Our digital world has changed how we market and advertise. Two of the most commonly used marketing tactics include social media marketing and email marketing. If you’re interested in communicating and targeting your audience using emails, you’ll need to be well-versed in the dos and don’ts of email marketing.
Did you know that by 2020, there will be more than 3 billion people using email? With the increase in consumers using email, this is an ideal technique to market to consumers will grow your business reputation, visibility, and conversions.
Keep reading to learn about the top 5 best practices for email marketing that you’ll want to use for your next email campaign.
- Know Your Audience
Before launching an email marketing campaign, you must be well aware of your target audience. If your campaign is to have any success, you’ll need to first ensure that your customers prefer and use email communications.
Once you’ve identified email as a viable line of communication, you’ll want to get into the details.
How do you plan to speak to your customers? Will you link them to an informational video? Create a catchy infographic? Use a combination of text and graphics? Know what visual preferences your readers have to ensure maximum open rates.
It’s also important to focus on making your email recipients feel valued and unique. Customers don’t want to receive the same message that hundreds of other people received. The days of batch and blast email campaigns are long gone. Instead, you’ll need to focus on creating personalized and well-crafted messages.
- Build an Honest Email List
Social media networks have become a goldmine of information. Not only can you find someone’s name, you’re also likely to be able to locate other information, such as their email address.
While it’s tempting to sift the web for unmasked emails, or even worse, to purchase a list of email addresses, honesty is always the best policy. Having thousands of names on your email list doesn’t promise higher click and open rates. Instead, you’re more likely to end up being marked as spam.
Avoid taking the easy way out. To build an honest email list:
- Ask customers to opt-in to receive emails
- Find opportunities to promote opting-in
- Make the process quick and easy
- Include a Call to Action
An email full of words and graphics may read and look nice, but what’s the purpose? Email marketing campaigns have to have an end goal in mind. Want to persuade users to download a new eBook? Looking to build interest about an upcoming product or service?
Whatever the end goal may be, your email should clearly communicate it. In all emails you send, be sure to use a call to action. Once you’ve got a subscriber to open the email, you want them to take things one step further.
Including an action step is in your email is a clever way to keep your customers interested. But, don’t go overboard with actionable content. Stick to one call to action.
- Embrace Company Branding
Chances are you spent months creating a brand for your company. From the name, logo, slogan, and colors, you put a lot of energy and effort into making your company unique yet memorable.
Your emails must reflect your company’s brand. Design aside, the emails you send should flow with the company’s tone, mission, values, and personality. All of these factors too make up your company’s brand.
Be sure that the messages you send are in line with the company’s brand. Do you use humor on social media? If so, don’t hesitate to add a touch of silliness to your emails. The key is to stay in line with the company’s brand to ensure customers recognize your company.
- Metrics Matter
Not all email marketing campaigns are successful as we expect them to be. To better tailor your emails, collecting and analyzing metrics is a must. To measure the success of your email marketing campaigns, it’s important to measure:
- Number of opens
- Number of clicks
- Unsubscribes vs. new subscribers
- How many customers took action after the email is received
If your numbers indicate high open and click rates, chances are your tactics are well-designed. But, be willing to make adjustments where needed. There’s always room for improvement to boost numbers even higher.
Conclusion
A well-designed and methodical email marketing campaign can give your company the visibility it needs. Email campaigns are also ideal for retaining existing customers to ensure steady conversions.
The above 5 tips are starting points for creating a top notch email marketing campaign. For the best results, always set goals and take a look at your metrics.
Do you use email marketing? Which best practice has been most successful for you?