If you are a digital marketer or if you are running your own online business, email marketing is one of the most powerful tools you have in your toolbox. First of all, we need to make the distinction between email campaigns, and newsletters and singular emails you send to a group of people. Whereas the latter are sent automatically to an individual or a group once, email campaigns involve the sending of email or a set of emails once a person produces a particular trigger. For example, as part of your email marketing, you can send an automated email every time someone signs up for your services, buys something from, or if they have been your subscriber for over a year.
And the best thing about this type of marketing is that it’s scalable. You can send automated emails to 100,000 people without breaking a sweat. Since you are the one which comes up with triggers and actions (emails), there is really no exact blueprint when it comes to what you can and should do. It’s a blank canvas.
And it’s not just the ease of use or scalability that makes email marketing so effective. In terms of returns, it is the most effective form of marketing. According to Epsilon Email Institute, automated emails sports higher open (70.5%), as well as click-through rates (152%) than any other type of marketing messages. On top of that, as much as 95% of companies which rely on digital marketing invest their money into email marketing.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best tools and tips which will enable you to make the most out of your email marketing efforts.
MailChimp
This is probably the most well-known tool on this list. MailChimp allows you to set up automated emails based on a wide variety of triggers and user actions. For instance, you can send out an automated email every time one of your potential customers abandons the cart, or if your followers have been inactive for a certain period of time. According to James Rodgers, who is the head of marketing for AustralianEssays, you can even use it together with OptinMonster, which will enable you to email people based on their selection of checkboxes or data they have entered inside an online form, which is something their company does on a regular basis.
If you want to make your email campaign even more precise and specific, SendLoop is the way to go. This tool allows you to channel your subscribers and potential customers into different email campaigns based on their actions, and you can further monitor their behavior in order to send them emails which are even more specific and more tailored to their needs. That way, you make sure that the right people receive the right emails.
Your email copy should be compelling, that goes without saying, but while that is necessary, it’s not exactly enough. When people open your emails, they will only spend a few seconds or so reading them. Actually, they will first scan them, which means you should structure your email and separate it into sections which will spark your subscribers’ interest. Also, add a call to action button to your every message, so that your subscribers are absolutely sure about should be their next step. Once they do that, they will arrive at one of your landing pages, where you will provide them with further instructions.
Canva
Regardless of how brilliant your emails are, you need to make sure they pop in a visual sense because let’s face it, people respond to visuals more than anything. If your company is relatively new and you can’t afford to hire a designer to help you out with this, don’t worry, because there is a solution in the shape of Canva. Canva enables you to create stunning posters, images, graphics, and templates for your automated emails, even if you don’t have previous design experience since it is packed with a variety of different pre-designed templates, elements, shapes, and fonts.
Bomb Bomb
Nothing engages people like video, so why not use it in your emails? With Bomb Bomb, you actually can. If your company is oriented toward a millennial audience, then a video is the way to go, because it provides them with a more personal experience. Also, if your business works best when your customers are working directly with your sales team, then a video is practically essential. With Bomb Bomb, it is pretty easy to record a short video message and insert it into your email, which will start playing as soon as the email is opened.
Mail Tester
Regardless of how reputable your company is, some of your emails are bound to wind up inside the spam folder of your subscribers at some point. Although it’s difficult to say why that is, try and minimize the number of actions that are more likely to cause your emails to be recognized as spam.
For instance, maybe it’s your design, which features too many images, or perhaps you have inadvertently included spammy words inside your copy. Perhaps some of the links you have included in your message are broken. If you send your email to Mail Tester, it will analyze it and tell you exactly what you need to fix if you want to get through spam filters.
Google Analytics
Once your email campaign is up and running, you need to monitor its results in order to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Of course, you can receive basic info, such as open and click-through rate from most email service providers, but that’s not going to be enough. With Google Analytics, however, you get everything you need in terms of data and advanced metrics.
Although you will come across articles online which pit these against each other, it is not exactly a competition. At least not yet. Yes, chatbots are the next big thing, but with email being effective as it is, it’s probably not going to step down any time soon. The best thing you can do at the moment is use these two in synergy. For example, chatbots provide a more personal experience, but they aren’t optimized for larger pieces of content. On the other hand, email is perfect for it.
However, emails usually don’t get users to perform an action right from the email itself. Instead, they direct the user someplace else where they can perform the aforementioned action. Inside a chatbot, users can answer questions, fill out forms, or even complete a purchase.
One example where you can use both would be to use the chatbot to start a conversation with your customers and get them to provide more information about themselves, including their email address. Once have their email address, you can include them in one of your campaigns.
Conclusion
Investing in email marketing and email automation is probably the best way to spend your marketing dollars, since the ROI is so high. Use the tips and tools provided in this article in order to make the most out of each email campaign. Good luck!
About the Author:
Howard Robson is a blogger from Melbourne. He enjoys travelling, photography, computer games and meeting new people. So, feel free to join him on Twitter and Facebook.
