Email marketing is a type of digital marketing that allows businesses to communicate with their customers through email.
This sort of marketing has been around for many years, but only recently have people started realizing the advantages that email marketing offers.
In addition to the fact that email is available on all types of devices, including mobile phones, people are starting to see the power of email marketing.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a marketer, you’re bound to run into this sort of thing from time to time.
In order to understand how email marketing works, and why you should be using it, let’s take a quick look at some of its basic principles.
Set Up Your Email Marketing Campaign
You’ll need to set up your email marketing campaign before you send your first email promoting your product.
The first step is to choose an email marketing software that can handle both sending and receiving emails. Then, you’ll want to determine the frequency of your emails, and choose a schedule that makes sense for you (i.e. once or twice a week).
Ideally, you’ll want to choose a frequency that suits your products and services, and the types of emails that you’ll be sending out. For example, if you’re an entrepreneur who is launching a new product or service, you might want to choose a more frequent schedule than a marketer who is trying to push an existing product.
Why Email Marketing Works
There are many advantages to email marketing. Here are just a few.
First, emails are easy to create and can be sent out quickly. If you’ve ever tried to track down a phone number or an address for a client, you know how difficult it can be. Even after trying to find a lead’s contact details, you might not end up using them at all.
With email marketing, you can quickly communicate with people who have shown interest in your product or service, without having to worry about your message getting lost in the noise.
Email marketing is also good for reaching out to people who have shown interest in your product, but you haven’t yet had the chance to connect with them. For example, if you’re a real estate agent, and you haven’t yet found a buyer for a house that you’re selling, you can use email marketing to reach out to potential buyers and begin collecting contact details.
Last but not least, emails are flexible. You can use them for a variety of purposes, including attracting, engaging and converting customers, nurturing leads, and enhancing brand loyalty.
How to Use Email Marketing
Let’s say that you’ve set up a simple email marketing campaign, and you’re ready to start sending out your first batch of emails. As a marketer, you’ll want to follow a tried and tested approach to using email marketing so that you can maximize the effectiveness of your campaign.
The first step is to identify the target audience for your email campaign. To do this, you’ll want to enter a keyword or two into the email software, and then use the autosuggest to find email addresses of people who have shown interest in your products or services. Now, you’ve got a list of potential email recipients that you can begin building relationships with.
After you’ve gathered a list of potential customers, you can begin sending out your initial email marketing campaign. Although you might not yet have gained any meaningful conversions, you’ll want to continue establishing relationships with your potential customers.
You might also want to consider using tools like SurveyMonkey, which can be used to create surveys and prompt respondents with follow up questions. This feature makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to find out what their customers think about their products and services, and allows for greater communication between customer and business.
Top Tools For Email Marketers
If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for all of your email marketing needs, check out these top tools.
MailChimp
The popular email marketing tool, MailChimp, allows for all of the common types of emails, as well as custom designs. Its drag-and-drop content editor makes it easy for non-techy users to create emails, and the tool provides advanced features, like HTML email marketing and A/B testing.
Etison Plus
ETISON PLUS, a product from marketer turned entrepreneur Scott McNealy, allows users to create automated email campaigns that follow an algorithm, based on the type of content that the customer has previously consumed. This feature makes it possible for business owners to create emails that are specific to each individual customer’s interests, rather than using general templates.
Constant Contact
If you’re looking for a tried and tested tool for email marketing, you can’t go wrong with Constant Contact. This tool provides a complete email marketing suite, which includes a drag-and-drop composer, email scheduling, and an autoresponder with daily digest emails.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a marketing software suite aimed at small to medium-sized businesses. With HubSpot, you can create an all-in-one dashboard that tracks marketing activity, including email marketing, social media marketing, and SEO.
Takeaway
Email marketing works, and it’s only getting better with time. As a business owner, entrepreneur, or marketer, you’re sure to run into this form of digital marketing from time to time. When that happens, take the time to set up a simple email marketing campaign, and you’re sure to see results.