't distract you from one of the oldest forms of digital communications that is still an effective comms channel. If you're a B2C or B2B business, E-mail must form part of your digital strategies for revenue growth and building brand loyalty.
Did you know the first e-mail (network mail as it was known then) sent in 1971 was by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson 1971. Network mail brought electronic communications to the masses, fast forward over 50 years, and e-mail is just as important now as it was then.
According to Statista, There are roughly 4.14bn e-mail users worldwide. The number of sent and received e-mails per day worldwide equates to 3.19bn, and over 8.49bn USD revenue is generated worldwide through e-mail marketing.
E-mail is a great channel that can fit precisely anywhere within your customer journey and marketing plan. Think of all the e-mail comms you get in your inbox from the different brands once you've completed a purchase or downloaded a lead magnet. E-mail is powerful, and if planned correctly, your business benefits greatly.
The benefits of e-mail marketing
One of the many wondrous benefits of e-mail marketing is the ability to segment and tailor specific messages to a group of audiences at any given time.
Let's say you run your gym/personal studio space, and I am of your potential customers.
My first action as someone that has moved into the area is to conduct an online google search for fitness studios within my area; lucky for me, your SEO efforts have paid off, and I come across your website.
I'm still unsure, so do some more research; finally, I remember your business name, come back full circle, read your business's online review on google and decide to visit your website.
I may then decide to sign up for a newsletter to find out about the classes or make an enquire.
Just my luck, you're offering a free voucher session (this is your business's hook) – I sign up to take the offer and consent to permission-based marketing.
You know have me in your network and can communicate to me directly without being distracted, and as I've opted in, I want to receive your comms. This gives you an excellent opportunity to nurture and convert me, e.g., sign up for classes and monthly membership.
E-mail marketing is a great way to build a personal relationship with your new potential customers and existing ones. It Is direct personal communication uninterrupted, and you get to build trust and loyalty.
Through e-mail comms, you can engage with customers who are already interested in what you have to offer by providing them with relevant, timely information they would want from a trusted source (you).
E-mail allows you to target subscribers based on various factors such as location, demographics, and interests. You can also segment your e-mail list into smaller groups so that each group receives relevant messages.
You can also review insights, Click-Through-Rates see who is clicking links to your website and landing page and use the data to make adjustments. You can then use this information to refine and make content changes to your website, focusing on designing content that keeps users hooked.
What to avoid in e-mail marketing?
Grow your e-mail list organically and over time. Never buy an e-mailing list (never!)
Don't always copy whatever else is doing. In a sensitive and political climate, think carefully before feeling the need to respond to every issue.
Think about your customer and ask yourself, 'is this something they'd expect us to comment on and want to know about?'.
Don't have inflexible and rigid schedules. It's OK to have set processes for when to send, but don't get bogged down in this. A good platform system will show the best times and days (based on open rates) to send out mailers to your customers. Use this to your business's advantage and lean on the insights.
Do not ignore the data. The data never lies. Test out your mailers by running an A/B test. You can try different subject lines, images, and designs without pictures.
Don't just design for desktop. Nothing is more frustrating than receiving a non-responsive e-mail. You need to factor in that your customers will receive and view your mailer on their mobile devices and ensure you test out the design layout works for mobile. Look at your Google Analytics and past campaign insights to see what devices people view your mailer from or visit your website.
Different types of e-mails to consider when engaging customers.
Welcome and onboarding:
These set the tone for those who have signed up. A welcome e-mail outlines the type of comms they can expect from you.
Put yourself in the customers' shoes; once they sign-up, they expect to receive a comms associated with why they signed up. If they signed up to know about a product release, ensure your comms align to this.
Nurturing and transactional:
E-mail marketing is not just about selling but building loyal brand advocates. Nurturing e-mails helps readers connect with you deeper; you can do this by giving readers insights into your business.
Transactional mailers:
These are what you produce that is easy to read and make customers take action and purchase. Transactional e-mails are sent to customers at different stages of their customer journey and thus require varied additional messages. One could be for those that add a product to the basket but opt-out, or you may do a mailer that alerts customers of a price drop.
Newsletter:
These are great ways to engage and grow your audience, increase brand awareness and promote, not sell. An E-mail newsletter keeps your readers within your digital echo system and provides them with timely, relevant information.
Re-engagement:
Always ensure your mailers are hitting an engaged audience. Over time customers can stop digesting your content for various reasons and get too busy.
Re-engagement e-mails are a great way to remind those that have drifted away that you still offer valuable services and products.
Engaged subscribers spend more, will refer your business to friends and family, and will be your social proof, advocating you on social media.
If you feel you've lost some customers, launch a re-engagement campaign to clear the non-responsive customers.
You can frame it as a reconnecting opportunity and use subject lines such as
- Was It something we said?
- Are we breaking up?
- We miss you, come back to us?
Keep it friendly and let your customers know you value them. If there is a group that doesn't respond at all, remove them from your mailing list.
Need help with your e-mail comms and campaign building? Contact us today and see how we can support you.