One of the best tools you have to attract new customers is creating great email marketing campaigns.
If you don’t have an email marketing list, go start one right now!
Email marketing is great because unlike other marketing channels you own your audience! A highly engaged and active email list is one of the best tools you have for growing your business.
4 big perks of email marketing:
- People have opted-in to hear from you!
- You are not competing for their attention.
- You are putting your message in front of interested customers for free (or at a very low cost).
- You are not subject to the whims of an algorithm.
Creating better email marketing can be really complicated – funnels, lead forms, magnets, automations, etc. All these aspects are important but when you’re just getting started, it’s a lot to get your head around. Below, you will find the most important parts to focus on as you get your feet wet.
Consistency
For all your email marketing (and all your marketing), be consistent. Set clear expectations and meet them.
When someone signs up for your newsletter, be very clear about what to expect.
When you sign up for our newsletter, here is what you are signing up for – “Pilot Solutions’ newsletter will hit your inbox on the first Monday of the month with useful tips for growing your small business with awesome marketing.” This statement clearly tells a potential subscriber how often, when they will hear from you and what to expect when they do hear from you.
Make your own statement! Be sure to include when to expect the newsletter, who it is for, what value you are delivering.
Fill in the blanks 👉 I am helping (insert who you help) do (insert what your offering is). (Company name’s) newsletter will hit your inbox every (frequency) on (day of the week).
Be consistent on the subject matter. If someone has subscribed to your marketing newsletter, they probably don’t want to read about your cats. Adding in personal antidotes is great. But those antidotes need to help reinforce your point. Your email should have a very clear purpose. Stick to your intended purpose!
Be consistent with timing. Decide when you are going to send your newsletter and do it without fail. If creating weekly content seems overwhelming then create a bi-weekly or monthly newsletter. But if you promise a monthly newsletter on the 15th then there needs to be a newsletter on the 15th every. single. month. Be realistic about what you can handle knowing that you can never skip this date.
Think about Before-the-Open
How your email looks is just as important as what is in your email. You want your reader to want to open your email when it hits their inbox.
When your email is opened, is it visually appealing? Does it make the reader want to keep going?
Consistency helps here because the reader knows what to expect.
The branding of your emails should be aligned with your company branding.
When considering how an email looks, we like to think about being the recipient of this email. Would you open this email if it arrived in your inbox?
Subject lines
The subject line of your email has a lot of pressure on it. This is the most important factor in whether your email is opened.
Here are a few tips for writing great subject lines:
- Be clear – resist trying to be clever. You don’t want any misunderstandings. Stick to clear and precise subject lines.
- Keep it short – on mobile, your subject line will be cut off after 55-70 characters so use this as a guideline.
- Ask questions – subject lines phrased as a question tend to engage subscribers.
- Spam filters – unfortunately, some words will automatically be characterized as spam. Avoid those with this list of spam trigger words.
A lot of email marketing software has the option to A/B test two different subject lines for the same email. Try a subject line that you’d usually use and then make a second using these tips. Look at the results to see what works better!
Subject lines are tricky! Even the pros struggle with them. Just remember to be clear and keep it short.
The best time to send emails
When you send the email can be just as important as what is in email. For your newsletter be consistent – same date, same time. For other marketing emails, there’s room for experimenting!
How do you figure out when is the best time?
A great starting point is to check Google Analytics for when you have the most traffic on your website. If you run an e-commerce store, when do you receive the most orders? Start there.
Then test different times to see when you get the most engagement (you can judge your success based on open rates and click rates). There is never going to be a “perfect” time so try a few different times out and see what works best!
Bonus Tip – Segmenting your subscriber list
Segmenting lists is a very useful tool (and it’s not that complicated!). Segmentation allows you to send emails to the right people at the right time.
If you create a segment for new subscribers who haven’t purchased anything yet, you can send them customized emails to build trust in your brand and then eventually purchase. A new subscriber won’t have extensive knowledge of your product or service so a fostering email series will go a long way.
Spend time thinking through how interacting with your company looks from a reader’s point of view. When someone signs up are you bombarding them with emails? Are you asking for sales before a potential customer understands your value. Provide value first. You have to nurture your list.
We’d suggest setting up a system where a new subscriber receives a welcome email sequence. This is a great place to set expectations for what you’re going to email about and introduce them to you and your brand.
Conclusion
Consistency is at the top because everything else feeds into that. If you can only do one thing for your email list – be consistent. Email lists, like all marketing, are relationship building tools.
Show your lists value. Ask questions! Engage.
Email lists are an important part of the marketing puzzle that keeps you in touch with your audience.
Do you have a specific email marketing question? We’d love to help! Contact us
