As social media marketing and advertising popularity continue to skyrocket, some businesses have chosen to exclusively invest in social media marketing. While this might not seem like a bad idea, studies by McKinsey & Company, one of the largest global management consulting firms in the world, show that email marketing is up to 40 times more effective than social media marketing, meaning businesses MUST consider investing in email marketing. At Creative Blend Design, we’ve seen similar results with many of our clients – email marketing continues to outperform social media when we track conversion data across all marketing channels.
For the best return on spending, your email marketing initiative needs several factors to drive conversions. Here is a checklist that discusses four key elements of email marketing.
1. Building Your List of Recipients
Email marketing campaigns are only effective when targeting consumers who are interested in your products and services. There are two basic methods to gather these consumer’s emails and create lucrative email lists:
- Building lists from your own list of customer emails
- Buying lists
Creating your email lists is the method with the best probability to convert your email campaign into purchases. There are many ways to acquire your customers’ emails, but the most effective way is to ask your website’s visitors for their email addresses. Do this by offering visitors something of value in exchange for subscribing to your email list, such as discounts or coupons.
Harvesting emails from people who have already engaged with your business creates a list of users much lower in your sales funnel, meaning they will be much more likely to purchase from your company. Creative Blend Design advises all our clients to harvest emails from their sites. Over time you’ll create a valuable list of leads that are more likely to convert than purchasing lists from a third-party source.
To maximize your website’s email harvesting potential, be sure to examine your customer touchpoints. You may be able to capture an email from a customer who’s already made a purchase or is very low in the sales funnel.
Examples include:
- Creating a free online tool/resource
- Feedback quizzes
- Creating a subscriber-based blog for users
The second way to build an email list is to purchase one. There are many reputable list providers, and these lists can be very effective – but assessing the quality of the potential leads is best left to professionals. Despite how easy it can be to pursue lists through this route, they may never convert as well as your internally-developed lists, which is why you need to start creating that list TODAY. If you don’t know where to start, give us a call, and we can help you through the process.
Key Takeaways:
- People are much more likely to engage if they receive an incentive.
- Building your own list is the best method to acquire email recipients.
- Commercial lists can work but may not convert as well as your internal list.
2. Stand Out
Once you have a substantial list of email recipients, it’s easy to send them; however, if you don’t know how to launch an email campaign, we can help. The most challenging part of any email campaign is to get the receiver actually to open it. How many emails do you get every day, prodding you to buy or sign-up for something? One crucial part of email marketing is letting your recipients know that you aren’t sending them spam.
Great, but how do you do it? That’s where the art of email marketing enters. It’s an easy answer that is not so easy to pull off.
There are a few critical elements to an intriguing email your recipients will want to open. The first consideration is the email subject line and preheader. They are the first things the recipient will read, so you need talented writers with a command of your product/service and a way with words. Once you get your readers to open the email, you must keep their interest long enough for them to read your message and offer.
In terms of layout, many companies turn to one of the universal email marketing templates available, and those are a great way to start. The problem is that many businesses use them as-is and fail to customize them to ensure brand consistency and messaging, which erodes their marketing investment, so it’s important to take an email marketing template you use and make it your own.
Key Takeaways:
- Hire on talented writers who know your product and can write intriguing copy.
- Be sure to customize any email marketing template you use to reflect your brand image and message.
3. Make it Easy to Convert
Once you’ve filled your email with clear language and a template that reflects your unique brand, you must ensure your message is easy to understand and accessible on any device. Many people read emails on the go with their smartphones, so making sure your email renders well on mobile devices is essential.
In addition to a mobile-friendly experience, make sure your call-to-action statements (CTAs) are clear so that the target landing page is accessible for your users and gets them where they need to be. We frequently see landing pages targeted in emails that require two or more clicks to redeem an offer once the user accesses the link in the email. If it’s not a 1-click process to get the discount, coupon, or download on the landing page, the user might leave before completing the necessary steps.
Key Takeaways:
- Make sure the email is easy to understand.
- Optimize your emails for mobile.
- Try to have clear CTAs and a 1-click process to reward users for interacting.
4. Never Send Spammy Emails
You now know how to put together great emails for your email marketing campaign, but timing and execution are where many organizations fall flat. Often the drive is so high to cement your brand in your consumers’ minds that it’s tempting to send A LOT of emails, which is not why your customers signed up in the first place. On the other hand, if you barely send any emails, your brand will be lost in a sea of competition. Although trying to find a perfect balance might be intimidating, the golden rule is simple: Only send an email when you have something to say.
Your emails will be most effective when they are concise, sent at a calculated time of day in correlation with the peak email-checking hours of your target audience, and have something important to tell them. Combining good timing and purpose with intriguing and accessible emails will take your email marketing campaign to the next level.
Key Takeaways:
- Avoid the temptation to over-communicate with too many emails.
- Keep it simple by only emailing when you have something important to say.
Putting It All Together
Email marketing continues to perform well, and for many of our clients, it is the best marketing channel to drive conversions. By combining a good list of email addresses, clear and concise messaging, and a user-friendly landing page experience, you can drive higher conversions for your business. If you want to take your email marketing campaign to the next level and improve your sales funnel, contact us today at creativeblenddesign.com/contact
