Emails have come a loooooong way since the first one was sent in 1971.
1971
Yup!
With a reported whopping 8.3 billion emails sent daily in the UK, it is no surprise that email has become such a popular marketing tool for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Of all of the marketing tools out there, emails are one of the only ones that force the audience to take some kind of action, whether that is read the email, delete or archive for later reference.
So, what is email marketing and how does it work?
Email marketing is a type of direct marketing used to engage with an audience to provide informational or promotional content.
Email marketing is a great way to increase brand awareness, launch products or announce new services. By complementing your other forms of marketing, email newsletters are an ideal way of communicating with your clients and attracting new customers.
One of the brilliant things about email marketing is that people now have to opt-in to receive newsletters from you. This ensures that not only will you be GDPR compliant but that customers are acknowledging that they would like to hear from you and are open to what you have to say! You can then target your communication to your clients better.
Email marketing is highly recognised as one of the most effective channels for sales conversion. By sending relevant and informative newsletters you will Increase brand awareness and build customer loyalty.
There’s got to be some downsides to email marketing, right?
Like any tool, email marketing comes with its set of pros and cons. On the upside, people tend to stick to their email addresses for a long time, offering you an ideal line of communication. Analytics from email marketing tools allow you to shape future communications directly to your reader. Plus, email marketing platforms are user-friendly and cost-effective.
On the flip side, large emails might find their way into the readers’ spam folder, and crafting compelling content and design requires time and experience.
Here are our top email marketing tips:
Plan, plan, plan.
Before starting your newsletter it is important to have a plan in place. Consider what the purpose of the newsletter is and how often it should be sent out. As with all forms of marketing, consistency is key here!
Find the best email marketing platform for your business.
There are lots of brilliant email marketing platforms out there. At Virtual Lottie we love Mailerlite due to its versatility, meaning we can make your email newsletters look and feel exactly how you want.
Create a catchy and engaging newsletter title.
The email title needs to be relevant to the content you are sharing and encourage people to open up the email! As tempting as it may be for some businesses, don’t use emojis in titles, as the email is more likely to end up in spam. 😢
Use analytics effectively.
By using an email marketing platform you get access to a range of email analytics. Making use of these analytics tools can help you shape future content to attract a larger audience.
Consider the design and layout of your email.
Depending on your type of business, it may be beneficial to consider the design element of your newsletter. Is a big chunk of text the best way to communicate with your audience, or should it broken up into smaller, more readable sections?
Target your email to particular audiences.
With email marketing platforms you can create segmented recipient lists meaning you can target content to relevant audiences.
If you recognise that you need to increase your audience reach, attract new clients and retain existing ones, then email marketing is for you.
At Virtual Lottie, we understand and appreciate that creating relevant email and newsletter content takes time, experience and patience and we love helping so many business owners, like you, to send out regular email campaigns. If you would like to find out more about how we can help your business, then contact us today.
