Welcome to Email Marketing Basics, your guide to unlocking the power of email in the digital age.
Whether you've never run an email marketing campaign before, or you have, and you feel that your campaigns have not lived up to email's potential, let's explore the essentials of email marketing together.
The Basics of Email Marketing
Email marketing offers a direct link into the ‘sphere of awareness’ of your target audience.
What is Email Marketing?
Email marketing is a direct line of communication with your audience. It involves sending emails to a group of people who have either already exchanged messages with you, or have agreed to receive messages from you. It's a cost-effective way to engage, inform, and perhaps entertain your target audience, and thereby nurture your relationship with them.
Why is Email Marketing Important?
Email marketing is an efficient way to reach your audience where they spend a significant amount of time—their email inbox. It's a way to deliver virtual ‘packages’ to their virtual ‘front door’. It allows you to deliver messages that can be personalized to varying degrees, and build relationships with a large number of people. You can then build on those relationships to drive those people to action.
Top 4 Email Marketing Basics Actionable Steps
Here are some practical steps to get you started with email marketing, or enhance the program you currently have in place:
1. Build Your Email Address List
Start by collecting email addresses from people who want to hear from you. You can gather addresses through your social media presence, at in-person networking events, and with sign-up forms on your website. This works better if you offer some type of incentive - something of value - in exchange for an individual providing their address. Watch for other posts about offering value ‘up-front’.
2. Choose an Email Marketing Platform
Select an email marketing service such as: Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or SendinBlue/Brevo. These platforms help you manage and send emails efficiently.
3. Craft Compelling Email Messages
Create email messages that are clear and engaging. Gear them toward your audience's needs and interests. Use a friendly tone, and keep your messages short and concise. If you have a large amount of information to share, provide a link to it, but don’t put it into the body of your message. Remember the power of pictures and images. Adding images and pictures to email messages can be tricky, so you might want to do some research or work with a consultant to make sure it’s done well.
4. Segment Your Audience
Divide your email list into groups based on common characteristics. You can then send targeted messages that resonate with specific segments of your audience. You may still [occasionally] send more generic messages to everyone, such as holiday greetings.
Real World Examples
Example 1: Airbnb
Airbnb uses email marketing to engage both hosts and guests. They send personalized recommendations, new opportunities, and feature updates, enhancing the user experience.
Example 2: TheSkimm
TheSkimm, a company that offers a subscription-based digital newsletter, has mastered the art of engaging and informative emails. Their conversational tone and relevant content keep subscribers coming back for more.
We will look at more real-world email marketing success stories in future posts.
Tools and Resources
These practical resources can help kickstart your email marketing journey:
- Email Marketing Platforms: Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or SendinBlue/Brevo
- Email Address List-building Tools: pop-up forms built into your website, available from many web-building software providers
- Analytics Tools: performance tracking and analytics features provided by your email marketing platform
Conclusion
Email Marketing Basics 101 has provided the fundamentals to start your journey into the world of email marketing. By applying these essential concepts, you can connect with your audience, build relationships, and make the most of this powerful and efficient communication technique.
Are you ready to dive deeper into email marketing? Stay tuned for more posts in our Marketing 101 series. Feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments, and let's embark on this journey of capturing the power of email for your total marketing program!
Let's do this!