You’ve probably heard several people say that email marketing is dead. Since instant messaging apps and social media platforms have entered the picture, people may easily believe this false claim. But, if you’re a business owner who’s on a never-ending quest to improve customer engagement, you should know that email marketing remains an incredibly effective practice.
With over 3.9 billion email users worldwide, it’s not an exaggeration to say that over half of the world’s population can be reached through this channel. As an all-in-one tool, email marketing can perform various functions, such as influencing purchasing decisions, widening brand awareness, and improving one’s sales.
To show you how vital it is, HubSpot has found that over 80% of businesses heavily rely on the channel for their customer acquisition and retention. If you haven’t hopped into the email bandwagon, you should get on board as soon as possible. Statistics show that for every dollar you spend on a campaign, you can potentially acquire $38 in return.
If you’ve already implemented an email strategy but did not get the results you want, you might be wondering how you can improve the performance of your email marketing campaigns. To steer your business in the right direction, the guide below will teach you how in four simple steps.
1. Segment Your Audience
Writing a marketing email is no different than writing a letter to a friend. With this analogy in mind, the first thing you should do is determine whom you’re talking to and why.
Nowadays, there’s no such thing as the average consumer. Given that the market has become more competitive, customer demands have evolved and are now more specific than ever. If you simply send out generic emails that don’t provide any form of value, chances are you won’t capture the interest of your leads.
Before you start sending out promotions, you need to characterize and segment your audience. Even though each customer has his/her own unique characteristics, you can group them all into a specific mailing list. Here are some factors that help marketers establish buyer personas:
- Job Title
- Demographics: Age, Gender, and Location
- Purchasing Capabilities
- Online Behavioral Patterns
- Email Clickthrough Rates
By figuring out the different kinds of people who buy your products, it’ll be a lot easier for you to deliver the right messages to the right set of eyes.
2. Personalize Your Messages
Did you know that including the recipient’s name in an email’s subject line can increase its open rate by 16%? Personalization is a vital component in creating the ideal customer experience, yet many companies fail to do it properly.
When it comes to email marketing, personalization can be done in several ways. Other than including the customer’s name in your email, you can deliver and customize messages based on a subscriber’s characteristics. If a specific customer is in the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey, sending out an email that can help them decide on a solution will increase the likelihood of a transaction.
It’s no secret that customers greatly value the experience they get from a brand. If you were able to segment your audience accordingly, sending out timely and relevant messages should be a breeze. Apart from sending out specialized promos and discounts, your customers will greatly appreciate it if you regularly send important updates or let them know that your business provides email support.
Your customers don’t just want to transact with your brand; they want to build a relationship, as well. Enticing your leads to convert should always be your goal, but this doesn’t mean that you should only bombard your subscribers with promotions. Aside from advertising your products and services, you should also use email marketing to pave the way for valuable engagements.
Email is a direct and intimate channel that allows your audience to learn more about your business. Now that consumers are more socially conscious, they take a company’s values and beliefs into account before closing in on a business deal.
Sharing stories on how your business began or letting them know your stance on particular issues lets your audience see the human side of your brand and eventually strengthens your online reputation in the long run.
4. Let Data Serve As Your Map
Just like any other discipline under the digital marketing umbrella, your email strategy should be fueled by data. Taking note of important metrics such as your clickthrough rate and overall return on investment primarily lets you see how successful your campaign is. At the same time, harnessing these statistics also lets you identify bottlenecks and enables you to make the right adjustments.
Similar to optimizing your landing pages, email marketing is not a one-and-done task. Complacency is the number one enemy of any brand, and this is why marketers should make it a point to test their email templates periodically. But now, you may be wondering, “Which components of my email campaign should I test exactly?”
Aside from your subject lines, your email’s design, length, and button placement can greatly influence the success of your campaign. People react differently to certain templates, and A/B Testing allows you to see which variation delivers the best results.
Harness the Power of Email
No matter what industry you may be operating in, there’s no denying that nothing grows your business more than customer loyalty. Luckily, advancements in technology have given brands many opportunities for valuable engagements. But, in this fast-paced digital world, it’s easy for business owners to prefer popular channels such as social media and disregard email-marketing entirely.
While it may seem like an old-fashioned way of communicating with your audience, at the end of the day, email marketing still gets the job done. As an all-in-one tool, investing in an email marketing campaign will do more than just optimize your conversion rate.
Just like any other marketing practice, there’s a right way to do things. With the tips above in mind, you’ll be able to take your campaign to the next level and drive your business forward.
About the author
Eliza Espino is an Online PR Specialist for Spiralytics. She recently began her professional career in digital marketing and is continuously learning about the field. One of her goals is to help grow businesses from different industries. Eliza spends her free time exploring films and series that can make her smile, think, laugh, or cry.
