If you want to grow your business you’re going to have to figure out how to effectively use email marketing. Maybe you’ve tried it and found it lacking, or maybe you’re just now discovering the power of email marketing as a means of engaging with your audience and boosting your business.
Ole Henriksen, the founder and CEO of Conversion Rate Experts, has firsthand knowledge of digital marketing and email marketing. He’s helped millions of people around the world to understand the power of email marketing and provide them with the tools to successfully engage with their audience via email.
And he’s sharing the knowledge he’s gained in an effort to help you become an effective, efficient email marketer.
The Basics Of Email Marketing
Before you begin your email marketing journey it’s important to understand the basics. What is email marketing? How is it different from other forms of digital marketing? And which one is better suited to grow your business?
Simply put, email marketing is a type of online marketing in which you send emails to your audience. This could be with the purpose of entertaining, educating, or convincing them to take action.
The advantage of email marketing is that you have a captive audience. People who have chosen to receive your emails have already expressed an interest in your product or service and are more likely to be open to receiving further communications from you.
In addition, you can target your emails to specific groups of people. You can use a tool like MailChimp to create specific email marketing lists based on your social media or website traffic. You can also use this tool to segment your email lists based on interests. For example, if you notice your Men’s Health list is significantly larger than your Women’s Health list you might want to consider raising your male readers’ profile by targeting your women’s list with a series of educational emails.
The disadvantage of email marketing is that, compared to other forms of digital marketing, it’s more difficult to measure the results of your efforts. It’s not uncommon for business owners to claim significant increases in website traffic and conversions after implementing simple email marketing tactics. However, there are no guarantees that email marketing will work for you. You must put in the effort to see results.
The Difference Between Online And Offline Marketing
Depending on your business, you might decide that email marketing is not for you. If your business is primarily based on face-to-face interactions, you might want to consider trying other types of marketing. Alternatively, if your business is online-based and your existing customers can be found on the web, you might want to consider trying online marketing.
With online marketing you can measure the results of your efforts more easily. You can use tools like Google Analytics to track the sources of your website traffic and gain an understanding of which methods of marketing are performing the best. For example, if you notice your YouTube videos are drawing in the most viewers you might want to consider using this platform to drive traffic to your site.
If your goal is to grow your business using digital marketing, it’s important to remember that your audience is going to be interacting with your content either online or offline. When someone finds value in your content they are more likely to purchase your product or service online rather than in a physical store. So, even though you are not physically interacting with your audience, you are still marketing online.
Choosing The Right Email Marketing Platform
You must decide which email marketing platform is best suited to grow your business. There are a few different considerations to make when choosing this software.
Firstly, you need to decide whether you want an HTML email or a plain text email. Secondly, you need to decide whether you want a free or paid account. Thirdly, you need to consider the features the platform provides. Finally, you need to decide whether you want to use a mobile app to access your email.
An HTML email provides your email readers with a more contemporary and engaging experience. The HTML email format supports images, style sheets, tables, and more.
A plain text email provides your email readers with a more traditional and secure experience. The plain text email format supports tables, bold, and italicized text, and fewer images.
If you decide that HTML emails are not your style you can use a service like MailChimp to create a simple text email that you can send from your inbox. Keep in mind though, that if you use text-based emails you are unable to segment your lists based on interests.
Why Use A Mobile App To Access Your Email Marketing?
Have you ever received an email and immediately felt the need to reply but didn’t have access to your laptop? Or, you receive an email while traveling and want to respond but don’t have WiFI available?
With a mobile app you can access your email from anywhere. If you decide to use a mobile app to respond to email you can do so quickly and accurately. If you decide that a mobile app is not for you you can also go back and review your email messages whenever you want.
Creating An Effective Email Marketing Plan
You can use a tool like Omnichannel to create an effective email marketing plan. This tool can segment your email list, build email campaigns, and track the performance of your campaigns.
It’s important to set a schedule for yourself to follow when designing your email marketing campaigns. Consider the following:
- What will your next email campaign be about?
- When will you send this email campaign?
- How many emails will you send?
- How often will you update your email list?
- How much time do you have to dedicate to this project?
- What is your budget for this project?
- What is your desired result?
- Who is the audience for this email campaign?
- How are you going to measure the success of this email marketing campaign?
In addition to setting a schedule it’s important to lay out clear goals for yourself. As the business owner you’re in charge of the overall growth strategy. However, you don’t have all the information needed to make solid decisions. That’s where you come in. It’s important to set a goal for yourself and then break that goal down into smaller tasks. For example, your initial goal might be to send a couple of hundred emails to my audience. You can take that task and break it down into smaller tasks like reaching out to so-and-so person on your email list to see if they’re interested in your product or service. Once you’ve got that person on board you can move on to the next person. Or, you can identify a specific group within your audience who might benefit most from your product or service and target your outreach to them.
Using Personal Branding To Your Advantage
Personal branding is all about connecting your product or service to a person. If you are marketing yourself you are creating a personal brand. Every part of your approach, whether it’s the way you talk about your product or service, the design of your website, or the way you engage with your audience via social media.
Your personal brand voice, style, and approach provide a unique connection to your audience and make your emails more personable.
If you decide that creating a personal brand is not for you and want to use a service like MailChimp to create a simple email that you can send from your inbox consider the following: