What is email marketing?
It’s all in the name; email marketing, or newsletters as it’s also called, are emails containing offers, ads, and information related to a company’s objectives and campaigns. It is a method for communicating messages to customers and potential customers, often with the goal of driving sales and reaching a wider audience. If, for example, you sell beauty products and you’re running a promotion on all perfumes, email marketing about the perfume sale can be a profitable and effective way to boost sales. This way, each customer – as well as potential customers – receives the information they need about the offer.
How to succeed with email marketing
To succeed with email marketing, there are a few key factors you need to get right. Everything from timing and content to who should receive what is a puzzle that should be solved before you send your first email.
Planning
First, you should have a clear plan for what you can create newsletters about, typically linked to the company’s marketing plan or business model. Is there an estimated number of newsletters to be sent out weekly? Which customers are the different emails relevant for? The plan provides an overview of what type of content is being produced and what the purpose of the emails is at any given time.
Content
Once the plan is in place, it’s time to dive deeper into the content. Creating relevant, clear and engaging content is arguably rule number one in email marketing. This will depend on what kind of company we’re talking about, but your content can aim to be anything from inspiring to informative and expert-driven. Remember that what the customer sees in the email is often their first impression of your company!
Segmentation and timing
Mapping out what to send to whom is essential to avoid losing your customers’ interest. A campaign for children’s clothing may not be very relevant for men without children, while an offer on menswear can be interesting for both men and women! This depends entirely on the insights from segmentation – such as their marital status, and more. What time of day is it best to send newsletters, and how often should you send them? This is just as critical as segmentation, precisely to avoid losing the customer’s attention and curiosity. Here it’s important to find the right balance. If you send emails too frequently, the customer may end up unsubscribing from your newsletter. If you send them too rarely, you increase the risk of being forgotten. One recommendation is to do some research and test different approaches before you lock into your plan for when and how often newsletters should be sent!
Summary
Want to learn more about email marketing and newsletters? Our skilled specialists are happy to support you with advice and guidance to help you succeed with email marketing. For more information on why you should prioritize email, read our inbound marketing guide here:
