In the last few years, email marketing has transformed from being an option to being a necessity for any business. Studies show that consumers prefer to receive marketing emails rather than opening them accidentally or having them shoved in their spam boxes, especially since an excellent email marketing tool can be so cheap to operate and has such low barriers to entry.
However, being a savvy marketer yourself likely knows how difficult it can be to get started without spending a huge amount of money. That’s why we’ve gone ahead and curated this list of email marketing tutorials for you. Below, you’ll discover 10 easy to follow tutorials that will help you get started with a basic email marketing plan for your business.
Step by Step Tutorial: How to Set Up a Basic Email Marketing Campaign on Google Apps
One of the simplest and most efficient ways to get started with email marketing is to use Google Apps for Work. What is Google Apps for Work? It’s basically a collection of popular online tools designed to make working from home as easy and comfortable as possible. If you’re already using Google Drive for your personal documents and spreadsheets, this is the ideal place to store and organize your business’ data.
Google Apps comes with a basic email marketing tool that can easily be configured and launched from inside the tool itself. Before you begin the process of configuring your basic email marketing tool on Google Apps, first you will need to launch the tool from Apps. Once you’re on the Google dashboard, click the gear icon in the upper right corner to access the settings of the currently selected tool.
From there, you can click on the three horizontal dots in the top right corner to bring up a menu of available tools. At the top, you’ll see a search bar where you can type in keywords or phrases for the tools you’re using. Simply type in “email” and select “Email Campaigns” from the drop-down menu.
Once your email marketing tool is launched, click on the gear icon once again to access the tool’s settings. From there, you can configure a variety of settings including the email address of your campaign, the content of your email, and the frequency of your communications. You can also choose to receive email updates about your campaign when they are launched.
Create a Mailing List
When creating your email list, you should try to have a minimum of 500 contacts to be eligible for a free account on a reputable email marketing platform such as HubSpot or MailChimp. Alternatively, you can use a DIY email marketing tool that doesn’t require a free account to get started, but you will need to upgrade to a paid plan to be able to send mass emails.
To get started, go back to the main dashboard of your Google account and click on the gear icon in the upper right corner. From there, you will see a tab named “My Projects.” Within that tab, click on the “+” sign in the top right corner to create a new list. Give your list a memorable name and make sure to tick the box that says you’d like to receive emails about new posts on your blog (you can opt out of these emails later if you change your mind).
Once you’ve created your list, you can begin sending out emails to your contacts. Before you send your first email, click on the gear icon once again to open the settings of your email marketing tool. From there, you can add a few more details about your email including the design and language of your emails.
Create Email Content
With the exception of a few basic templates, your email content doesn’t need to be highly customized. In fact, you can use several boiler templates to get started quickly with email marketing and then dive into more sophisticated content creation as you develop your skill set.
To get started, go back to the main dashboard of your Google account and click on the gear icon in the upper right corner. From there, you will see a tab named “My Projects.” Within that tab, click on the “+” sign in the top right corner to create a new document. Give your document a memorable name and then begin typing. Once you’ve entered a couple of sentences, you can preview your work or publish it to send to your contacts.
Set Up Autoresponders
Automated email responses are commonly referred to as “auto responders” or “autoresponders.” When you set up an auto responder, you are essentially training your contacts to expect an automated response from you when they send you an email. There are two basic types of auto responders:
- One-off response: With this option, you are sending out an email with a predefined subject line and content to one contact at a time. You can also choose to have the email reply with a predefined content, or you can write your own.
- Chatter: With this option, you are sending out an email to a group of contacts with the same subject line. Within the email, you are prompting your contacts to engage with each other by tossing out a question or two. For example, you can ask your contacts what kinds of products they are interested in purchasing, or you can offer support along with a solution to a problem.
To get started with the one-off response option, go back to the main dashboard of your Google account and click on the gear icon in the upper right corner. From there, you will see a tab named “My Projects.” Within that tab, click on the “+” sign in the top right corner to create a new list. Name your list and then begin typing a subject line for your one-off email. When you’re done, click on the blue “Publish” button to create your first email.
For the chatter option, go back to the main dashboard of your Google account and click on the gear icon in the upper right corner. From there, you will see a tab named “My Projects.” Within that tab, click on the “+” sign in the top right corner to create a new list. Name your list and then begin typing a subject line for your group email.
You’ll notice that when you’re creating an auto responder, you can choose the option for a “silent launch.” With a silent launch, none of the individuals or entities on your email list will ever receive an email from you with the subject line or content that you’ve chosen. A silent launch is great for testing out your email content and subject lines without risking your relationships with existing clients or employees.
Use Social Media for Marketing
If you’re active on social media, you’re in the right place. Below you’ll discover a handful of easy steps that will help you integrate social media into your marketing plan.
To get started, go back to the main dashboard of your Google account and click on the gear icon in the upper right corner. From there, you will see a tab named “My Projects.” Within that tab, click on the “+” sign in the top right corner to create a new list. Name your list and then begin typing a description of your list’s content.
Once you’ve finished typing the description, you can click on the blue “CREATE” button.
As you might imagine, a lot can go wrong when trying to market a business via social media. The key is to do a lot right. When you use social media to promote your business, your objective is to have others engage with your content and brand. To accomplish this, you need to have a cohesive strategy that focuses on generating high-quality content consistently. For instance, you could look into hiring a virtual assistant to help you manage your social media accounts, or you could outsource to highly skilled social media marketers who can help you grow your audience and engage with your audience on your behalf.
Measure the Success of Your Email Campaign
Measuring the success of your email campaign is similar to measuring any marketing or sales effort. You want to make sure that you’ve covered all the necessary bases before you put in too much time and effort into a single campaign. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in a bit of a quandary- you either had a massive success or failure.
That’s why it’s important to track the results of your email marketing efforts regularly. Before you begin your next email marketing campaign, measure the success of the previous campaign by examining the activity levels on your website and social media accounts. If you’re not receiving the results you’re looking for, then consider revisiting the tactics that you’re using to reach your audience.
Also, make sure to measure the success of your email marketing efforts relative to the size of your audience. For example, if you’ve got 10,000 email subscribers and you’re spending $120 a month on email marketing, your results may be excellent, but you’re a very small fish in a very large pond.