Inbound marketing is a trend that is here to stay. According to HubSpot Blogs, 68% of marketers plan to spend less on mass emailing and more on inbound marketing.
While this trend may benefit marketers, it can be a hassle for the companies these marketers are trying to engage with. Today’s landscape is cluttered with marketing messages—not just from competing businesses but from various affiliate marketing programs and websites that want to gain access to your disposable income. In a world full of distractions, it’s not easy to keep people’s attention long enough for a potential customer to find value in what they offer.
This is where B2B marketing automation comes in. With Marketing Automation at your fingertips, you can create complex marketing sequences in a matter of minutes, driving sign-ups, purchases, and repeat business—without spending a lot of time managing individual campaigns or creating complex HTML emails. Instead, you can use pre-built email templates and sophisticated A/B testing to quickly optimize your email marketing for maximum results.
Why should you care about the email marketing subject line?
Even before you begin your email marketing journey, you can begin to optimize your emails with the help of your subject line. When someone clicks on an email, the first thing they will see is the subject line. Therefore, your subject line should be short but sweet, while still being relevant to the context of the email content.
When you’re writing your subject line, you always have two options:
- The first option is to use an automated email marketing tool to generate a personalized subject line for you.
- The second option is to use an email marketing tool to find the right words yourself.
If you’re using the first option, you’re in luck because most marketing automation tools will give you a wide range of personalized subject lines to choose from. On the other hand, if you’re looking for inspiration, you can browse through the list of words or phrases that the tool generates for you, looking for the one that resonates the most with your ideal customer. This way, you ensure that your email’s subject line will catch their attention and motivate them to open and read your email.
What are the main purposes of an email marketing template?
An email marketing template is a stripped-down version of a standard email that you can use time and time again. These templates come with all the necessary text and formatting that you need to send out an email that will be accepted by all the major email clients. You don’t have to worry about whether or not your email will look the same across different platforms, since all of the text and formatting is handled by the tool.
Depending on your chosen template, you may include sections for the header, main body, and footer of your message. For instance, the header could include a logo, some text that provides useful information, and a link to your site. The body could consist of an announcement, a call to action (e.g., sign up for our newsletter), or a combination of both. Finally, the footer could include contact information (e.g., name, phone number, email).
When you send out this type of email, everyone will know what company you’re representing even if they’ve never heard of you before. Additionally, you can rest assured that your email will look the same no matter what device the recipient is on—desktop, tablet, or mobile phone.
Where do you find email marketing templates?
You can find a wide range of pre-made email marketing templates in the “marketing automation” section of most cloud computing service providers’ websites. When you log into your account, you’ll find a list of ready-made emails that you can use to send out a constant flow of marketing messages to your list of contacts.
As you might expect, the more sophisticated the tool, the more templates you will find, and the easier it will be to find the one that you need. Even if you’re a novice user, there will likely still be enough options for you to choose from that you won’t have to worry about sending out an inappropriate email due to lack of expertise. For example, HubSpot Blogs reports that only 11% of marketers feel comfortable making basic email formatting changes, while another 22% feel comfortable adjusting the content of an email but not the way it looks. So if you can follow a few basic steps, you’re likely to avoid any potential mishaps.
How does email marketing fit within the larger context of marketing automation?
As we’ve established, an email marketing template is a stripped-down version of a standard email that you can use time and time again. These templates come with all the necessary text and formatting that you need to send out an email that will be accepted by all the major email clients.
Accordingly, email marketing should be considered a sub-category of marketing automation. What’s more, since your email’s subject line is the first thing that people will see when they receive it, your email’s subject line is also part of your overall marketing automation strategy.
To elaborate, suppose that you’re using MailChimp as your email marketing tool, and your email’s subject line is “Top 5 Ways to Save Money while Still Camping”. When a prospect sees this subject line, they know immediately that they’re going to receive an email from you that’s going to contain the phrase “Top 5 Ways to Save Money while Still Camping”. As a marketer, that’s all you need to know—save money, camp, and remain financially fit!
However, inbound marketing is about much more than just email marketing. As we’ve established, inbound marketing is a trend that is here to stay. In fact, it permeates every part of marketing, including SEO, content creation, and social media.
Hence, the term “inbound marketing” is used to describe the whole process of drawing potential customers to your business via attracting, engaging, and delighting them, rather than simply selling to them.
How does inbound marketing differ from traditional marketing?
Traditionally, marketing has been focused on drawing attention to a product or service through the use of paid media—most notably, through the use of advertisements—and creating awareness around the brand. What’s more, inbound marketing is mostly content-driven. This type of marketing is focused on engaging with, and hopefully, leading to a sale—or at the very least—a commitment to try out the product or service. Finally, inbound marketing is relationship-driven.
This means that marketers should be building relationships with customers rather than relying solely on sales to generate revenue. Essentially, inbound marketing is about integrating marketing and sales in order to generate the most revenue possible from each interaction.
Which one should you choose: Microsoft Dynamics or Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
In the world of marketing automation, there are two main factions—those that prefer Microsoft Dynamics and those that prefer the Salesforce platform. So which one should you choose?
If you’re new to marketing, it might be a good idea to begin by testing out the free version of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce. This way, you can get a sense of what the tool is capable of before making a commitment. You can download the free trial version of Marketing Cloud from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
However, if you’ve used other marketing automation tools in the past or you’re planning to use one in the future, it might be smart to go with the more expensive and popular option: Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Why? Well, the fact is that Marketing Cloud provides a more mature API and a wider array of third-party integrations. Additionally, as we’ve established, inbound marketing is a trend that is here to stay. Accordingly, if you’re concerned about which platform will be the most suitable for your business and marketing goals in the long term, it might be smart to go with the more popular, and financially sound, option.
On the flip side, if you’re looking for a tool that will allow you to quickly create lead magnets and email marketing templates for use in your marketing campaigns, and don’t have much experience with marketing automation, you might want to consider Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce. After all, while it would be awesome to have all the functionality of a full-featured marketing platform in your iPhone or Android device, you might not always have the budget to purchase such a tool. What’s more, if you’re looking to use an iPhone or Android device for mobile marketing, you will need to make sure that your selected tool is compatible with these devices.