Your email marketing system is one of your most important digital marketing tools. Think about all of the emails and newsletters you’ve received over the years; now imagine all of those combined into one big list. That’s your audience. And you’ve got a much bigger audience to play with. Your email list is potentially one of your greatest sources of traffic and revenue. And what do you get from a traffic source? You get back more than you give. So, it’s a win-win situation.
You may be familiar with the phrase, “E-commerce is a trillion-dollar industry.” That’s what Forbes says. And that’s what Forbes knows. The magazine known for its sharp analysis of the world of business and investors has estimated that by next year, 2020, the retail e-commerce market will be $13 trillion dollars globally.
In 2020, a staggering 76.4% of the world’s online population will be visiting retail websites. That’s according to the 2019 Brand Tracker Report from HubSpot.
If you’re looking to grow your email list, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll teach you the various ways you can use email marketing to grow your business.
The Basics Of Email Marketing
Before you get started, it’s important to understand the basics of email marketing. The term describes a form of online marketing in which you use email to communicate with your audience. Usually, you’ll use a tool like HubSpot to help you build and send your emails. But even if you’re not using a tool, you’ll still need to implement the following components:
- An email list
- Email communication
- Content creation
- Marketing automation
- Measurement and analysis
Why Should You Care About Email Marketing?
Here’s why you should care about email marketing.
Emails are one of the most popular forms of digital marketing. According to HubSpot, consumers have an average of four email accounts and 86.5% of consumers have subscribed to at least one email newsletter. And that’s just the beginning. If you want your product or service to reach your customers, you’ll need to have an email marketing system in place.
Even if you’re just getting started with email marketing, you should still care about using a good email marketing platform. First of all, you can’t beat free. There’s no monthly fees and no strings attached. No offense, but the free version of most email marketing platforms simply isn’t feature-rich enough to effectively market a business.
You’ll also need to care about email marketing because when it comes to growing a business, nothing else will matter if you don’t grow an audience. Luckily, with email marketing, you can grow an audience without paying for ads. All you need is an email list.
How To Start An Email Marketing Campaign
Whether you’re sending out a sales email or marketing email, the first step is the same: Create a list of suitable recipients. In order to do that, you’ll need a tool like HubSpot. But even if you don’t have a tool, you can still create a list by hand. Just be sure to save the list in a safe place so you can refer back to it later.
Once you’ve got your list ready, sit back and think about what you’ll say in the email. You can take this opportunity to pitch your product or service, or you can use the email to communicate with your audience. Whatever you do, make sure that you include relevant information that will interest your audience. And don’t be afraid to ask questions. Many businesses don’t get the opportunity to do this and it can be a valuable tool for prospective buyers.
Once you’ve got your email in a satisfactory state, it’s time to hit send. But take a little bit of extra time and look at how your email actually performed. Did you get a bounce? Did people open the email and interact with what you had to say? You can do this by taking a look at the analytics from your email marketing system. This way, you can see how many people actually opened the email and what actions they took after reading your content.
Growing Your Email List
Now, let’s talk about growing your email list.
You can gain a couple of thousand emails very quickly by just giving away free things. When you offer free access to content or a free trial while also asking for their email, you’re effectively getting thousands of free leads. Not bad. Not bad at all.
But, that’s not where you want to be, is it? You want to add value to those leads and make sure they’re invested in what you have to offer. The best way to do that is by creating content that they value and appreciate. And one of the best ways to do that is by offering tips and tricks that they can use to improve their lifestyle or business.
If you want to grow a substantial and sustainable email list, you should look into different methods of acquisition.
The most popular method is probably the digital detox. This involves removing all of the gadgets from your daily routine and focusing on building content that your audience will value. The benefits of a digital detox are that you remove the clutter from your life and you can get back to creating content that’s useful and informative. Of course, you have to make sure that you bring your laptop or mobile device to work with you. If you don’t have one, you can buy a cheap laptop on eBay/Amazon.
Content Creation
Once you’ve acquired a substantial email list, you can take the time to grow your content creation game. Create valuable resources that will engage and inspire your audience. And remember: It’s all about the value. People are usually pretty generous when it comes to giving away free content.
The good thing about having a substantial email list is that you can leverage this ability to create content that’s much more valuable than your typical marketing piece. One way to do this is by using case studies or stories from actual customers who have used your product or service. This is especially effective if you’re selling a software product, as you can include videos to help demonstrate how the product works. Plus, case studies are extremely valuable, as they provide a “human element” to your content. While software can automate certain processes and make day-to-day tasks less tedious, sometimes you need that extra push or need someone to walk you through an especially complex step. A case study from a customer can provide that extra push that you need to succeed.
Another good habit to get into is writing and publishing blog posts on a regular basis. It’s always a good idea to have a blog, as this will provide you with the opportunity to publish new content regularly. And if you write in a way that’s digestible and interesting to your audience, it’s nearly guaranteed that your blog post will be shared and linked to.
Measurement And Analysis
In order to create effective email marketing campaigns, you need to make sure that you measure and analyze the success of these campaigns. This way, you can determine what works and what doesn’t and make changes to your strategy accordingly. Luckily, there are several tools that can help you with this measurement and analysis process. For example, you can use HubSpot to create dashboards and track the performance of your email marketing campaigns. Alternatively, you can use Google Analytics to get a better understanding of how visitors interact with your website. Or, if you’re using MailChimp, you can create segments and analyze the performance of specific campaigns. The choice is up to you.
The above are just some of the things you need to make sure you have in order to effectively run a good email marketing campaign. From creating a list to analyzing the results, everything is easier with a little planning and research.