What was once considered small-business or personal email usage has evolved into a popular method of advertising and marketing communication. According to HubSpot Blogs research, 38% of business leaders and marketing directors use email marketing to find and keep customers. That’s nearly half of all respondents.
It would be a missed opportunity not to leverage this popular method of engaging with customers.
Building an email marketing program from the ground up can be challenging. You don’t want to rush into creating something that doesn’t quite work yet, but you also don’t want to spend too much time on it either. You can follow this simple 4-step process to build a basic email marketing program that will get you going in the right direction.
Step one: Define your goals and objectives for the campaign
The first and most important step in the email marketing process is to set a goal for the campaign. This is more than just a marketing strategy; it’s a statement of intent. Once you’ve got your goal in mind, you can start to work on the details of the campaign. The best way to proceed is to break down the goal into smaller, more manageable tasks. For instance, your goal might be to increase website traffic by 10% in 2018. This goal can be split into two sub-tasks: increase website traffic by 1% in Q1 and increase website traffic by 9% in Q2.
Step two: Select the right platform
The platform you choose for your campaign will depend on several factors, such as your budget and the size of your audience. If you’re looking for a free option, try Hive Marketing. They’ve got a good chunk of the market share for small businesses, so you’ll likely find what you’re looking for. With a free account, you’ll also get access to useful tools such as email marketing software, landing pages, and automated email campaigns. If you’ve got a limited budget, then you might want to consider Google AdWords or Facebook Ads. With these two options, you can target specific audiences based on demographic and geographic criteria.
Step three: Identify and understand your target audience
With your platform in mind, it’s time to build out your target audience. Start by taking a step back and assessing your own email marketing strategy. Based on your review of last year’s campaign, you might have some ideas of what types of content your audiences liked the most and want to see more of. Now is a good time to sit down and brainstorm a list of everything you know about your target audience. This includes things such as:
- Product knowledge
- Demographic information
- Geographic information
- Life stage
- Income
- Industry
- Channels (i.e. social media platforms)
- Shopping behaviors
- Prior purchase behaviors
- Genuine interest in your products or services
Along with your goal and platform, this step will help you develop messages that will resonate with your target audience. The type of content you choose will also depend on the size of your audience. If you’ve got a large email list, you may want to consider creating an e-book. With a smaller audience, you might want to consider using a blog article or a series of case studies. Don’t forget to incorporate videos into your content to increase the odds of your audience engaging with the material.
Step four: Develop content strategies
With your target audience in mind, it’s time to develop content strategies. This step will help you decide what content will be used to engage with your audience. In the beginning, you’ll want to experiment with different strategies to see which ones work best for you. Once you’ve determined the most effective content type for your target audience, you can build out a content schedule.
Deciding what types of content to create can be challenging. If your goal is to increase online store traffic, you might want to consider creating an e-book about online store optimization. An e-book is not only useful for beginners, but it can also be a useful reference for experienced business-owners who are looking to boost their SEO. Besides, you can create an e-book without needing any specialized knowledge, which makes it more accessible to a larger audience. On the other hand, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, you might want to consider creating a white paper or a case study about your industry.
The main thing to keep in mind is that you are not limited to one content strategy. Instead, you can use multiple methods to reach your audience. Experimenting with different content types and creating multiple streams of content will help you find the right approach for your business.
Email marketing is a useful tool that provides you with a relatively low-cost option for advertising and marketing. However, like any other method of advertising, it doesn’t mean that every tactic will work for every business. By putting into practice the steps discussed above, you can craft an effective email marketing plan that will help your business attract potential customers and thrive in today’s ever-changing digital landscape.