- If a business wants to communicate with a customer, the best way to do it is through email.
According to Hubspot, 86% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with at least monthly (with 15% preferring daily emails). Emails are the quickest way to announce a sale, share company news, or remarket to previous customers.
What is Email Marketing?
Email marketing is a form of marketing that can make the customers on your email list aware of new products, discounts, and other services. Emails can be used to generate sales, enhance customer engagement, acquire customers, create brand awareness and reward customer loyalty.
Why do we need email marketing?
Email marketing allows you to regularly stay in touch with customers and website visitors. Proven buyers also appreciate being kept up-to-date with the latest products and promos. Studies show it costs five times more to acquire a new customer compared to retaining an existing customer.
How to get started with Email Marketing
Choosing an email provider
One of the first things to consider is what email provider to choose. Each provider offers similar features, but not all of them will be tailored to your specific needs.
The most popular email marketing platforms for 2023 include:
- Best Overall: Mailchimp.
- Best for Automation: ActiveCampaign.
- Easiest to Use: MailerLite.
- Best All-in-One Marketing Suite: Hubspot.
- Best Affordable Option: Moosend.
- Best for E-commerce: Drip.
Attracting people to sign up for your list
The next thing to focus on is getting people to opt into your list. Once they land on your website, what is the best way to get them to sign up for your email list?
The first way is with a strong lead magnet. Not many people will sign up to your list if all you have is a blurb saying to sign up. You need to offer them something in return for their information. They want value, an incentive or an offer upon signing up. This is known as a lead magnet.
Some high-value incentives to offer include:
- A free e-course
- Access to a private community like a Facebook group
- A toolkit of digital tools, plugins or themes
- A library of resources, guides and eBooks
- Video webinar
Where to place your sign-up form
Once you have your incentive in place you need to add your sign-up form to your website.
The best high-converting places to add your sign-up forms are:
- On your home page
- Top of your sidebar
- On the bottom of a blog post
- Your About page
- As a popover
- As a slide-in
There’s no rule on how many sign up forms you can have on your site but just remember if the opt-in pop up keeps appearing on repeat, it might cause the customer to become frustrated and leave the site, be mindful of this.
The Benefits of Email Marketing
Enhance customer enthusiasm and loyalty
Email marketing allows you to generate interest by regularly staying in touch with customers and website visitors. Buyers appreciate being kept up-to-date with the latest products and promos.
Better customer outreach
With a few clicks, emails can be sent to thousands of users. Those users are free to read at their convenience and the emails don’t disappear as quickly as social media posts.
Easy to maintain and inexpensive
Email marketing is cost-effective and relatively easier and cheaper to maintain. Email marketing services such as MailChimp or ActiveCampaign have simplified the process, allowing for greater automation and customisation. Quite a few email marketing platforms offer a free email marketing service up to a specific number of email addresses.
Types of Email Marketing Campaigns
- Newsletters
Newsletters are effective for keeping your customers up-to-date about your business. They typically contain information along with links and images informing customers regarding new products or services, industry news, important announcements, or any changes in your business that you wish to convey.
- Welcome Messages
These emails are typically sent out to first-time clients after signing up online and used for sales generation, lead follow up, or brand awareness. A welcome message usually works well when combined with a special offer to further generate customer interest or a call to action.
- Anniversary or Birthday Messages
This campaign boosts customer retention and loyalty. This type of email highlights milestones important to the brand or the customer and is usually accompanied by a special promo or discount code that they can use. It is a good marketing method to use particularly if the customer hasn’t purchased with you before but the bonus of a discount could tempt them.
- Limited Time Offers
This email campaign is used to target customers in sales, with a sense of urgency. These emails also come with promotional codes or discounts that expire within a certain timeframe e.g. For 24 hours only…..Three day sale..
- Abandoned Cart Emails
Sending an email about an abandoned cart can encourage customers to complete their purchases, especially for an e-commerce business. These emails can be automated messages that ask the customer to complete their purchase within a specific timeframe.
With your business online, it’s vital to attract and retain leads. Email marketing is your ticket to new customers and to building a loyal following. If your business is on the hunt for a sharp and innovative marketing specialist who can piece together a business strategy for your next marketing campaign, get in touch with the team at Copper Square. We can play a crucial role in lead-generation initiatives for your business.
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