You’ve Got Mail
All evidence points to the American Anti-Slavery Society as the first organization to mail marketing materials to a target audience in 1835*. 📬
This tactic picked up in the 1860s, and companies like New York Life Insurance Co. and Sears followed the trend. The latter utilized mail marketing to reach consumers in rural areas, sending out 500-page catalogs to over 300,000 homes*.
Nearly 200 years have passed and mail marketing still exists, but something more efficient has come along: email marketing.
Being connected to your target audience is critical if you want to run a successful brand, and that is why you must understand and take advantage of everything email marketing has to offer.
5 Reasons it’s Important
If mail marketing has been heavily relied on for close to two centuries, think about how long email marketing will be around for.
Good Monster’s perfect segway into why it is so important.
Connectedness
Mail marketing became so popular because it enabled companies to get in touch with their customers.
Email marketing made this even easier.
Establishing a connection with your audience and earning its trust are two points of emphasis we have harped on in the past here, but they are each so important we have to remind you👇
The company that makes the strongest connection with its target audience typically has the highest revenue. 👀
Engagement
Customers will not know if your product or service is far and away better than the competition unless you motivate them to take action. Email marketing drives results and engagement because people are comfortable interacting with emails, increasing the chances they enter the buying experience.
Proof a quality email marketing campaign garners results is it once accounted for over a quarter of all sales in one year, according to Site-Seeker. 😲
Measurable
Sometimes in life you have to throw 💩 at the wall and see what sticks.
This includes when you are learning what resonates with customers.
There will be times when a certain campaign does not hit like you wanted it to. The same goes for the contrary.
Knowing the ins and outs of both instances will allow you and your team to create more effective campaigns because you will be aware of what works versus what does not. Luckily for you, most email marketing tools track data relating to this👇
✅ Delivery rates
✅ Bounce rates
✅ Click through rates
✅ Unsubscribe rates
✅ Open rates
This information empowers you to build a stronger relationship with your target audience.
Cost-Effective
Hearing an inexpensive marketing method is one of the most productive is something you probably thought you would never hear.
Well, now you are.
Email marketing servies are so cheap you will probably sign up for one right after learning Mailchimp allows you to send 12,000 emails a month for free.
If you like high ROIs, make sure your email marketing game is on point. 💯
Heavy Usage
Hubspot reported 91 percent of consumers use email.
No need to elaborate.
Maximizing Email Campaigns
“So, how do I get the most out of my email campaigns?” 🤔
Glad you asked!
Charm ‘em
Like we said above, you are building a relationship with your customers. This means they have to like you, so make sure you come off as anyone but yourself.
Totally kidding! 🤪
But on a serious note, charm your customers by being relatable. The more you have in common, the more trustworthy your brand will become.
Simplicity
Avoid doing too much. An excessive amount of content is overwhelming. Long CTAs that force recipients to read through the lines are off-putting.
Make each part of the process easy.
Remind Recipients of Subscriber Benefits
To accumulate subscribers they have to find your emails (ultimately your brand) worth subscribing to.
This means they have to see the value in it, and your messaging is not always enough. Give them something to look forward to by having subscriber-only benefits, and be sure to remind them they earned those by subscribing.
This keeps them wanting to remain connected to your brand and encourages nonsubscribers to make the leap.
Incentenvize First-Time Subscribers
Those nonsubscribers can be quite stubborn and sometimes need an additional incentive. A couple ideas are providing them with a one-time discount code or include a free low-priced item with their first purchase after they subscribe.
Before deciding what it will be, ask yourself, “Would I subscribe to a brand offering me that?” 🤔
If the answer is yes, it probably suffices.
If not, head back to the drawing board.
Entice Subscribers with a Contest
Remember the point above about being engaging?
This checks that box. ☑️
Making it possible for subscribers to win something increases engagement and will keep them thinking about your brand.
They’ll regularly ask themselves, “Where is the email from *your brand*?”
Not many companies have customers who anticipate their marketing material. Make sure yours is one of them by hosting worthwhile contests.
“Thank You” Messages
Send out “thank you” messages after customers subscribe to your emails to demonstrate how much you value them.
A relationship is a two-way street, and both parties have to give and receive thanks in order for it to work.
Be certain to do your part.
Creative, Original Subjects
“Our brand is having a huge sale starting on Thursday and ending on Sunday” is NOT a good subject line.
Subject lines need to be the epitome of short and sweet.
Just like you, your customers receive plenty of emails every day, and most they deem useless. In order for yours to be worthy of being opened it needs to be enticing, and that starts with the subject line
Use tools like CoSchedule to help you out.
Ask for Feedback
When customers feel like brands are talking at them rather than to them, the relationship feels one-sided. Change that by requesting their feedback. Ask them to reply to your emails, fill out a survey, etc.
This establishes a healthier relationship, one in which the customer feels heard.
Be Customer-Centric
Getting the most out of your business’ email subscribers heavily revolves around catering to their needs. Doing so lays the foundation for a relationship that will make them happy and lead to your brand’s success.
We call that a win-win. 🤝
