Most people have at least one email address. Each day, when they start working, the first thing that most of them do is to check their emails. There are at least 300 promotional techniques and email marketing remains one of the most effective techniques.
On this basis, it is important to have a clear enterprise wide email marketing strategy that includes objectives and measurement.
As we move towards an increasingly compliance led business culture (see FusionComply) it is important to adopt an opt-in email marketing policy with regards to building a marketing email list.
This can be done, for example by using a MailChimp signup form within websites. You will attract more subscribers if you do not ask for too much information within the signup form. Fashion brands typically only ask for an email address from new subscribers. However, if a first name is also requested, this will allow for personalisation within the email Subject line and body copy.
Promote your newsletter widely, i.e. via 1-2-1 emails (Outlook, Gmail etc), throughout your website and within social media.
Send your subscribers regular newsletters – at least monthly. Helpful, useful and interesting content that is easy to read will increase open and engagement rates. Include special offers for your newsletter subscribers.
The extent to which sorting and selecting of subscribers can be done depends on the email marketing system that is used. MailChimp, for example, allows for sorting and selecting via lists, groups, segments, tags and the VIP marker. This means that the right message can be sent to the right cohort of subscribers.
Build email campaigns using a smartphone first approach. Enterprises that market to consumers can expect up to 80% of their subscribers to open campaigns on smartphones. B2B (Business to Business) marketers are seeing rising numbers of smartphone users engaging with their email marketing.
Successful email marketers are, first and foremost, professional copywriters. Text-based marketing continues to be the dominant form of communication, however, video marketing is expected to become increasingly popular.
Once an email marketing campaign has been sent, check the statistics with regards to open and click-through rates, as well as unsubscribes and other metrics.
Nigel Temple is a MailChimp trainer and consultant.