AFFORDABLE EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing is the act of sending commercial messages to a group of people using email and automating as much of the process as possible
Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools for small businesses – if done correctly.
It’s no longer enough (or even acceptable) to email blast everyone on your list without a thought for their interests, likes and needs. To get the best chance of engagement (and ultimately sales) you need to personalise, segment and relationship build with every email campaign you send – it’s not just sell, sell sell!
For 10 years in a row email marketing has produced the biggest ROI (return on investment) – approximately £38 for every £1 spent.
Why you need email marketing
If the above hasn’t already convinced you then how about this. 72% of people prefer to receive promotional content through email (source: MarketingSherpa), there are more email accounts than Facebook and Twitter accounts combined (source: Radicati) and 90% of email gets delivered compared to 2% of your Facebook page fans see your post (source: Forrester Research).
The affordable email marketing process
Brand guidelines
One of the key factors to successful email marketing is consistency so setting guidelines to reinforce your brand is key.
Things to consider
- The type of language you use
- When and how often will you send emails
- Appealing, on brand design
Objectives & list growing
This is the planning stage. Think about what you want your emails to do and how you’re going to grow your list.
Objectives can include
- Increase conversion rates
- Promote a special offer
- Raise brand awareness
- Re targeting past customers or behaviour
There are also several ways that you can grow your email list:
- Co branded emails
- Social media signups
- Landing pages
System build
There are many email marketing systems out there – consider them all carefully and choose which one you will choose according to your requirements and budget.
Popular systems include
Once you’ve chosen your system setting up your account for long term success is essential.
These include
- Groups and segments
- Integrations
- Signup forms
- Email templates
Write content
This is the most critical step to ensure success. Areas you need to consider are
- Is your subject line engaging
- Do you have the right mix of text and images
- Are your images high quality and relevant to the content
- Are your calls to action clear
- Are your headlines effective