Email Marketing? A Beginner’s Guide for Success

How do you connect with your audience? How do you communicate with your customers? While it’s likely that your marketing has a large focus on your website and social media platforms, don’t forget about email.

Email marketing is a highly effective strategy and a great way to customise your message and connect directly with your audience. Dismiss any notions you may have that email is becoming a bit ‘old school’ - 72% of people prefer to receive promotional material through email, compared to only 17% who prefer it via social media¹.

Why Email Marketing is Important

• It is so simple to use! Practically everyone has access to email and you don’t need any specific technical skills to compose or read an email.
• It’s basically free. You can send the information you want and it probably won’t cost you a cent.
• It promotes good engagement with your audience as 91% of consumers check their email daily². Compared with social media, not everyone has a social media account and those that do, don’t necessarily deep-dive through their news feed daily. Also, with email, people can click through to your website from any device and from there, easily contact you or make a purchase.
• It is simple to customise. If you have different customers you want to target, you can divide your recipients into groups or segments and tailor the information to each group.
• They’re personal. You can address your email individually to the subscriber’s name, or even use their past purchases to prompt further sales from them. It will help you build relationships with your audience.
• They can be as eye catching as print. Using web design tools you can entice your audience with attention grabbing content and perhaps make it interactive too. Providing a balance of information about your products or services, along with an interesting article or a handy tip can keep the reader’s interest.
• You can measure the activity. If you use the right email marketing system, you can find out how many people opened your email, how many clicked through to your website and even learn the reason people have unsubscribed.

How to Make Email Marketing Work for Your Business

Web Force 5 pride ourselves on designing email marketing campaigns for our clients using proven best practices. Of course, you want to send emails that convert, so you need to secure the reader’s attention when they see it in their inbox. Here are some tips for crafting emails that convert:

• Keep your emails short, sweet and helpful. Content is key so make sure you get it right. Ensure your email provides a benefit to the reader and help them stand out from your competitors’ by making them a pleasure to read. If your content isn’t relevant, or is unclear, the recipient may unsubscribe.
• Simple design is essential so your emails are easy to view. If you keep your entire design within 600 pixels wide, then you offer the reader best viewing on mobiles. Keep in mind that visuals are generally more appealing than blocks of text, but do focus on your text also, in case your images are blocked.
• Send emails periodically, based on your business needs. If you have a schedule, then you can easily plan your next email in plenty of time.
• Have good templates and test them so you don’t run into issues such as information being stripped by some email services. This is where having a great provider such as Web Force 5 is helpful, as our affordable email marketing service has been designed to prevent most of these problems.
• Provide a perfect call to action. It must be a clear and concise message which entices your reader to click through to your website. Make it stand out so it is easily seen, possibly a large button or a simple link. It will encourage people to take immediate action.
• Review what you have written, closely checking spelling and grammar. Your email reflects your brand so you need it to be accurate and professional.

Tips for Creating an Email Marketing Campaign

Here are some basics to get you started:

1. Build Your Email List

Only include subscribers who agree to be on your email mailing list, otherwise your emails are just spam, which can also lead to legal ramifications. View the ACMA website for more details.

2. Determine Your Goals

Consider a welcome email to new subscribers, perhaps offering a special deal to entice them. You may want to nurture or reward existing subscribers, or re-engage those who haven’t been active.

3. Consider Email Types

Promotional emails talk about sales and offers, relational emails give readers an email newsletter or relevant information they can use, and transactional emails include welcome messages or purchase confirmations.

4. Know Your Audience

It’s important your emails contain relevant content and that they target the people you want them to. You want to capture the right people’s attention and keep it.

5. Use a Good Email Marketing System

Find what works for your business’ needs. Once you know the above, you can choose your system. We have provided some more detailed information further down to assist you.

6. Plan the Campaign Details

Decide on email frequency, the type of email, the content you want and the action you want your subscribers to take (purchasing a product, signing up for an event etc.).

7. Test Before You Send

Make sure you do a test run of your email before you send it out - it will not reflect well on your business if there are errors or the deliverability is affected.

Choosing an Email Marketing System

There are several email marketing systems available, and to choose the best one for you depends on your business’ requirements. Consider your budget, the number of email subscribers you have and how many features you may want to use, depending on the content detail and frequency of your emails.

Email marketing platforms differ, so it’s worth considering a few, to decide what suits you best:

• Continuum: The team here at Web Force 5 has created Continuum, a comprehensive web platform for your business, including all the detail and versatility you require. While simple to operate, it allows for the easy creation of high-quality emails, has the ability to send personalised, segmented emails and offers built-in analytics and reporting.
• HubSpot: Offers a wide range of tools and is easy to operate. They have pre-made templates and offer advanced personalisation tools.
• Constant Contact: Really easy to use with a drag-and-drop builder. Offers good analytics.
• MailerLite: Good value for money if you just want the essentials. Offers only fairly basic features, however it is easy to design a high-quality message.
• Mailchimp: Extremely popular, and gives you the ability to create and manage mailing lists, newsletters, automated marketing campaigns and more. There are a number of paid plans available.

There you have it! When you’re considering emarketing options for your business, keep email marketing close to the top of the list. Are you ready to launch your effective, affordable email marketing campaign? Contact us and speak to a Web Force 5 specialist consultant for a free no obligation chat.

¹ https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/getting-started-with-email-marketing/
² https://digitalagencynetwork.com/email-marketing-still-effective-strategy/