Email marketing is the most effective digital marketing method we have. It helps you to interact with your audience while promoting your brand and maximising sales opportunities. Just like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), and Social Media Marketing (SMM), Email Marketing also has some do’s and don’ts. In this blog post, you are going to learn what are the things that improve your email marketing campaign and what are the things that harm your campaign. Here are the do’s and don’ts for an email marketing campaign.
DO:
1. Send a welcome email to your new subscribers
New subscribers usually do not know much about you. Sending a welcome email will not only make them feel cared but also it will introduce your business to them. Make sure you add what you do and what your business is all about. Avoid self-praising and focus more on how your emails are going to add value to them.
2. Be aware of your audience
Just like any other digital marketing methods, email marketing also needs audience awareness. The more you know about your audience, the more precise you become. And the more precise you are, the more sales you are going to make. In short, it doesn’t make any sense to send emails to the audience when you don’t know them.
Before you begin with an email marketing campaign, make sure you know who is your audience. Digital marketers usually suggest creating buyer’s persona. Once you know who your audience is, you can craft effective email templates which are more likely to convert your potential customers.
3. Emphasize quality
There is one similarity between Twitter users and new business owners. That is, they both try to increase the number of followers or subscribers. Just like link building, an email marketing campaign must also focus on quality rather than quantity. Just increasing your number of subscribers is of no use if they are not going to buy from you. Why would anyone open your email, if he or she is not interested in the first place? Therefore, it makes sense to build a quality list.
4. Experiment with different CTAs
CTA or Call To Action tells your customers what you want them to do? So, it can be said that it is the most essential ingredient of your email. However, we have noticed that not many people do experiments with CTA as they do while web designing.
The fact is that there is no ideal shape, colour, place and size for a CTA. It totally depends on what you are selling, to whom you are selling, niche, country, language and many other things. Therefore, email marketers keep experimenting to make out most.
5. Use compelling subject lines
In content marketing, headings and subheadings play a vital role. The audience tends to decide whether or not to read your article just by reading the titles. The same thing applies to email marketing. Here subject lines act as headings for the emails.
A great email with an uninteresting subject line is useless. That’s because your email is less likely to be opened. Take help of content writer or do online research, but make sure your subject line makes the potential customers open your email.
DON’T:
1. Avoid spam filter
Have you ever wondered how Google is able to identify spam emails and send them to the spam folder? Here is the answer. Google scans the emails for typical words that are usually used in the spam emails. The examples of words usually used in the spam folder are free, sales, cash, download, upgrade, offer, etc.
Avoid using these words as much as possible. You don’t want your email to end up in spam, a place where no potential customer opens your mail. Try to write your email using natural words. Always keep in mind that any email that uses promotional language is more likely to end up in the spam folder.
2. Don’t buy email lists
Many business owners believe buying email lists is a quick and easy method to widen their reach. However, this is not the case, most of the paid email lists lack quality. In the end, you will end up wasting your time and money.
Further, buying lists negatively impact your online reputation and domain. Email marketing is effective only when you send the right message to the right people, which is not possible with the help of paid lists. Try to build your list. When you build your own list you will know who your audience is. And when you know who your audience is, you will be in a good position to create relevant content for them.
3. Don’t underestimate mobiles
Take any digital marketing methods, for instance, SEO, Web design, or Email marketing, digital marketers pay special attention to mobiles. This is because of the dominance that mobile has shown in this decade. Recently, search engines have started to get more traffic from the mobile than desktop.
Almost everyone owns a smartphone today. Your emails are more likely to be opened on mobile. So, if you are optimizing your email only for laptop, you are missing out a huge opportunity. The best way to go is a responsive design. In this way, you will cover not only mobile but also all the other screens such as tablets.
4. Don’t send same emails
Here is a hypothetical situation. You get an email where you are encouraged to buy shoes. Looking at the offer and quality both, you decide to go for it. How do you feel if you get the same email that you got initially to buy the shoes after buying the shoes?
To avoid such a situation, you should not send the same email to everyone on the list. Segment your audience into three parts.
- Potential buyers
- People who have shown interest
- People who have made a purchase.
Craft different emails for these three segments. Keep testing and keep evolving.
5. Don’t be lengthy
Your email is not your blog, where you have liberty over the length. Users are more likely to hit the back button when they see a lengthy email. Here is an important tip. Convey your message by using minimum words. Below are some other important best practices:
- Use pictures
- Use paragraphs
- Use compelling CTA
- Use bullet points
In the end, before sending your emails, test them.
