Email is nothing new, in fact it’s probably one of the oldest forms of digital communication out there. And thanks to email, we can reach people on the other side of the world in a matter of seconds. When it comes to marketing, email plays a huge role in creating lasting, rewarding relationships between small businesses and their customers and continues to rank as one of the most effective marketing channels out there.
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is a direct marketing tool that uses email to educate potential and current customers about products, services, and promotions. It can also be used to encourage customers to make a purchase, book an appointment, sign up for a trial or register for an event. It is highly effective at converting potential buyers into customers and turns those one-time customers into repeat and loyal fans.
How does email marketing work?
Email marketing involves sending promotional messages to a large number of people at one time. It is typically done to generate sales or leads and may advertise current promotions or events. Email marketing can be done on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis and can be used as a way to keep your brand at the forefront of your customer’s mind.
When should I use email marketing?
Email marketing can be used many ways and for many different reasons. Some of the most common are:
– To build connections and relationships with potential and current customers
– To boost brand awareness
– To promote content on your website including blogs
– To generate potential leads by providing a discount or free resource in exchange for their email address
– To promote your products and/or services
– To nurture leads with purchase reminders, discount codes and similar product suggestions
What are the benefits of email marketing for my small business?
While there are several benefits to creating an email marketing strategy for your business, we’ve narrowed it down to the top 8:
1. It allows you to reach the right audience
One of the biggest benefits of email marketing for small businesses is the ability to target your audience with customized campaigns, targeted content, and personalization with the recipient’s first name in the subject line. Personalization can also come from creating individualized content based on segmenting your audience so you can send the right emails to the right customers. For example, you may send a different email campaign to returning customers than you would to new or potential customers.
2. It creates brand awareness
Staying at the forefront of your customers mind is one of the biggest benefits of email marketing. It gives you a direct line to the email inboxes of your customers or potential customers. Consistently using email marketing allows you to keep in touch with your customers and encourages them to think about your business when they need your services. The key to creating brand awareness, like with most marketing strategies, is to stay consistent. Focusing on regular communication with content that is interesting and engaging will position you as an expert and will show your audience that you are about more than just promotions.
3. It’s affordable and has a high return on investment
When it comes to owning a small business, it’s important to save money where you can. Email marketing is one of the most affordable marketing options and one that has been shown to provide a high return on investment. Your emails can reach hundreds or even thousands of people for a minimal cost, with the potential of creating new or returning customers with each email sent.
4. It generates traffic to your site
With email marketing campaigns, you can send traffic directly to your site through action buttons and website links. This not only promotes your products and services; it also helps to improve your SEO. Every email that you send should have a call-to-action button so that readers can click through to your website.
5. You own your media and contact lists
With social media platforms, your media, content, and contacts are all at the mercy of the platform itself. Your account (along with your followers and posts) could be suspended, deleted, or hacked at any time for any reason, leaving you with no way to reach your audience. With email marketing, you own your list, your media and the content included in your emails. The leads that you generate through email marketing are yours.
6. It allows you get feedback from customers
Knowing what your customers love about your products or services is the key to keeping them engaged and wanting to continue interacting with your brand. Email marketing is a great way to keep up with the wants and needs of your customers. You can easily send customer satisfaction surveys to obtain feedback on your products/services.
7. It increases your potential leads
Email marketing not only increases your sales, it can also increase your potential leads. People who opt-in to your email list on your website share their name, email address and other contact information with you. Once you have these leads, you can use email marketing to generate interest, build trust and turn the leads into potential customers.
8. It creates stronger relationships with your customers
A consistent email marketing strategy that involves useful, relevant content is valuable to your consumers. Once someone joins your email list, you have an opportunity to send them information about your business as well as information that you think they might find helpful. This could be in the form of blog post, tips and tricks or links to video. Every email you send shouldn’t involve selling a product/service or promotion. Customers will continue to read your emails if they have information they see as valuable.
How to get started with email marketing
1. Define your audience
Think about who you’re sending your email to, and what they may want. Try to tailor your email content to your ideal buyer, and keep in mind demographic attributes like age, gender, location, and interests.
2. Determine your goals
Before you start building your email marketing campaign, think about what you want out of it. Is it lead generation? Link clicks? Event sign-ups? You’ll also want to know the average stats for your industry to use as a benchmark for your goals.
3. Build your list
This might seem like an obvious one, but before you start your campaign, you need to have a list of people to email. To build your list, you need to provide potential and current customers a way to opt-in to receive your emails. This could be in the form of an opt-in form on your website or a sign-up via social media.
4. Choose your campaign type
Decide what kind of email campaign you are going to do and how often you are going to send it. Are you going to do a weekly newsletter? A monthly email tied to your monthly blog posts? It’s also important to set up different types of emails for different groups of customers (i.e. current vs. potential customers).
5. Don’t forget the analytics!
As with everything in marketing, it’s important to measure your results from each campaign. Not only does this help you see how your campaign did, it can also help you learn what to change and how to improve with your next campaign.
And remember, when it comes to email marketing, keep it real and keep it simple! Treat your subscribers like humans, and word your emails accordingly. They want to hear from you and hear what you have to say. They don’t want to be constantly bombarded with sales pitch after sales pitch (although it’s ok to throw one in once in awhile). Deliver value, share compelling content, and treat your subscribers like gold.
The bottom line? Communicating with your customers is never a bad idea and creating an email marketing strategy is a perfect way to start. Think you’re ready to get your email marketing strategy off the ground? We can help! The digital marketing team at Trilogy Solutions can create and run your email marketing campaign to help you reach your marketing goals.
