No doubt this phrase has been ringing in your ears…
“You need to be doing email marketing!”
It’s a cry heard from the rooftops of every marketing professional around the world, and it’s convinced you that email marketing is the #1 way to build your brand, engage your customers, and increase revenue.
So why does it seem like every time you send an email, you end up disappointed?
Maybe very few people are opening your emails. Or, perhaps they are opening them but no one is taking action.
If you’re mystified as to why email campaigns are supposedly the most effective type of online marketing today, you’re not alone. A lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners struggle with how to email, when to email, and what to email about.
The truth is that email campaigns do work wonders and they can make you money, but you have to get strategic.
This post will cover…
- The different types of email campaigns you should send based on your marketing goals.
- What you should be emailing about in the first place!
- 9 things you should include in every single email you send.
Why Use These 6 Different Email Campaigns?
The type of email campaign you choose to send depends on several variables.
You have to think about your target market, where they are in your sales cycle, and what you want them to do (i.e. download a whitepaper, watch a video, make a purchase, etc).
The 6 different types of email campaigns include…
- Newsletters – Newsletters are great for staying top of mind, increasing reach, and building trust by offering valuable content.
- User instructions – You can send important information like instructions via email so you get prospects used to opening mail from you.
- Invitations and announcements – Sharing exciting company changes or inviting people to an event is a fantastic way to increase engagement and keep customers excited about your company.
- Welcome and lead nurture – This type of campaign is a must for welcoming people as subscribers and introducing them to your brand. It’s easy to create an automatic email campaign in Constant Contact.
- Exclusive loyalty offers – This type of campaign provides an offer to loyal email subscribers and encourages them not only to buy, but to remain on your list to receive future offers as well.
- Engagement and social media – This type of campaign utilizes cross-promotion between email and social media to increase engagement across multiple platforms. Your customers and prospects become exposed to your brand and message in multiple places online, which increases their involvement and trust in your business.
Put Some Pizzazz Into Your Email Content
Once you’ve chosen the type of campaign you want to send, it’s time to develop the content for the actual email or series of emails you’ll be creating.
This is the point where many business owners rely on guesswork and end up creating campaigns that don’t resonate with their customers.
How can you add some pizzazz to your content?
Instead of guessing what your customers want, why not go to the source? Do some market research to find out what your prospects are talking about right now, and what they’d most like to see in an email from you.
- Surveys are great for getting direct answers from your actual customers and leads.
- LinkedIn groups can provide insight into questions and problems your target market has.
- Research reports and industry studies will reveal current trends and hot topics for newsletter campaigns.
- Trade publications and magazines are a great source for thought leadership topics.
- Google alerts will keep you updated on the latest trending topics so your email campaign will be current and captivating.
9 Elements of a Successful Email
At this point, you’ve chosen the type of email campaign you want to send and developed content based on market research.
Next, make sure that each email in the campaign contains all of the following elements:
Date – In your email newsletter an email without a date is like a TV show rerun; the content might be great but it’s not as exciting or relevant as a brand new episode. (This also applies to special announcements.)
Contact details – make it easy for people to get in touch with you.
Forward to a friend – invite subscribers to share your email with their friends, family, and social contacts. This one-click feature is a great way to increase your reach with each email you send.
Social links – engage subscribers across multiple platforms.
A timely Call to Action – each email should invite the subscriber to take one specific action, i.e. “Watch this webinar now” or “Claim your discount by clicking here.”
Insight into your business – give subscribers an intimate look at the “why” behind your brand and how you do what you do.
Simple action tips – give your audience actionable tips they can use right now to solve a problem or make their lives better.
Useful content – position yourself as a trusted expert by providing massive amounts of valuable, useful content your readers will love.
Details on a product or service – use your email as a way to communicate important information about product launches, new services, and sales.
You CAN make money with email if you let your customers tell you what they want. By strategically choosing the type of campaign you send, researching market trends, and including the 9 elements of a successful email in each campaign, you’ll be able to transform those unopened emails into content that converts every single time.
