Email marketing is a great tool to build relationships with your customers. By providing your target audience with valuable information, you’re able to not only boost brand awareness and promote your products/services, but also convert leads into revenue for your business. 
At first glance, creating an email campaign seems straightforward. However, there are a few things to take note of to ensure you’re getting the most out of this marketing tool. We’ve put together a 5 step guide to help you:
 

5-Step Guide To Email Marketing:

DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE

As with any form of marketing, start with determining what you want to achieve. From there, you can define your target audience. This may not always just be customers or potential customers. For example, if you’re offering a B2B product, you could include decision-makers and key members of staff who may benefit from your service or could influence purchase decisions. 
 

BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST

Once you’ve determined who you’re going to be emailing, you’ll need to create your list of subscribers. Don’t forget to seek permission from all contacts to ensure they are happy to be receiving emails from you. This can be as simple as an opt-in form on your website, advertising an e-newsletter on your social media or referral schemes through existing subscribers. Here’s a great summary on things you should know about email consent under GDPR. 
 

CREATE ENGAGING CONTENT

Depending on the goal of your email campaign, make sure to tailor the content to the type of email you’re sending and that your messaging matches the expectations you’ve set. Here’s a checklist of things we think you must include:

 

AN ORIGINAL SUBJECT LINE 

Make sure you’re pulling people in with an attention-grabbing subject line. After all, the subject line can be the difference between subscribers opening or deleting your email. Try to use original subject lines and mix it up if you’re sending a series of emails over a period of time. 
 

USE VISUALS

Did you know that, according to the Social Science Research network, 65% of people are visual learners? This means that the majority of the population will digest and retain content far better if it’s accompanied with something visual. Using visual content in your emails will attract people’s attention so that you have a better chance of delivering your desired message. Here are some things you could include:
 

• Videos - in a world of vloggers and YouTube tutorials, people consume a huge amount of video content daily. It’s a great way to put across your brand in a personable and digestible way. However, people’s attention spans are short so make sure you’re getting your message across promptly and effectively. We recommend focusing on the storytelling rather than the sales. 
• Images - a picture is worth a thousand words! There’s a reason this phrase is so overused. Include photos that are relevant to your message, whether that’s photos of your products or a graphic highlighting a particular service, high quality images will add to your storytelling
• Infographics - these are becoming an increasingly popular way to present information and data in a visual way. In a survey conducted by Social Media Today last year, 40% of Digital Marketers reported that original graphics, such as infographics, performed best and drove the most engagement.
   

BE PERSONAL

Adding some personal touches to your campaigns can be done in a few different ways and can make a big difference.  For example, addressing each subscriber by name in your email adds a personal touch and is easy to do. Depending on how you’ve built your email list, you can also personalise the content to the group of people you’re targeting. 
 

DON’T FORGET THE DETAILS

The last thing you want is to click send on your email campaign and then have that stomach-dropping moment of spotting a typo, or find that there’s an error in the design and layout. A great way to prevent this from happening is to send test emails to colleagues or friends so that they can review the email directly in their inbox. Once you’re happy with the quality, you could also consider running an A/B test to experiment with different subject lines or the best time of day to send. 
Timing matters with email marketing. Not only the time at which you send the email, to give it the best chance of being read, but also being sensitive with when to send certain content. For example, under the current crisis, your best move may not be to send sales-focused content. As we mentioned in our blog post on using digital channels during COVID-19, an email campaign can be a great way to nurture your customer relationships during any potential slow periods in business and keep them informed. It can also act as a tool for bouncing back once lockdown is lifted. Perhaps with a promotional offer or announcing a launch that may have previously been postponed. Email marketing can help you prepare. 
 

MEASURE THE RESULTS 

One of the main benefits of using an email campaign tool is being able to track and measure the success of each campaign. In general, with each report generated, you’ll be able to measure:

• Open rates - what percentage of subscribers opened the email?
• Click-through rates - how many subscribers clicked your call to action after opening the email?
• Deliverability - did all emails successfully deliver? 
• Return on Investment (ROI) - how much business has been generated from the campaign?
• Subscriber retention - have any recipients unsubscribed after receiving the email?

By analysing the results from each campaign, you can identify any improvements that can be made and learn more about your target audience.
 

HOW CAN WRIGGLE MARKETING HELP?

Not sure where to start with building an email campaign? Let us help, to ensure that your campaigns gain the best possible leads.