Email Marketing is a set of strategies carried out by companies to give visibility to their content and offers from the e-mail channel.
Email marketing was, for a long time, synonymous with spam and intrusive communications.
However, thanks to the advancement of marketing automation tools, this channel has become the best way to deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time .
In addition to being an excellent tool for digital marketing and inbound marketing professionals , email is an extremely democratic channel.
According to a survey by Pew Research , 92% of online adults use email.
Therefore, contrary to what many believe, email marketing is not dead , and it can be a great way to grow your business!
This guide was made both for those who are beginners and want to know more about how to start doing email marketing, and for those who already have an established strategy and are looking for ways to optimize it.
Definition of email marketing
Email marketing is the communication between a company and its customers or potential customers, through email.
Some common examples of email marketing that you should have already received in your inbox are:
Airfare offers
Promotions
Confirmation of an online purchase
Newsletter
Initially, the use of email as a marketing tool was seen as a digital version of advertisements sent through correspondence (also known as "direct mail").
Thus, email was seen as a mass communication channel and the messages sent were far from being relevant to the recipient.
For this reason, for many years email marketing was seen as invasive communication.
But it evolved, and today the best marketers see that email is one of the most personal ways to communicate with consumers, through a direct exchange of messages.
Reasons to use email marketing
In recent times, social networks have gained visibility in digital marketing.
However, email marketing can also be a great option for someone who collects email addresses and wants to increase the relevance of their brand among these contacts. Look at some reasons:
Powerful
According to Radicati , there were 2.5 billion email users in 2015, and the trend is for that number to reach 2.9 billion in 2019. That number represents more than a third of the world's population!
Our email address concentrates all the actions we do on other channels.
Every time we create a login on any site, for example, we use the email address. Thus, it is an essential part of a user's activities on the Internet.
Foreseeable scope
When a company makes a post on a social network, such as Facebook, not all the people who follow your page will see your message.
This occurs due to the algorithms that determine which messages are most relevant to each user.
For this reason, the reach of posts on social networks is not predictable. That is, you do not have control of how many people actually see your post.
In email marketing, the same is not the case. One of the great advantages of this channel is its predictable reach.
This means that if you select 100 email addresses to send your message, all 100 will receive your email in their inbox (unless there is a technical problem, but we will deal with this later).
Flexible format
Email is the blank screen that every digital marketer looks for. The messages sent by email do not have character limits, they can contain images and even GIFs.
An email can be made with templates and include graphic elements, or it can contain only text, as if you were writing personal messages for all your contacts.
Through it, you can communicate short messages, include several links to web pages, or tell a long story. Therefore, the email can be in the format you want!
Obviously, there are good practices to follow when writing and designing an email. But we will address this matter a little later!
High financial performance
To start an email marketing strategy, you only need 3 ingredients: a domain (for example, " rockcontent.com "), an email marketing tools, and a person to execute the strategy.
Choosing a good email marketing tool is essential. There are several options on the market that cater to all levels of need, including free tools such as Mailify , which allows you to send automated email and SMS marketing campaigns , separately or by combining automatic sequences.
To contextualize yourself a little more with this tool, Mailify stands out above all for its graphic editor, a very simple and intuitive email builder , to create newsletter templates, landing pages or forms.
In addition, both the application and the technical support are available in Spanish, Portuguese, English and German.
When sending your campaigns you can consult reports in real time to measure the results. And sync Mailify with other tools like WordPress, Prestashop or Magento.
But hey, just so you know, regardless of the tool you choose, the investment will not be very high.
For this reason, email is the digital marketing channel that presents the best financial return , you do not need to invest a lot initially and you have the possibility of generating a large volume of income.
The role of email marketing in your marketing strategy
Although email marketing is often linked to a promotional and commercial approach, it goes much further than this strategy.
When someone gives a company permission to send emails directly to their inbox, this person is giving you access to a part of their personal life, as well as an opening for conversation.
After all, our email is what we use not only to receive messages from companies we like, but also to connect with friends, family and co-workers.
Therefore, in a marketing strategy, email is the channel that allows you to communicate more personally with your potential customers. And that can bring incredible results!
Take a look at how email marketing fits into your digital marketing strategy.
Hook leads
When a person chooses to receive emails from your company, they expect you to have contact with them from time to time.
This may seem obvious, but many companies forget to maintain a constant relationship with their email contact base!
Therefore, email marketing can be used in your marketing strategy to hook your leads .
This can make your leads always remember you, increasing the chances that they will become customers.
Promote your content
If you have a blog, you know that promoting the content you produce is essential for the success of your strategy.
There are several channels that you can use to promote your content , and email is one of them!
Sending a newsletter, for example, can help your blog posts get more hits, and thus increase your visibility on the Internet.
Nurture and educate your leads
Lead nurturing is one of the most important Inbound Marketing strategies. Only with it is it possible to transform your subscribers into leads, and your leads into customers.
For this to happen, you need to educate your contacts about your business and strengthen your relationship with them .
Email is the best channel to nurture your leads, as it only allows you to send personalized messages to the right people at the right time.
Therefore, if you use a marketing automation tool, you can use email marketing to nurture and educate your customers.
Sell more
Have you received emails with offers or promotions in your inbox? Many companies, especially those that sell products directly to consumers such as clothing and airline tickets, use this channel to increase their sales.
Today, it is possible to stimulate your contacts to make transactions with just one click on the email.
And soon the payment directly in the email will also be a reality. Therefore, take advantage of email marketing to promote your products!
Improve your relationship with consumers and customers
After making a purchase, you can't walk away from your customers! The enchanting part is one of the most important part of the entry methodology and you need to give it attention.
Satisfied buyers bring several advantages to your business, and you can maintain that relationship by email.
Take advantage of this channel to send your clients relevant content, as well as discounts and promotions.
The 4 types of emails that your strategy needs to have
To begin to understand how to create a successful campaign and how to insert email marketing into your company's day-to-day digital marketing, it is important to know the different types of emails that your company can send.
Blog Updates
This is the type of email that you must be used to seeing by now. It is the one that announces when new content is published on your blog.
They are great for starting to interact more with your readers. When someone signs up for your list for the first time, these are most likely the first emails they will receive.
It is a way to keep your list active and in contact with the new content you publish, in addition to increasing the chances that you generate leads with CTAs within your texts.
Newsletter
The newsletter is an old acquaintance of e-commerce and blogs. Many companies send their contacts monthly or weekly updates with the main blog posts and company or market news.
If you really want your newsletter to be read, invest time in creating a newsletter that has its own identity and contains relevant content for your readers.
Don't forget to include links to take the reader to external pages where they can read more about that topic.
Event invitations
Emails are great for promoting events you are organizing. The big challenge here is to present clearly because that event is worth the attention of your contacts.
When writing emails that promote events, do not forget to include all the necessary information, such as location, date, time, participant limit, among others.
And remember to highlight the link for the registration or ticket purchase page!
Lead nurturing emails
Depending on the action that your person decides to do within your blog or website, you may want to insert into a nutrition stream.
Nutrition consists of a series of emails with relevant and targeted content.
As the name suggests, these are email marketing messages that help the lead walk through the sales funnel to a clear buy position.
By identifying a group of contacts that you know are interested in a specific topic, you can continue the conversation with more relevant and targeted content that increases the likelihood that these customers will continue to contact your company.
Email marketing tools and templates
If you are going to start your email marketing strategy now, you need a fundamental ingredient: a tool or software that performs mass email shots.
The most suitable tool for beginners is Mailchimp , because in addition to having a free version, its use is easy and intuitive. Besides it, there are other popular softwares on the market are GetResponse and Mailee .
Email marketing can also be done through complete marketing automation software, such as RD Station and Hubspot .
These are tools that perform various functions in addition to email marketing, such as social media management, lead tracking, blog management, among others.
How to choose the ideal template for your emails
With a tool in hand, the next challenge will be to write your first email marketing. And for that, you will have to choose which template to use!
It is possible to create a template from scratch, in HTML, or use ready templates that are provided by tools like Mailchimp . The last option is the simplest, as it reduces your work.
When choosing your template, look for one that is responsive , that is, one that adapts to mobile devices. Today, most people read emails on smartphones or tablets.
Therefore, if your template is not responsive on these devices, reading your marketing emails will be very difficult (or even impossible).
In addition to being responsive, your template must have space for images and text . Many companies send email marketing messages that only contain images.
However, some providers consider this type of email spam. The ideal is to combine image and text blocks, which makes your email lighter and more pleasant to read.
Finally, when looking for the ideal template, remember that less is more . As clichéd as that expression may be, simplicity is the key to focusing your reader's attention on what you want, be it the content of the email, the call-to-action, the sharing, or another action you want him to take.
Steps to build an email marketing list
Sad as it is, an email contact list drops 22.5% a year . Email addresses change, people leave old accounts, and contacts opt out of your list.
For this reason, one of the most challenging aspects of an email marketing strategy is building and growing your contact list. But where do you start?
The first solution that often comes to mind is to buy an email list. However, the golden rule of email marketing is never to buy contact lists! We are going to explain why.
Don't buy an email list
A person's inbox is an extremely personal space. It is there that she handles messages from work, as well as personal matters.
Therefore, if someone has given you their email address, it means that this person is willing to interact with you.
By purchasing a list, you are acquiring email addresses that have not chosen to receive your messages. Therefore, none of these people gave you permission to send messages directly to their inbox.
Additionally, these lists also often contain fake, non-existent, or typographical errors, indicating to providers that you are emailing a purchased list, leading to a possible provider penalty.
That is, buying an email list is a full plate to damage the image of your company .
Building an email list takes time and effort, but read on for tips that will make this process easier.
Focus on the quality of your list
The first step to start collecting email messages is to add a space to your blog where your visitors can register their emails to receive communications from you , such as newsletters, promotions and news.
Some tools facilitate this collection of emails. Our favorite at Rock Content is Hellobar , which adds an email collection window or pop-up to your site.
An alternative to this tool is the OptinSkin , a WordPress plugin that allows you to place email collection boxes anywhere on the blog.
Remember that the simpler the process for your users to register their emails, the more addresses you will collect. Therefore, it facilitates the user experience on your blog .
You may want to request other information, in addition to email, at the time of registration. This is normal, but be careful not to ask excessive questions. This can scare your visitors into giving you the email address.
Finally, remember that building a good email list involves two components: getting new contacts and keeping the ones you already have .
To keep your contacts close, always send content that is relevant. Otherwise, you may lose everything you have worked to conquer.
Tips for writing amazing emails
When you already have an email messaging tool, template, and contact list, you'll be eager to send your first email marketing message.
There are some good practices to follow if you want to write amazing emails for your subscribers. Check it!
Keep the text short
Did you know that the average attention span of human beings today is 8 seconds ? With that in mind, it is clear that you need to be concise and objective when writing your emails.
Review and edit your emails to get rid of everything that is not necessary to communicate your message. Go straight to the point you want to express and avoid distractions.
Use the right language
When you are writing your emails, consider who will be on the other side reading. That is, who is the person in your emails?
From this, you can determine what tone of voice to use, and what kind of expressions, slang or language to avoid.
Set a conversational tone
Email serves to nurture relationships with your contact list. Therefore, create proximity in your texts, treat your reader by name and speak in a way that will captivate your contacts.
In this way, you create a dialogue with them.
Write creative subjects
The subject is one of the most important elements of an email. Its objective is to encourage the user to open the received message, summarizing the essence of the email content in a few words.
So don't stop exploring creativity when writing your subjects. You can use a few techniques to pique your recipient's curiosity and increase your open rate.
A successful example we have of subject creativity is from an email we sent to announce a webinar on the importance of updating blog content to reach the top of Google.
The subject of the email was a rather curious question: «Where is the best place to hide a body?
In the message, our SEO expert said that the best place was the second page of Google, as this represented the death of the content and to revive it it was necessary to update it. Thus, he introduced the topic of the webinar. Naturally, this email generated one of the highest open rates for us since the beginning of the year.
If you want to learn other techniques to stimulate the opening of your messages, check out our email subject generator at the link!
Stages to raise the level of your email marketing strategy
So far, we've covered the basic knowledge you need to start an email marketing strategy that will contribute to your relationship with your subscribers.
After all this implemented, you can ask yourself what are the next steps to take your strategy to another level, where you can generate business opportunities, deliver personalized messages and optimize your campaigns to achieve the best results.
The most important step for this to happen is to establish an action plan . It will help you define a frequency for sending email marketing, as well as determine what type of email to send and to whom.
Good email marketing planning is made up of 5 basic steps:
define your buyer persona;
determine what content will be sent;
establish the frequency of shipments;
define the objectives of each campaign, as well as what metrics to monitor;
organize a shipping schedule .
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