A Comprehensive Guide to Email Marketing

 Table of Contents

• What Is Email Marketing?

• Does Email Marketing Still Matter?

• Why Does It Still Work? 

• How to Build Your Email List?

• How to Get People to Actually Open Emails?

• How to Achieve High Open Rates?

• Email Deliverability - Why Is It Important?

• Exploring Different ESPs

• How to Use Marketing Automation to Your Advantage?

• Advanced Email Marketing Strategies

• What is Email Marketing?

Email Marketing is a digital marketing strategy of sending emails to potential customers. Effective email marketing turns these prospects into paying customers and one-time buyers into loyal regulars. There are three essential types including:-

1. Email Newsletters: It informs the audience about recent updates, latest news, important tips and announcements to raise brand awareness.

2. Transactional Emails: Receipts, invoices, billing statements, order confirmations, password resets, account notifications are all part of transactional emails. Real-time automated messages are sent based on agreed-upon transactions. 

3. Behavioural Emails: These are tailored specifically to the customer's needs and are based on their interaction with your brand. Examples include cart abandonment, recommendations, product review requests, re-orders, trial expiry, etc. 

Email marketing gives you a direct line to your audience, which is why it has a significantly higher ROI and is more effective than other marketing channels like SEO or social media. 

 

• Does Email Marketing Still Matter?

Email marketing is the first choice of most marketers, but social media is close behind by just a margin of 1%. Social media marketing is used to grow the audience and encourage people to become email subscribers to convert them into paying customers.

With a super high ROI of 4200% or 42:1, it is no surprise why it is the top choice of marketers. It isn't location-specific either. About one-third of the global marketers say email is the best tool for ROI generation.

86% of marketers consider email marketing to be "important" or "very important".

Most of us check our emails before even getting out of bed. And some of us open our emails in bizarre places.

No matter what age group you are targeting, emails are a great way to engage your audience. 

• Why Does It Still Work? 

You have a direct line to the person's inbox when they sign up for newsletters. Social media doesn't have that advantage. Facebook's organic search dropped down to less than 1% in 2021. The average open rate for newsletters is 21.33%- that is 20 times higher than the same for a Facebook post. 

People don't go to social media for ads, and 45% of them find it annoying. But they expect marketing emails in their inbox, and 86% prefer getting email-based marketing messages over advertisements on other platforms. 

Two-thirds of the customers have purchased as a direct result of emails, and it converts more leads into customers, in fact, 40 times more than Facebook and Twitter combined. So not only does it engage well, but it also generates leads and increases sales. 

Now, how do you get started?

• How to Build Your Email List?

#1 Optimize for conversions

The About page is generally the most visited page on the website. And that's a good thing because it means they like you and want to know more about you. Therefore, it is the best spot to place email signup at the bottom, or if your page is long, you can even have two forms.

#2 Create Squeeze Pages

A squeeze page is made with the sole purpose of collecting contact information. It is designed to convert visitors into email subscribers, and because it is so focused, most of your conversions will happen here if you do it right.

You can even have squeeze pages explicitly tailored for different audiences like HubSpot. They have 463 squeeze pages, each offering a different lead magnet. How can you create compelling lead magnets? Follow on.

#3 Create Compelling Lead Magnets

People rarely purchase on their first visit to the website. It takes multiple interactions to convert them into paid customers. So how can you create an opportunity for re-interaction? Offer something they can use right away. We're talking about checklists, ebooks, templates, videos- the more valuable it is, the more signups you'll get.

#4 Optimize Your Blog's Homepage for Email Signups

Designing your blog's homepage can convert readers into subscribers. How? The amount of content you feature on your homepage can help you make that leap. Big sites like Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook optimize their homepage for signups, pushing readers to subscribe so they can access the content and continue browsing.

#5 Exit-Intent Popups

Everyone hates popups, but there's a huge difference between a popup that is thrown at you the second you land on the page and the one that offers some value just before you leave. You can try your hand at popups, but remember to use exit popups to provide high value. You want to attract customers, not annoy them. 

#6 Use Content Upgrades

A content upgrade is a lead magnet for a specific blog or post instead of a general topic related to your business. 

One of the easiest content upgrades is a pdf blog post. All you have to do is save your draft as a pdf and then provide the upgrade. People who are interested in your content but want an offline version of a longer post can benefit from this. A more extended version of content is preferred for offline reading than on the web. Another way to provide a content upgrade is by listening to your readers. If they specify a particular issue in the comments, offer them a solution.

• How to Get People to Actually Open Emails?

People might prefer emails for advertising, but that doesn't mean they would be opened and clicked. So what can you do to make them more appealing and clickable? Choose the right template.

1. Content Newsletter

You can offer valuable content that people want to know more about without pitching anything—for example, practical tips or helpful resources, presented in an intriguing way that compels people to read. Create a subject line that captures their attention and start boldly. You should always add a call to action, but it doesn't need to be a pitch, ask them to share their opinion or encourage them to raise questions. 

2. Marketing Offer

To push your readers to make a purchase, you have to give them something truly tempting. Be straightforward in the subject line, explain more about the offer and its details and add a call to action to tell them what to do next. You don't need to overwhelm them, just address key details and mention how your offer benefits them. They will be taken to your site anyways, so let the landing page do most of the talking. 

3. Announcement Emails

Save this template for big announcements, something new about your brand, maybe a new product or service, an improved version of a previously existing product, limited-time releases, live events etc. Your subject line should clearly state what the announcement is about, and after providing a compelling lead, go into further details about the reveal and finish off with a clear CTA at the end. 

4. Blog Post Promotion

Social media is an alternative to emails, but for content promotion, emails triumph. People are more likely to click an email than a blog post because the people who are receiving them are already interested in your content. So, you have a direct line of contact that you can utilize instead of blindly searching on a social media platform. To create the perfect blog post newsletter, make the topic your subject line, follow it up with a lead that tugs their curiosity, condense your blog content into a more readable format like bulleted lists and close the email with a link to the post itself. 

• How to Achieve High Open Rates?

We have already established that emails drive more traffic and sales than social media. The unbelievable ROI of 40 times the investment made is proof itself. However, the average open rate for emails is still very low. So what can you do to change that? Here are some of the tried and true strategies that can get you high open rates.

• Phrase it as a question: Even when you write an email, engage your readers in a conversation to make it less one-sided. Humans want to interact and are social by nature, so you can expect them to actually reply to a question by asking them to share their opinion or raise their queries. 

 

• Ditch your first headline: Your first headline will almost never be the best you can do. Try again and keep writing new ones, and by the time you get to the fifth one, you'll get what you want. Make sure each of your headlines is different from the rest, so you're not creating variations of the same thing.

• Build anticipation: People should want to read your emails and look forward to the next one. Many marketers run anticipation building campaigns to increase open and click-through rates. 

• Determine the frequency: Figure out what the first priority of the campaign is and use that to determine how frequent your emails should be. If your goal is to maximize open rates, then more doesn't always mean better. In fact, HubSpot increased its open rate by deleting a huge chunk of its subscribers. Your audience might want to get emails every day or only once a month. Test and learn what works best depending upon your campaign priority. 

• Send on the right day, at the right time: Yes, you read it correctly. The day of the week has an impact on click-through rates. While the change may not be noticeable immediately, over time, you will observe that sending an email on the right day and time will bring a significant improvement. Also, people will start to anticipate the email if you send them consistently. Every list has the right combination of date and time. 

• Don't send low-value emails: Try to think from the perspective of your readers. Place yourself in their position, and then read the email you send. Figure out which kind of emails you open, what type of value they provide, and how it benefits you. Use those points and incorporate them into your strategies, and make readers anticipate your emails and actively seek them out.

• Segment your lists: Not everyone in your audience will respond to the same email. Take the time to segment your list and tailor your marketing strategies accordingly, and you will see a significant increase in the result you were trying to achieve. 

Deploy different signup methods for different purposes so you can understand your audience and their specific reason for signing up. This way, you can send customized emails and get better open rates.

• Email Deliverability - Why Is It Important?

Figuring out to get your emails into people's inboxes is one of the most important marketing points. All the effort you put into building your list will be for nought if nobody opens them. So how can you ensure better delivery?

1. Delete Non-Openers: While you may be enthusiastically building your list, many non-openers slip through the cracks and affect your open rates. Remember how HubSpot spring-cleaned their email list? Don't be apprehensive about deleting unengaged subscribers. Maintain list hygiene and clean out all those subscribers who haven't opened an email in months.

2. Lower Spam Complaints: If too many people are treating your emails as spam, you should be very concerned. What's the point if your readers don't want to read your emails? Here are two tips to keep spam complaints low- make it easy to unsubscribe so that they don't trash your email in spam, and don't send too many emails too frequently. If people get frustrated by the constant barrage of emails, they will ignore it and complain about the non-stop spamming. Be consistent, but not too frequent to the point of frustration. 

3. Keep it short: You may have observed that emails with short subject lines have the best open rates. One theory is that because filters flag messages containing certain words and phrases, the more words you use for the subject line, the more likely it is that your email will get flagged as spam. You can test it and try it out if you have deliverability issues. 

4. Use double opt-in: By using double opt-in, you reduce your list size by adding another step to the subscribing process, but you also filter out spam profiles or users who are unlikely to read your emails. 

 

• Exploring Different ESPs

Email Service Providers offer a platform or tool to send email marketing messages. Most allow you to create and send emails, newsletters, and promotional messages without help. 

Let's go through the pros and cons of a couple of the most popular email marketing service providers:-

1. MailChimp: It is one of the few platforms that allow you to keep it simple while offering the option to delve into more complicated tools as well. Pricing is free for up to 2k subscribers, which is a plus, but with only limited features. If you want to get their pro plan, it starts at $10 a month.

2. Constant Contact: While it is more focused on e-commerce, it is also useful to bloggers, nonprofits and business services too. Depending on the number of subscribers, plans can range from $20-$45, and they offer a free month-long trial.

3. ConvertKit: All of its features are focused on helping online creators like bloggers, musicians, and artists. Naturally, it is one of the most popular email marketing platforms. Like other ESPs, pricing is based on the number of subscribers, with a free trial for two months and an annual subscription starting from $290, saving $4/month as compared to the monthly subscription alternative. It is also free for up to 1000 subscribers but with limited features.

• How to Use Marketing Automation to Your Advantage?

Marketing Automation is an efficient solution to automate repetitive tasks like emails and provide a personalized experience at the same time. However, this doesn't automatically mean that your sales will skyrocket. Like every other tool, marketing automation is about how you utilize it to your advantage. 

Effective Autoresponder Sequences

Autoresponder series is a sequence of pre-written emails sent to subscribers at predetermined intervals. The sequence changes depending upon the event that triggered the series. 

The content of an autoresponder will be different depending upon the services offered. But they all have the same basic structure. Once you are familiar with that, then you can change it up and make different autoresponders for different people. 

For example, imagine a SaaS company offering the ability to make doctor appointments online. You'd make two different autoresponders for doctors and patients since sending them the same email doesn't make sense.

So the sequence, in this case, would be different for both, and you can figure out who signed up by providing a separate signup area for doctors or adding a field with an option to select one of the two.

Segment Your Email List

An advanced ESP allows you to segment your email lists to send extremely personalized emails depending upon their actions and interests. Instead of sending an email collectively, you can send them only to those who would be actually interested and would respond to it. This is an efficient way to keep your lists clean and raise your numbers since it wouldn't annoy others with constant emails. You can also expect amazing responses and higher conversion rates when you send emails to those who want to receive them. With a little effort, you can make a huge difference in your marketing strategy. 

Full Marketing Automation Campaigns

Marketing automation sounds very exciting, but don't jump into the deep end headfirst. Start small. Build your list and focus on sending high-value content. Then, use tags to segment your list into a couple of groups and try full-on automation once you have completely got the hang of that. So, instead of sending a generic your-cart-is-empty email, you can use automated emails to send personalised messages based on the product they added and offer discounts to convince them to finish their purchase.

• Advanced Email Marketing Strategies

• Text Email Layouts: Eye-catching email templates only distract subscribers from the content or, even worse, compel them to trash it into spam. It is extremely easy to fall into the trap of adding all sorts of headings and logos to make it more appealing. But you need to realize that those who have subscribed are already interested, and they are looking for valuable content that can offer relevant information. So, keep it simple and let your content speak.

• Add a Human Touch: Even when you are using automation tools, remember to keep your emails personal. Readers like to receive emails that have a personal touch to them instead of a cool, distant message. For example, Hubspot sends their emails from one of their staff writers, Aja. Many other brands send emails from a single person to make it feel more like a conversation with another human than a generic message from a faceless brand.

• One CTA for Every Email: Don't bombard every message with multiple options. Instead, choose one clear CTA that can be easily accessed. According to WordStream, emails with a single CTA can boost clicks by 371%.

• Use Bigger Fonts: Smaller fonts like 12-13px might be fine for desktops, but 81% of people across various demographics prefer to open their emails on their smartphones. Text that small is almost impossible to read without zooming in. It is recommended that the font size be 15px or more, which makes a huge difference for mobile readers.  

Regardless of the technique you are going to adopt first or the portion of the text that gave you the most insight, there's a lot to learn about email marketing, and we hope you enjoyed reading this blog. If you are looking for email marketing services, get in touch with Adaan Digital Solutions.