The short answer is: YES, email marketing is critical to the success of your business.
Think about how often you check your email? Most of us open our email first thing in the morning. We leave it open at lunch. Then we probably give it one more quick check before we make our to-do list for the next day and head to bed.
Email has become an essential method of communication and as business owners we can leverage that to create authentic relationships with our clients.
“If you’re running a real business, email is still the most effective way to universally reach people who have expressed interest in your product or site. For that, it really can’t be beaten.” – Colin Nederkoorn founder of Customer.IO
When Stephen Skeel, Co-Founder and Executive Producer from 7 Wonders Cinema began implementing email marketing strategies to their marketing campaign they quickly saw a ROI.
“Once we began optimizing our email marketing strategies we were able to more authentically connect with creators we could support through video production. By investing in email marketing we finally started seeing the ROI we were looking for.” – Stephen Skeel, Co-Founder and Executive Producer of 7 Wonders Cinema
Let’s look deeper into how we can leverage our email marketing campaigns to authentically connect with our clients and increase our ROI.
Where Should I Start?
If you are a small business just starting out, launching an email marketing campaign can feel a little overwhelming; but, it really is the best way to organically engage with your client base.
While Kath Pay, the CEO and Founder of Holistic Email Marketing, does say
“The bigger your list, the more conversions you can achieve,”.
She, also, advises small business owners to simply start somewhere and
“ensure your subscribe form is above the fold, in a prominent, easy-to-access position on your website. Have this form available on every page of your site.”
This way you can engage customers to sign up. Many sites use discount codes to encourage new subscribers like Karim Hachem, VP of eCommerce at La Blanca.
“Our customers are very motivated by sales. We saw a huge growth in subscribers by offering an extra 15-20% if they signed up for our email list. Now whenever we offer a sale they also get an email reminder and it brings those same customers back for more.” – Karim Hachem, VP of eCommerce at La Blanca
Remember you are starting small. As you add more clients to your subscriber list your ROI will increase exponentially.
“Focus on growing your list all of the time as newer subscribers are more engaged, adding to healthier open rates and ROI.”
– Karl Murray, a digital marketing specialist with a focus on email marketing. Founder of Hustle & Praise and Send.ie.
How can we make sure we curate email marketing content that appeals to our client base?
When we use too much technical jargon in our email campaigns it can be a turnoff to our clients. Avoid any language that comes off as overly generic or corporate.
Liz painter, an email strategist at Comma Comma encourages companies to:
“Write the way your customers speak”- Liz Painter, email strategist at Comma Comma
When we do this we show our subscribing customers that we listen to what they need and respond.
Mark Webster, a Founder at MW-W Consulting, suggests using simple surveys within your email marketing campaigns to better align yourself with what your clients are looking for.
“Ask your customers what they think of your service, but make sure you reward them for their time.” Mark Webster, Founder at MW-W Consulting
Include a survey in your next email marketing campaign to connect more deeply with your customer base. This will create more engaging content for your customers and help you find ways to better serve them. Reward them with a 10% off coupon that will last through the weekend. Now they have a reason to shop on your site. It’s a win win.
“Signing up is a powerful signal of intent to buy. Send them emails until they do.”
– Jordie van Rijn an online marketing consultant with over 13 years of experience.
Nikki Elbaz, email consultant and copywriting expert, suggests looking at customer reviews on Yelp and Facebook Marketplace to further align your email marketing content with customer needs.
“Getting that qualitative intel is critical to planning out messaging that your readers respond to. And it’s a lot easier than running endless brainstorming meetings too!”
When your emails have a lower rate of engagement they can get lost in junk or spam folders.
Finding authentic ways to engage your customers through an email marketing campaign can improve the likelihood your emails will go directly to your customers inbox.
For example Rachel Roff, Founder and CEO of Urban Skin Rx, found that by adding a personal touch to their email marketing campaign improved their customer engagement.
“Skincare is very personal. When we added a more personal and human element to our email marketing campaign we were better able to authentically connect with our customer base. We shared other customers’ success stories from using our brand, as well as some of our own skincare struggles. This improved our customer engagement on socials and also increased our sales.” – Rachel Roff, CEO of Urban Skin Rx
Keep it Simple and Optimize for Mobile Use
“Email marketing should be brief – short enough that you’re able to read it on your cell phone without scrolling.” – Dan Griffith, President of GrowDGTAL
Let’s face it most people are on their cellphones more than they are on their desktop. Of course some subscribers will still be opening emails from their computer; but, you want your email marketing campaigns to pop whether they are opened on a computer or a mobile device.
“As a company which provides marketing solutions we know how important a strong email marketing campaign can be to drive sales. Since most people currently scroll social media and check emails on their phone throughout the day it’s crucial to ensure your email newsletters are optimized for mobile viewing. The better the flow of the email the more likely the customer will read it through and click to engage.” – Lina Miranda, VP of Marketing at AdQuick
Remember, just like us, our clients are busy people. They are checking their emails between meetings, or picking up the kids from practice, or while waiting in line for a coffee. For example, Brian Clark of Copyblogger emphasizes the importance of attention grabbing headlines, especially for mobile use.
“On average, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.” – Brian Clark, Copyblogger
You want to ensure you grab their attention quickly and have enough information within your headline to create a call to action.
By implementing these simple strategies to your email marketing campaign you can increase your subscriber base and engage with them in an authentic way. Email marketing is proven to have the highest ROI of all marketing campaigns, $42 for every dollar spent according to the DMA.
So what are you waiting for?