Why is email marketing one of the most effective forms of digital marketing? Well, it’s simply because it is affordable and has a high return on investment. At least, for every 1$ spent, a business can earn $30 or $40.
However, this is only possible for marketers with a detailed or well-planned email marketing strategy. Suppose you’re a marketer or an e-commerce website owner struggling to generate quality leads and maximize high ROI. In that case, this article promises to reveal how you can develop an effective email marketing strategy.
Let’s go…
What is an email marketing strategy?
Email marketing is simply the act of promoting a company’s products or services to quite a large number of people called List, using email. By sending personalized messages to this set of people, they know, like, and trust the brand, which most of the time leads to sales.
So, email marketing strategy is the set of procedures that a marketer develops to reach their desired marketing goals. This action plan helps businesses connect directly with their prospects and customers for brand promotion.
We will consider the best email marketing strategies that ensure the best result for every business owner.
Why email marketing is effective
Many marketers claim that email marketing is “old” and hence not effective. Instead, they prefer to advertise on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, because email is not “sexy” enough.
Although these social media platforms have more attention than email, the fact is that email is the best in converting leads to customers.
According to McKinsey & Company, email marketing is 40 times more effective than social media. It also affirmed that the purchasing process occurs three times faster than in social media.
The following are the reasons why email marketing is the best option for your marketing goals:
- It is affordable yet generates a high return on investment.
- Most direct and customizable means of communicating with your audience.
- 40 times more effective than social media in customer acquisition.
- It is timeless. Marketers can receive conversions months after the first email.
- It increases brand popularity.
How to develop an email marketing strategy
For you to create a successful email marketing strategy where you can generate more leads and a high return on investment, we have compiled the 7 simple steps for you to follow:
Have email marketing goals
Most email marketers don’t know what to achieve with their List of subscribers. Hence their marketing campaigns don’t stand the test of time. As a marketer, you need to set your marketing goals, that is, knowing what you want to achieve with your List of subscribers.
For example, ask yourself these questions: “Am I creating emails to maximize ROI?” Or “To Increase customer engagement?” Or “To maintain relationships with my subscribers?” Creating emails aligned with any of these goals is the first step to a successful email marketing strategy.
Pick the necessary email marketing tools.
To connect better with your recipients, you need great Email Marketing Software with an automation tool and several other amazing features that will aid your marketing messages. For example, with SendPulse, you can set up welcome emails for new customers, and abandoned cart emails to make sure customers complete their purchases. Other Email Service Providers with nice features include Aweber, GetResponse, and MailChimp, among others.
Determine the target audience
As a marketer, know that your products/services are not for everyone. There is a particular set of people that your products or services cater to. So ensure you have a subscriber list that comprises your target audience only. For example, if you sell fashionable gowns, skirts, and high heel shoes, then you should have an email list of young ladies between, at least, 20 – 45 years.
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Segment your subscribers
To create a more personalized message to your target audience, it’s important to segment your mailing list based on gender, occupation, age, behavior, location, etc. In addition, segmenting your lists helps you get better open rates, revenue, leads, transactions, and more customers.
Let’s say you have an email list of university undergraduates, but you want to introduce a product to the male folks among them. So you can segment your list by gender. Or let’s say you want these students to turn up for an event. Since everyone is not living close to you, you can segment them by location.
Send mobile-friendly messages
When you wake up early in the morning, what is the first thing you do? You pick up your phone to check your messages without brushing your teeth… Hey, Hey… Don’t glare at me… I’m sorry… Lol.
To have a high open-rate and click-through rate, it’s important to make your email mobile-friendly. According to Adestra, 83.8 percent of mobile device owners open emails with these devices. So, to make the content mobile-friendly, do the following:
- Keep the subject line and preheader short.
- Use single-column templates
- Display small images.
- Use a large font size for readability (13-14 pixels)
- Limit emails to a width of 600px.
- Make the CTA big and clear to click.
Conduct split testing
Also known as A/B testing. This is you trying out a different copy to see the one that will convert better. To do this, swap different sections of your copy such as the subject lines, CTAs, offers, etc. Send it to a few subscribers.
The one that has the high open rate is the one you’ll send to other subscribers. For example, President Obama raised an additional $2 million in donations by split testing his email subject line.
Monitor email performance
Every email service provider gives you reports and feedback that help track email campaign effectiveness. You can track the open rate, unsubscribe rate, email bounces, spam complaints, click-through rate, email deliveries, etc. This helps you know how to adjust your email strategy.
Email marketing strategy examples
Below are some of the email marketing examples that you must follow to get the desired result.
Personalize your messages
According to new research conducted about email marketing, personalization can generate $20 in ROI for every $1 invested. And by personalizing your message, you don’t have to send individual messages to every single subscriber. Rather you use customer details to create a personalized message. So, for example, instead of “Dear Business Owner” as the salutation, use “Dear James”.
Other areas of personalization include using your real reply-to email address (don’t use >donotreply@example.com<) and using your email signature, where you’ll include your contact information. Again, this gives your brand more credibility.
Welcome emails
Welcome emails should be part of your marketing strategy. According to a 2018 WordStream article, the welcome email can boost revenue by 320% compared to other promotional emails. You can give your new subscribers a freebie or introduce your company and the benefits of using your products.
Follow up emails
This is a series of messages you send to your new leads to build more relationships with them. Depending on what you offer, you can tell them more about your brand or update them about new products that you’ve got.
However, some subscribers might not respond because, perhaps, your messages end in the spam folder, or some might not just be willing to respond. But what should you do when this occurs? Write several email scripts, including the welcome email, a follow-up, and a second follow-up.
Abandoned cart emails
Sometimes, your customers get distracted by phone messages or urgent calls while shopping, which breaks them from continuing the purchase. Some also abandon their carts due to a bad user experience. Sending a message to know what happens or reminding them of the left products can make a huge change in your business.
Educational emails
Your leads want to know why they subscribe to your list. Is it to get deals or learn something? Sending educational emails positions your brand or company as an authority. You can send them messages on how to make more sales or achieve their dreams. It’s more like tips like this, and they will always come back to you.
Conclusion
Doing an email marketing strategy can be strenuous if you’re handling the List and your business. For effective coordination, you can hire an email marketer and copywriter to help you generate leads and maximize a high return on investment. However, if you’re capable of handling both, you can use these tips we’ve provided, and you’ll start getting results.