Do you remember the Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’? The closest cousin of the original mail, email is something that’ often overlooked with the plethora of social channels. With fb posts, tweets, hashtags, online chats, selfies, web design, PPC and SEO services, and all sorts of digital media tactics, the humble email receives much less attention. Although email marketing is often thought to be completely ineffective, directed to the spam or junk folders instead of winding up in the inboxes, email marketing is still one of the most efficient and professional tool for wooing clients and consumers.
Emails are one of the most important tools a business can leverage to engage the audience and communicate with them without being too intrusive. Email marketing is an effective medium to deliver targeted content right into your customer’s inbox. The online version of the old practice of sending fliers, coupons, etc. to a customer’s home address, emails lets you track the impact much easier and faster as knowing click through rate is much easier with email marketing. Business emails can be used for a variety of purposes, from brand building to generating repeat business and from encouraging conversion to searching for new customers. Read on to know why your small business needs email marketing and how email marketing can help your business.
Segment Your List
No matter which kind of company you have or the kind of services or products you provide, there is definitely no one-size-fit all concept when it comes to customers. Even if you cater to a niche sector, there are usually many kinds of ideal customers for your business. The whole idea of segmentation is to provide relevant content to your customers based on common buyer personas. Once you have narrowed down on the kind of customers you have, you can segment them into targeted groups and craft targeted campaigns which are relevant to that particular group making the emails more relevant to the group making your emails more engaging and intuitive, helping you achieve better results.
Make It Personal
You have but a few seconds to grab the attention of your customers and writing ‘dear user’ or not addressing correctly will only result in your email ending up in junk folder. You need to be on a first-name basis with your recipient for him/her to open their email. Although it may be difficult to write email for each client, this can be tackled with the use of an email marketing software.
KISS Principle
Nobody has the time to read through a long drawn email. Employ the kiss principle and keep your email short and sweet.
Consistency
When it comes to engagement, nothing wards your customers more than the lack of consistency. Your emails should always have consistency with your brand and from subject line to introduction to design, to the footer, all elements should have consistency.
Mobile Optimization
More and more people are going mobile these days and if your emails are not optimized for smartphones, you end up losing a good chunk of users.
Use Video
Videos are a great way to communicate quickly and effectively what you want to say without taking too much space. Using videos in your email marketing can help you increase engagement, drive conversions and create awareness.
Add Social Buttons
Integrating social buttons in your emails improve the chances of engagement through social mediums as well as make your email more visual and shareable.
Content Matters
Even if you are doing everything, your email may still end up in junk folder if you don’t have good content. What you write and how you write matters. Engage writing services or hire good writers to ensure better engagement.
It’s All About Timing
The right info sent at the right time can help you create distinct advantage over your competitors. On the other hand, an email sent at the wrong time can prove worthless. Before sending an email find out when your target audience is supposed to be most active on email. A general idea is to send emails during daytime but avoid Mondays and weekends. However, instead of assuming anything, do your own research and decide on the right time for sending emails.
Call To Action
All your emails should have a clear and concise call to action. It is also a good idea to have a distinct ‘call to action’ button.
Measure & Test
Before sending the emails, always test and measure to see what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes the emails may look fine in your system but may be viewed differently in different accounts. Check for readability, visual appeal, subject lines, call to action buttons, formatting, etc. Run A/B tests and other relevant tests to ensure that your emails are viewer friendly.
Employ these tips for a better engagement with your customers.
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