You’re probably familiar with the term ‘e-mail marketing’, but do you really know what it means?
In 2019, marketing departments around the world will be looking for ways to remain relevant to constantly evolving consumer trends. In this article, we’ll explore how e-mail marketing can be used to drive revenue and grow a business, using a case study from HubSpot in particular.
The Evolution Of E-mail Marketing
E-mail marketing has been around for nearly 50 years, but the tools and techniques we use today may not look like they’ve changed much in that time.
In the late 1960s, users would open their mailboxes once or twice a day, skim the headlines, and hit delete. Today, users open their mailboxes hundreds of times a day, skim the headlines, and take in all the content – often leaving messages, liking content, and participating in live chats with other users while reading an e-mail.
The biggest difference between then and now is the amount of content we have access to. Whereas newspapers published only a few stories a day back then, today’s news media publications publish numerous articles – many of which are duplicates – around the clock. Social media also plays a significant role in today’s marketing, with customers often receiving promotional material in their inboxes. Finally, mobile phones have made it possible for users to access the internet from anywhere, which means emails can be received on the move.
The Rising Importance Of Mobile Email
Mobile phones made it possible for users to access the internet away from corporate office, even when on the go. In fact, 68% of American adults use their phones to read or check email on the go. So if you’re planning on using email marketing to promote your business, you may want to consider a mobile-friendly email.
One of the most significant benefits of mobile email is that users can access it from anywhere. In theory, this means you can reach anyone at any time – even when they’re not at their desk. It also means a better chance of keeping users engaged because they can always be reached when they want to be.
If someone clicks on a link in an email, they may expect to be taken to a website or app and signed up for a mailing list. However, if they don’t have a smartphone, they may not be able to navigate to your website or app. In this case, email can be highly effective in driving a sale – or at least getting them to consider your product. If a consumer wants to read about your company but doesn’t know how to navigate to your website or app, they may find it difficult to do so. In a nutshell, this is why mobile email is so important.
Why Focus On Relevance When Sending Emails?
According to HubSpot Blogs research, people now expect relevant content when they open their inboxes. Indeed, our data shows that consumers expect to see a correlation between the content they’re receiving and something that’s important to them. As a result, businesses that want to succeed should consider focusing on providing relevant content when sending out emails. In the coming years, as digital marketing evolves, marketers may want to consider focusing more on providing relevant content as a key differentiator in order to attract potential customers and retain them as loyal fans.
Creating A Killer Email For Marketing
If you’re looking to create a killer email for marketing purposes, it’s important to consider what you want to achieve. Begin by thinking about your target audience,’ says digital marketing expert, Simon Sinek.
“Who is this email going to?””Think back to when you last bought a product or service you were considering. Chances are, you went online to do some research beforehand. This means you were probably presented with numerous articles relating to the product or service in question. If you can develop an email that serves as a resource for your target audience, you’re likely to achieve the result you’re looking for – increased brand awareness and/or a sale.
To develop an effective email marketing campaign, you first need to establish key phrases and/or words that you hope users will type into a search engine to find your content. In 2019, these key words should reflect your company’s value proposition, brand identity, and marketing strategy. For example, if you’re a financial services company, you may want to use the following keywords: ‘insurance’, ‘financial planning’, and’mortgage’.
The next step is to build a content schedule. Just because you have an ‘open’ email campaign on a regular basis doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to publishing only marketing material. Instead, you can use the opportunity to post relevant and interesting content that will engage your audience. If you have an Instagram account, you can repost pictures relating to your content schedule or post videos relating to an upcoming event. If you have a blog, you can write and publish an article around the same time you’re sending out an email campaign.
When you’ve established your content schedule and started to build your list, start a drip campaign. For example, you can email your list on a weekly basis with a summary of the previous five emails you’ve sent out. Alternatively, you can publish a blog post every two weeks and follow up with a bi-weekly email.
As you continue to grow your business, you can also look to boost your email marketing game by investing in list segmentation and personas. List segmentation is all about dividing your list into different groups based on similar interests and activities. For example, if you notice your ‘A’ and ‘B’ lists are both doing well but your ‘C’ list is struggling, you may want to consider creating separate emails for these groups. Publishing personas allows you to write with the voice and style of a specific character, which may help to attract a more targeted audience. For example, if you want to target senior executives in financial services, you may want to write an email using the voice, language, and style of a senior executive in financial services. In return, you’ll be able to increase your overall engagement rate and gain more subscribers.
How To Make Your Emails More Engaging
Once you have a steady stream of traffic, you can look to make your emails more engaging. A study published by HubSpot Blogs found that users tend to leave an email immediately after just three seconds – so any distracting content, including bright colors, sound effects, and animated GIFs – will likely turn them off. In a nutshell, simple is best when it comes to keeping your audience engaged.
To grab someone’s attention in the first place, establish a connection with some compelling text. At the very least, your subject line should be interesting, relevant, and provide enough information for the recipient to understand what your email is about. If you include a call-to-action (CTA) – such as an online button that leads to a website or app – in your email, you may cause your email to go viral if your CTA is interesting, relevant, and easy to accomplish. To make your CTA stand out, use attention grabbing words and phrases that will compel your audience to take action and click the link or button.
If you want to increase the likelihood of a sale or action – whether that’s visiting a website, downloading an app, or calling into a phone line – establish a clear value proposition. Simply put, what does your product or service offer that is unique and valuable? Consumers should be able to understand the benefits of your product or service straight away. For example, if you’re a financial services company, you may want to write an email about how an annuity product can be a great investment for retirement. In the same way, if you’re an e-commerce store, you can use email marketing to remind customers of the great discounts you have available – or offer a special promotion for something that’s on sale.
Additional Tips
Once you’ve mastered the art of sending relevant emails, it’s time to take it to the next level. To ensure your emails are as effective as possible, consider the following tips:
1. Measure the success of your email campaigns. To accurately determine the success of your email marketing efforts, you must first collect and analyze data. Fortunately, this is now made easier thanks to tools such as HubSpot Analytics. Using analytics allows you to track the success of each individual email and gauge the efficiency of your entire campaign. With this information, you can determine which emails were most effective and which ones need to be changed or improved upon.
2. Keep your emails short and sweet. Remember, according to HubSpot Blogs’ research, people hate long emails. Keep your emails brief but informative. If possible, use only two or three sentences to grab the reader’s attention.