Email Marketing

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is a part of online marketing focused on communicating and establishing the connection with online users through emails. Regardless if the goal is promotional or informative, regardless if you send weekly or monthly, the core of email marketing is still communication with the recipient. The purpose of this communication is to nurture the relationship with the existing or potential customers, and to encourage an action which is the goal of an email marketing campaign. 

To make sure you are communicating successfully, your email message should be:

• Relevant to the recipient

• With a relevant, yet engaging subject line

• Concise and spot on

• Planned

• Sent at the right moment

• In the language the recipient understands

• Without any grammatical or spelling errors

• Without any broken links 

The process of communication between a business on one side and a customer on the other goes like this. You have a message that you want to share. It can be a promotional message about a sale in your online store. It may be the news about your latest ebook. It may be an announcement for the event you will be hosting. The idea is to send a message that will encourage the recipient to complete an action, such as purchase an item, fill out a form, etc. The point is you have something to share with the subscribers. The next step is to write an email. There are lots of things to have in mind here, which will be the topic of one of the subsequent chapters. Finally, you send the message, wait and examine the results, in order to find out both positive and negative outcomes of your email marketing campaign.

Email Marketing Can Be Personalized 

Email marketing allows you to target particular groups of customers or even specific individuals. Offering individual customers special birthday deals on merchandise or services is one way to do this. A restaurant might send an email to customers on their birthdays offering 50% off an entree, for instance. This kind of personalization helps a business gradually develop and maintain a relationship with a customer that can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty. 

Advantages of Email Marketing

The two biggest advantages of email marketing are price and ease. Compared to other types of marketing, emailing is an inexpensive way to advertise your company and its products or services. It's also extremely easy to set up and track an email marketing campaign, which makes it easily accessible for small businesses.

You can add a newsletter sign-up option to your website, for instance, then send newsletters to the email list that accumulates as people sign up. A regular newsletter is a simple and effective way to send updates about your company, upcoming events, and special offers. Email software also makes it easy to schedule automated promotional emails for customers who haven't purchased recently.

Email Marketing Is Still Relevant

In the age of social media, it's tempting to write off email. But consider the following statistics:

·         91% of email users check their email at least once a day

·         Email marketing returns an impressive $42 for every $1 spent

·         59% of survey respondents say email influences their purchase decisions

·         Email marketing has a conversion rate of 2.3%, compared to 1% for social media

The huge advantage of email over social media is that prospects and customers are more likely to see an email than social media. Just posting something on social media doesn't mean that everyone you want to see your message will see it. However, an email will sit in an inbox until it's read (or deleted). 

Ideally, email marketing should go hand in hand with social media. Adding social media "Like" or "Share" buttons to your marketing emails gives an additional way for customers to connect with your brand. Snippets of positive reviews from social media fans can be included in emails, and conversely, social media postings can be used to encourage fans to subscribe to your email newsletters.

Email marketing can substantially increase your income if you do it correctly. It's a great way to get people to visit (and revisit) your website or blog, and more traffic usually equates to more income.

Email Marketing Tips

Effective email marketing takes effort though. Here are a few strategies for making the most of your email marketing campaigns.

1.    Build your own list. All you're going to do by sending unsolicited email is turn off most of the people you're hoping to turn into customers. Whether through your website, in your store, or at an event, make it clear when customers are opting in to receiving your emails.

2.    Adhere to the rules of the CAM-SPAM Act. These rules include having a non-deceptive subject line, a method of unsubscribing, and your name and address at the end of the emails

3.    Don't just send out ads to buy all the time. Use your emails to build rapport with customers by sharing your expertise or that of others, giving them tips and insights they can value. Share information that lets them know more about you and your company.

4.    Treat your list well. Remember that the people you're communicating with over email have trusted you with their information; they deserve your respect. If you want a chance to convert them from customers to fans and even evangelists for your brand, then make them feel special.

5.    Stick to a schedule if you're doing a newsletter. Sending email on a regular day or days can help your subscribers know what to expect from you and when.

6.    Optimize your email for mobile usage, as statistics show that roughly half of emails are opened on mobile devices

Courtesy: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/email-marketing-2948346