Email marketing may be the missing piece of the puzzle in your advertising plan. The average person receives around 121 emails a day and over half the world’s population has an email account. When someone subscribes to your emails, think of it as a new friendship. These friends want to get to know you! Many business owners don’t take advantage of email marketing because 1) they don’t understand the worth 2) they don’t know what to send and/or 3) they don’t know where to start. In today’s blog, we are tackling all three issues.
ROI and Email Marketing
For over 40 years email marketing has consistently seen a higher return on investment than other forms of digital advertising. Sure there is instant gratification of seeing high numbers of engagement on social media advertising but does that turn into actual dollars in your bank account? Email subscribers have chosen to give you permission to contact them. They began that relationship for a reason and if managed well, can lead to repeat business for years to come.
The cost of email marketing is relatively inexpensive and when coupled with subscribers who have already shown interest in your business, email engagement can be the tipping point in purchases. Some success stories MailChimp reports have seen a return on investment (ROI) at as much as 3879%!
Brand Recognition and Email Marketing
With the ever-changing algorithms of social media, a direct, right-to-their-inbox, contact with your customers is a no brainer. Even if your recipients do not open the email immediately they usually see your business name. This creates brand recognition. The next time they need your product or service, you are more likely to come to mind. When you share quality content with your audience they feel like they get to know you. Email marketing can help strengthen your relationship with your clients to encourage repeat business and loyalty.
So what if they don’t open every single email? If they open one out of 20 that is still one more touch than you would have if you never sent the emails at all! Yes, we do recommend a targeted clean up of your subscriber list about every 6 months or so to remove those that have not opened any of your emails to keep your list “clean.” However, just because you don’t hear immediately back from them does not mean your subscribers are not hearing from you.
Creating Quality Content In Your Emails
When creating effective email marketing you need to find a balance between giving value and selling. You want to make sales but you don’t want ALL of your emails to be only about sales. Think of your subscribers as your number one fans. They deserve a little bit of special treatment. With that in mind here are some email content ideas that help bring the balance of value with sales.
Welcome email to new subscribers. Yes, this one is obvious but how about including in your copy what they can expect from you. I personally would love to see in my welcome email that I could “expect 1-2 emails a month full of tips and tricks as well as new product releases and other announcements.” Nothing bothers me more than signing up expecting value and then getting overwhelmed with three emails a day for a month. Welcome your new subscribers and then let them know up front how often you will be contacting them and what they can expect.
Send an Interesting Newsletter. Don’t throw one together and send it just for the sake of sending it. A boring newsletter is one of the quickest ways to get me to unsubscribe. Bring value and sprinkle in your sales. Consider helpful info such as “ 3 Apps I Love”, insider tips and tricks with your business, or ask for their input on a new product, logo, or campaign. Think about what you can give to them as far as valuable input then remind them of your product or service and how it can also add value to their lives.
Earn their Trust Through Value. Give them something free just because… start with something downloadable. Make sure there are no strings attached. I don’t mean you have to mail them something that will derail your budget but think of something you could share that would be worthwhile to your customer base.
Special Announcements, Offers, and Deals. Remember when I said that your subscribers are your #1 fans? Well they deserve to know about specials your business offers before others. Consider offering a discount code just to your subscribers also. Make them feel special!
Request a Review or Testimonial. Once you have given value to your subscribers then it is a great time to request a review or testimonial from them. Personally, I am more apt to give a positive testimonial when I feel like the business has gone out of its way to make me feel special by sharing quality content and clear communication.
Abandoned Cart Emails In our fast-paced world it is easy to get distracted. Many times I have perused a site, added things to my cart but then called away and forgot about my intended purchase. Consider setting up an email to go out reminding me about my shopping cart.
Anniversary Emails Celebrate your business milestones with your subscribers and consider setting up an anniversary email for their one-year subscription sign up also. Thank them and make sure they know you appreciate their business.
How Do I Get Started?
First, you will want to decide how you want to send your emails. We are big fans of MailChimp here at Dogwood and use it ourselves. We love it so much we became an agency partner. Once you have your platform set up, then you need to start building your subscriber list.
Here are some tips Brian shared previously on using MailChimp and here are some tips he shared on building your subscriber list.
If you get hung up and need some help, reach out to us. If you want to take advantage of email marketing but don’t want to do it yourself, the crew at Dogwood can handle it all for you. Contact us today and let’s get the conversation started.
