It’s been 42 years since Ray Tomlinson sent the first-ever email. The history of the email itself is one thing, but the evolution of email marketing is quite another. Over the past 42 years, email -the ability to send messages through a network has evolved into one of the most cost-effective forms of direct marketing. Not only is the method fast and cheap, but it has opened the door to how marketers can monitor and react to consumer behavior in a way that was never previously possible. What is the perspective on email marketing now and is it still effective, those are questions that are relevant now those days.
Email might seem like it’s dying with the ever-increasing presence of new technologies like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and chatbots, but the truth is far from it. In fact, email is still going strong and considerably outweighs alternatives like SEO, social media, and affiliate marketing in terms of reach and conversion rates. Data shows that 85% of internet users in the US have an email address, which is over 20% more than the number of social media users. So, if you have decided that email marketing is the way to go, here are some tips to make sure your campaign is a success.
Ask Permission
First of all, you need to start building your email subscriber list, and the best way to do this is to ask permission. Although you may have heard of companies buying their email lists, it’s not something we would advise. For one thing, you would be in breach of the new GDPR regulations. Also, the people on that list won’t know who you are, and you’re more likely to end up in their spam filter as a result. So, always ask for permission by way of a call to action or an incentive. For example, perhaps you can offer a discount when people sign up to your newsletter. On top of this, you need to make it clear what signing up to your brand entails. This will establish your credibility and garner interest.
Create Rich Content
Once you have gained permission and created anticipation, you then need to make sure you meet your consumers’ expectations. For example, if you informed readers that they can expect a weekly update from you and you fail to deliver on time, both trust and interest will be lost. So, once they have subscribed, follow up with a welcome email that introduces your business properly and details exactly what they can expect. Then, you’ll need to learn how to pitch a product properly, and how to write a great newsletter that will increase your conversion rates. For this, you can use automation if you aren’t sure how, or don’t have the time. There are plenty of software options out there; visit PieSync to figure out which software is best for you. They have a useful blog outlining the differences between AWeber and Malichimp, two of the most popular platforms.
Utilize Analytics
Once you have got to grips with the basics, it’s time to move things to the next level by utilizing analytics. You want to be able to know when a particular email has been successful, and how you can refine your techniques to generate better results. Things like your open rate, click-through rate and unsubscribe rate are important to be aware of, or you will be blindly sending the same content assuming it will do the job in time.
For example, if you have a low open rate, this will usually mean you have failed to capture attention. If your click-through rate is low, it means your audience is not targeted enough, and if your unsubscribe rate is high, you need to focus a lot of your efforts on creating a better copy.
So, if you want to make sure your email campaign is a success, be sure to follow the advice above.
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