Email marketing consists of direct marketing through electronic mail. It is most often used as a means of communicating commercial messages to a company’s database. The messages are action driven with the goal of getting recipients to engage with the company. This can be through signing up for a newsletter or webinar, downloading a piece of research or content, or entering a contest. In the non-profit world it is used to reach out to potential donors or event participants to encourage them to support the cause. It’s used to enhance relationships with current clients and encourage customer loyalty. Another reason why people use email marketing is to get new customers and have them purchase a product or service.
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It generates an expected ROI of $42.08 for every dollar spent.
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Email Marketing is one of the top three, most effective, marketing or advertising methods.
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Companies use it because it aids in targeting, direct sales, relationship building, and supports the sales team.
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A large audience is reached at a low cost.
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Among Internet users, more than 50% check their email at least once a day.
It is important in any marketing strategy to make it as effective as possible. The number one goal is to get all recipients to actually open the email. A couple ways to encourage this action is to personalize the email. You should also have a compelling subject line. The subject line can pose a question or inform them of a special announcement. The email message should be concise, to the point, and have a strong call to action. Because your outcome is for the recipient to interact with your company, be sure to give them plenty of opportunities and incentives to do this.
You need to make sure that your email marketing strategy is effective and working. Your email service or a third party service should give you the ability to track how many people actually open the email, which links were clicked, and number of unsubscribes. Over time this tracking will allow you to test various methods of email marketing:
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Did a longer subject line lead to more opens?
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Was a question the most effective method?
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How did the language patterns in the subject affect the open rate?
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What is the content that is most sought after?
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Does any of my content get ignored on a wide scale?
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Is my database growing over time or shrinking? What is the goal?
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Where are my most valuable recipients and how can I customize messages to reach them?
The list of questions to be answered and ability to modify your programs is endless. The danger is in modifying things so much that you do not develop any patterns of effectiveness. You need to start by testing small changes and monitoring their results.
At Mediaspace Solutions we make sure that our email marketing campaign adds value and educates our recipients. We regularly send a touch-point to our database that includes STSQ interviews which allow people to gain insight from some of the greatest business minds in the US. Our webinars and white papers are also distributed to our database. Our email marketing campaign is supported by our social media and sales team. The key is prevent your marketing efforts from being one-offs. Find a way to integrate your efforts so they complement each other and feed of one another. When you have achieved that you know you are using the tools available effectively.
