MIke Iedema by MIke Iedema

Trendy apps come and go, while hot social media platforms ebb and flow. However, when it comes to digital marketing and advertising, one channel has remained successful and has stood the test of time.

We’re talking about email.

Every business, no matter how small or large, should seek to build a quality list of subscribers and actively engage them through email marketing campaigns.

People pay attention to and read email

Think about it for a moment: How many times do you check your email? How much time do you spend checking and reading your email?

If you’re like 99% of email users – and there are billions of them – then you check at least once a day. According to Optin Monster, some email users check their email upwards of 20 times per day.

On top of that, it’s also often the first thing many people do when they hop online. In fact, 58% of users check their email before social media, news, sports scores or other apps.

Businesses need to build an email mailing list

This is why every business needs to build an email mailing list. Successful advertising and marketing campaigns find your audience where they already are.

It’s clear that most of your customers and target audience, no matter who that is, are probably spending a decent amount of time checking and reading email messages.

The question is: Are they seeing your content?

Get started: Build an email list

The first step to implementing an email marketing strategy is to begin building a list of subscribers. There are a number of ways to do this and, ideally, you will use multiple methods to grow and build the list.

Sign-up forms

Let’s start with the basics. To start growing an email list, you need to ask people for their email addresses.

The easiest place to begin doing this is with sign-up forms or similar calls to action on your website. Every high-traffic page – home page, landing pages, blog posts – should have a section that asks people to sign up for your mailing list.

You can also use pop-ups or slide-ins to ask for email addresses, however, do not abuse this strategy. Many plugins and apps that allow you to enable these on your website have ways of limiting how many times specific users will be asked to enter their addresses.

Incentivize signups

Many people are used to being asked to provide their email address to businesses, and if they enjoy your product, service or content, then they often don’t need all that much convincing to do so.

However, it is still most effective to provide an incentive. This can be as simple as some brief copy about what email list subscribers will receive in their inbox, which could include exclusive updates, deals or first dibs on special offers.

Ask customers in person

Don’t forget to ask customers who you engage with in person for their email addresses. This could be done at a point of sale or through a simple conversation.

For example, during checkout in person, you may want to ask customers for their email addresses. Be sure to tell them the same incentives that you share on your website so they know what they will get in return.

Create and send engaging email content

Once you have put together a subscriber list, it’s time to start strategizing and sending email campaigns.

Don’t rush the strategizing part. You want your content and message to stand out in what will undoubtedly be a cluttered email inbox. This is why you need the content of your emails to be engaging.

To create engaging content that people will actually want to read rather than delete, first thing about your messaging. People may spend a lot of time reading email, but yours won’t be the only message they read. If it’s boring or confusing, it’s likely headed for the trash.

Put together a message that is clear and compelling. You need to have a point (what you’re offering, an exciting update, a new product announcement, etc.) and get straight to it.

In addition, the way you write should be consistent with your brand voice in your other marketing channels.

If you have never considered a brand voice, then simply write like you are a real person talking to another individual face-to-face. People enjoy content that sounds authentic and does not come across as an overt sales pitch.

Finally, always be laser focused on how what you are offering or announcing in your email content will benefit your customers. Make it about them, not your business.

Have a clear call to action

When you have the voice and messaging down, the next step to successful email marketing is to always include a clear call to action.

The call to action, or CTA, is where you ask the customer to take an action, such as visit your website, purchase a product, like your social media page – the options are endless. In many cases, the call to action will be a link or button in the email message.

But people will only take that action if you ask them to in a clear and, again, enticing way.

To write a good a call to action, keep in mind the following:

  • Use active words (verbs). Think: buy, read, visit, explore, discover, etc.
  • Be concise.
  • Suggest urgency (“buy now”, “act fast”, “shop today”). These CTAs perform better when you explain why urgency is needed elsewhere in the email copy.
  • Stay focused on how customers will benefit.

Emagine can build and optimize your email marketing campaign

Email is just one area of marketing in which businesses need to be active. And let’s be honest, there are many marketing strategies and methods to keep on top of and manage.

That’s why successful email marketing is one of the many services we offer businesses just like yours. Our team of experts can develop a custom strategy for your business that builds an email list, engages customers with quality content and translates to sales and other deliverables.

We’ll do the heavy lifting, and your business will reap the benefits. Let’s set up a free consultation soon to get started.


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