Email Marketing Strategy: Definition, Tips, and Tricks
How do you develop an email marketing strategy? Is there a process to follow? Who should do it? Should it be separate from your general marketing strategy?
What tools should you use to create the emails themselves?
These are just some of the questions we’ll answer in this article about email marketing strategy, and we’ll also provide some tips, tricks, and examples to give you all you need to know to successfully implement an email marketing strategy in your business.
let’s get right into it…
What is an email marketing Strategy?
An email marketing strategy is a marketing technique for any business that involves using email to attract new customers or promote products.
Email marketing is also called online marketing because most of these techniques happen online. It’s basically a way of communicating with customers.
As part of an effective email marketing strategy, you will send periodic newsletters that contain information about your products or services and updates on special offers and upcoming events.
When used correctly, you can get a high response rate from people who have subscribed to your newsletter through opt-in lists.
Opt-in lists are collections of emails from people who have agreed to get emails from certain businesses like yours.
Customers are most likely to trust your emails if you have an opt-in list that has been built up over time.
Why is it important to have an email marketing strategy?
It’s vital to note that a good email marketing strategy gives approximately $38 for every dollar spent. This is why it’s important to have an email marketing strategy that strikes.
Having a marketing strategy will help you build your business and brand loyalty among customers.
Customers will continue to purchase from you as long as they feel like they’re getting good value for their money.
How to Create an Email Marketing Strategy that Works
Creating an email marketing strategy that works tends to be easier than you thought and here is how to do it properly.
Know your Audience
The best way to start an email marketing strategy is by knowing your audience. Without an understanding of who you are trying to reach, it’s impossible to know what type of messages they might respond well to.
Segmenting your contacts into relevant categories can make all of your future campaigns much more successful.
For example, if you have a retail website you can divide customers into shoppers and browsers so that appropriate messaging is used when promoting each product category.
This also helps increase conversion rates because shoppers are given information tailored specifically for them.
Understanding how consumers interact with digital content is important for developing an effective email marketing strategy; for example, how long does it take them to read their emails?
How often do they open them? Once you understand these behaviors, you can send targeted emails that will get noticed.
It is also important to keep in mind that different types of businesses require different strategies; some industries have very strict regulations on email marketing while others don’t.
It is up to you to ensure compliance with industry standards and laws before sending out any mass communications. If you decide to purchase an email list from a third party, there is always a chance that some of those contacts could be spam traps.
If you receive complaints about spam from people on your list, it could cause serious damage to your reputation and possibly lead to legal action against you.
Because of these risks, purchasing third-party lists should be avoided at all costs. To reduce potential issues related to spamming, try using double opt-in when signing up new subscribers.
Double opt-in requires people to confirm their subscription after receiving an initial welcome message; therefore only valid addresses are added to your database.
When creating your first campaign, remember that timing is everything!
Pick the necessary email marketing tools
The right email marketing software can help you stay organized and create more effective emails. There are plenty of programs to choose from—here are a few popular ones to get you started.
MailChimp gives you everything you need to set up an account, design eye-catching templates, schedule messages for future delivery (when your audience is most likely to open them), track performance with detailed stats, and add analytics code so you can measure what’s working, use A/B testing features so your content performs better on mobile devices—even send broadcasts if you have multiple lists or subscribers. It also offers autoresponders like drip campaigns and automated follow-ups based on user activity and other triggers.
Pick two or three different email marketing campaigns: You need to create an email marketing campaign before you can send any messages.
There are a few main elements that go into every good campaign. Pick two or three different email marketing campaigns:
Choose a compelling subject line that will grab your subscribers’ attention (and keep it).
Make sure it’s short—two to five words is best—so it doesn’t get cut off when people forward your emails.
In addition to a subject line, create a brief message introduction that will lead readers into your content.
This is also an opportunity for you to include a call-to-action (CTA) so readers know what you want them to do next.
Spotting the appropriate list-building tactics
The most effective way to build your email list is by having a direct interaction with your customers.
You will want to give them something of value in exchange for their email address; so you can send them useful tips or newsletters that they would actually like to read.
When people are using your product or service, ask them if they would like to sign up for emails that contain more information about what you offer.
The more time people spend on your website/landing page means that they have enough interest in learning more about you as a brand.
If someone isn’t interested enough in what you offer at that moment—you can always save their contact information and let them know when you have new content coming out!
Always Monitor email performance reports
Once you’ve launched your email campaign it is essential to know how well your emails are performing. Emails that don’t get opened or clicked aren’t doing anyone any good.
The easiest way to monitor your emails is to use an online mail service like Gmail that can provide real-time reports about opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes.
If you want more detailed information about specific emails or recipients then a third-party service like Mailchimp may be more appropriate.
If you want an in-depth look at email marketing in general then Hubspot has put together a comprehensive primer with statistics on every aspect of email marketing performance along with best practices for improving results.
Once you start to get a handle on your emails’ performance you can tweak your subject lines or work on improving your open rates through A/B testing or other tactics.
Conduct A/B testing
While it’s important to have a strategy for email marketing, it’s equally important to experiment with different subject lines and content.
Try testing out a few versions of your next email newsletter to see which one converts better. For example, if you want to test two versions of an email newsletter promoting a new feature in your app that adds value to your customers, send them out at roughly equal intervals.
Then compare how many opens each received and how many people clicked through each version. Test various elements such as urgency or call-to-action language until you find what works best for your audience.
Tricks to Improve your email marketing strategy eCommerce Business
Improve your email marketing strategy by implementing these clever tactics. They’ll help you grow your eCommerce business!
Most eCommerce businesses understand that email marketing is a must-have for increasing sales. But many struggles with coming up with content ideas or creating an effective email drip campaign.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to improve your email marketing strategy and generate more sales through every platform – both online and offline.
Here are some of our favorite tricks for improving your email marketing strategy eCommerce Business. Try them out today and see how they can work for you.
A/B test subject lines
Split testing is a great way to figure out what works best when it comes to email subject lines.
For example, try sending two emails with a similar copy but different subject lines – such as Great sale today vs Sale ends soon – and compare which one generated more opens.
Experimenting like this can help determine what kinds of headlines get people excited about your product offers without costing too much time or money in lost revenue if they don’t perform well.
Keep track of your results so you can continue tweaking until you find something that really sticks with customers in their inboxes.
A/B test email content
As with subject lines, you can also experiment with your email content to see what your customers respond to best.
Do they prefer a short or long message? What about a funny or serious tone? Try out different approaches until you find something that works for your audience.
Send emails during off-peak hours
Sending emails at times when people are less likely to be checking their inboxes is a great way to increase open rates without having to pay for more advertising space in other places like Facebook or Google AdWords.
For example, try sending your emails during lunchtime or early in the morning, when people are at work but still checking their inboxes.
Or send them on weekends, so you can reach customers who don’t have to worry about opening emails from a boss or co-worker.
Try out different times until you find what works best for your audience.
Use social media to share offers and discounts
Offering deals through social media is a great way to get more eyes on your product offerings without having to pay for advertising space on other platforms like Facebook or Google AdWords.
For example, if you’re running a flash sale, consider sharing it with followers on Twitter by posting an image of it with an offer code underneath it that they can use when they check out online.
This way, you’ll reach more people without having to pay for advertising space – which means more sales for your business.
Use pop-up forms to boost conversions
Pop-up forms are a great way to get new leads without having to spend money on advertising space.
For example, try setting up a pop-up form at checkout that asks customers if they’d like to subscribe to your email list or opt-in for special offers in exchange for a discount or free shipping.
Then send them an email thanking them for signing up and offering them another deal or coupon as an incentive for signing up. This is a great way to get new leads while also boosting your sales numbers!
Reward loyal customers over time
Give loyal customers something special. Try giving away a free gift with purchase, or give them access to a special sale.
Your best customers are your most valuable marketing tool; make sure they know you appreciate their loyalty by rewarding it. A shout-out on social media doesn’t hurt either!
Customer loyalty programs can help you reward loyalty and give your customers something to talk about.
The better you treat them, in other words, the more they’ll spread their love for your business. Reward programs range from simple discount cards that get shoppers a little something extra to free gifts with purchase-type promotions.
Reward points are also a great way to show customers how much you value them; after enough purchases or visits, loyal patrons can earn things like free upgrades or even VIP events.
Segment clients based on their behavior
When you first start reaching out to leads via email marketing campaigns, you’ll want to send them a blanket welcome message.
But then you’ll notice something interesting. Some of your leads will click on links. Others won’t. Some will sign up for your newsletter. Others won’t.
As they interact with your emails over time, they fall into distinct segments based on their behavior—which is a fancy way of saying that some people are more likely to buy from you than others are when exposed to identical messages.
Send milestone emails
Email marketing allows you to segment contacts based on actions they take (or don’t take) within your emails.
Many companies take advantage of these segments to send milestone emails that reward subscribers for taking specific actions within their campaigns.
For example, a fitness company might send an email to new subscribers thanking them for joining their fitness program.
Then if that subscriber takes a second action—say ordering a custom protein shake—they can receive an update on their order status.
When it comes to developing your own strategy, consider sending similar milestone emails as a way of encouraging ongoing engagement with your brand.
And be sure you save your tracking links so you can easily add people who do not purchase immediately back into your core contacts after they’ve had more time to interact with your brand.