How many online marketing strategies are out there? How can your business benefit from them?
Online marketing is an essential factor in the success of every business these days. It makes it possible not only to connect with a wider audience, but to zero in on what exactly the customers most likely want from your business
One aspect of direct customer outreach that continues to stand the test of time is email marketing. In this article, we’ll discuss the fundamentals of email marketing and how your business can use it to maximize leads and increase revenue.
So, what should you know about email marketing?
Email marketing is an intrinsic marketing strategy that allows you to directly connect and interact with your customers and leads. You can use email marketing to promote your brand, build and nurture relationships, and provide valuable content to your followers in a more cost-effective manner in comparison to other forms of digital marketing such as affiliate marketing, SEO, or social media marketing.
Why email marketing?
Simply put, email is still the most prevalent form of virtual communication for both business and consumer use. It’s needed every time you want to sign up for almost any form of online activity (newsletters, social media sites, online purchases…), and some, specifically frequent travelers, even invest in premium virtual mailbox services on top of their emails just so that they can ensure they will receive all their mail by simply using their mobile devices.
On a business aspect, email marketing offers a high return on investment (ROI) regardless of the niche of your business. What makes us so confident? Here are some statistics to support this claim:
- The number of users with an email account is projected to be around 4.6 billion by 2025.
- For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average ROI of $42.
- ‘Welcome emails’ generate an 82% open rate.
- Sending three ‘abandoned cart follow-up emails’ generates 68% more orders than a single follow-up email.
- Four out of five marketers would rather give up social media marketing than email marketing.
- 64% of small businesses use email marketing.
How do you make an email marketing strategy?
Now that you’re convinced of the potential of email marketing, you probably have some questions. It’s time we hit the ground running and give you some tips to effectively run successful future email marketing strategies.
- Offer lead magnets
To begin, you’ll need to find a way to grow your email list. Most of the people you’ll find on social media sites or even in-store won’t just give you that vital piece of information for free.
There has to be a trade-off if you want to receive their email. This could be in the form of a free trial, discount code, ebook or other freebies that become too good for them to refuse.
Make your lead magnet into something that can solve your customers’ problems immediately, especially since there’s already a crowded market trying to persuade that same customer.
Also Read Digital Marketing Technologies: Trends and Examples for 2021-2022
- Send personalized emails
There can be downsides to email marketing. One of which is that almost everyone is using it, making it harder to stand out. The number of emails (sent and received) each day for 2022 is projected to be around 333.2 billion.
When you send personalized emails, it makes your customers feel unique and valued. You can send personalized emails by addressing your customers by name, reminding them of the recent activity they performed while on your site, or sending newsletters or updates that match their interests.
Reports have even shown that personalized emails increase click-through rates and conversions by 14% and 10% respectively.
- Send segmented emails
If your business sells multiple products and/or services, it’s no surprise that they may not be interested in everything you throw at them.
You should never go for a one-size-fits-all approach when sending emails, this can lead to low click-through rates, or even worse, an unsubscribing customer. When you segment your emails to certain demographics and interests, you can tailor content to match your customer’s preferences, keeping them up-to-date on what they love most about your brand.
- Monitor relevant key performance indicators (KPIs)
Once you’re able to perform the tips mentioned above, you’ll need to have a basis to measure the success of your email marketing strategies. By tracking the right metrics, you’ll know whether your emails were read, delivered, or sent to the spam folder, giving you a better opportunity to make immediate changes to your current strategies.
When monitoring your strategies, make sure to keep tabs on the following KPIs:
- Delivery rate
- Open rate
- Bounce rate
- Click-through rate
- Conversion rate
- List growth rate
- Unsubscribe rate