How to Make the Most of Email Marketing

Oct 08, 2020
  • There are 3.9 billion daily email users
  • Mobile opens account for 46 percent of all email opens.
  • 35% of business professionals check email on a mobile device.
  • 73% of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email.

Think about these stats , and think about this: email generates $38 for every $1 spent, which is an astounding 3,800% ROI — so it only makes that you include it in your inbound marketing strategy, and you optimize your efforts to maximize your return.

What’s In Email Marketing For Me? (WIFM)

For Cole-Dalton Clients, we recommend sending at least one email per month, but not more than one per week. We also emphasize quality over quantity when it comes to who receives the marketing emails. Current customers and prospects are a great place to start when building a list. It’s also a good idea to create an “automation” through your email platform and your website to add new people who fill out a form on the website or otherwise “opt-in” to the list.

When we review the analytics of the email blast, we have a wealth of data that tells us how many emails were opened, clicked through, bounced, or unsubscribed.  We can also see how many times they opened or clicked, which is a great indicator of a highly engaged recipient. When we see that someone opened the email multiple times, it can also mean they forwarded the email to others–another strong indicator that the content is resonating.

Of course, we want the “click-throughs” to be as high as possible, but we also want the “unsubscribes” to be as low as possible. A low unsubscribe rate means the recipient is at a minimum, still OK with hearing from you.  Ironically, even if a recipient doesn’t open or click the email, they still got a reminder in their inbox via the “From” field and “Subject” field that you are open for business and ready to serve them when they need your goods or services.

Start With Your Goals

Email marketing isn’t and shouldn’t be an experiment. Create campaigns with solid goals in mind, just like you would with other areas of your strategies. Do you want to grow your customer base and convert readers to buyers? Are you sending out reminders to online shoppers who abandoned their shopping carts on your eCommerce site? Does your business have new product announcements? Think about the answers to these questions as the foundation for the content you create and the benchmarks of your campaign’s success.

Invest In Tech

There’s no shortage of tech tools these days that will help you send out emails, but not all of them are created equal. Some are much more robust than others and offer a robust suite of features that help craft your content and track your analytics. Look for email software that has pre-made templates, automation settings, and integration with your website and other marketing software that’s currently being used. Remember, though, that these tools aren’t hands-off and you still need to be hands-on with the process unless you choose to outsource some (or all) of these steps.

Focus On the Target

Unless you truly know the audience you’re sending emails to, you may as well not send emails at all. Start by taking a deep dive into the different layers and groups and segment them into groups. Think about their shopping behavior, where they are in their purchase journey, and the overall objective of your campaign and use that information to personalize your message. This will help your email messages hit the target and get you closer to your overall campaign goals.

Make It Mobile

Remember the stats we shared above? Nearly half of all emails are being opened on mobile devices instead of computers. Don’t overlook this staggering fact when you create and design your email marketing campaigns. Many of the tech tools will automatically optimize emails for being opened on smartphones and mobile devices, but it’s a smart idea to send a test email to your own device before you send out campaigns to customers. The last thing you want is for all of your hard work to go to waste because they can’t see your content or click on the links you’re sharing.

Make It Nice

How your emails look visually are just as important as factors like segmentation and mobile-optimization. Ensure that your branding is clear and consistent, you include information about how to contact your business, your fonts are large and easy to read, and you’re using graphic design basics in the layout. Better yet, include GIFs and videos, which are both media types that have been proven to garner engagement. Find ways to grab and hold readers’ attention from the first moment they open your emails. 

Check the Data

After putting in all the hard work to create effective email marketing campaigns, don’t forget to check the analytics of your results. Look for metrics like open rates, conversions, unsubscribes, or responses to understand what’s working and what’s not. Then zero in on individual elements like subject lines or offers within the emails and tweak them accordingly. Also, make a list of which emails were undeliverable; you’ll want to reconcile these email addresses with your lists to make sure that your valuable customers aren’t inadvertently missing out on receiving your emails.

While there are plenty of moving parts when it comes to creating successful email marketing campaigns, it’s a highly lucrative content marketing strategy that all businesses should be using. You don’t have to tackle it alone, though — we can help you learn how to leverage the power of emails. If you’d like to talk about the role that email marketing could play in filling your sales funnel, we’d be delighted to have that conversation. Request a content marketing consultation today for your business.

Forecasting the Next Ten Years of Marketing

10 Apr, 2024
Marketing is gearing up for significant changes as we enter the new decade. With new technologies, shifts in buyer behavior, and changes in consumption culture, the way businesses reach out to customers will look very different in the coming years. While we can't say what marketing will look like in 10 years, we can examine emerging trends and strategies to forecast its future. Here are some predictions experts are suggesting could take shape moving forward. Increasing Personalized Advertising Personalized marketing should undergo even more profound transformations in the coming decade, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to forge deeper customer connections. With the ability to glean insights from vast amounts of data, companies will craft highly tailored ads and messages that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships. From dynamic content customization to predictive marketing algorithms, the era of hyper-personalization will redefine how businesses engage with their target audiences on a one-to-one level. Advanced Device Communication The proliferation of voice-enabled devices and virtual assistants heralds a new era in consumer engagement, requiring marketers to adapt their strategies to communicate effectively through these mediums. As voice technology continues to gain traction, companies must anticipate the rise of voice commerce and tailor their approaches to accommodate this emerging trend. By leveraging conversational AI and natural language processing, brands can deliver seamless, personalized experiences that resonate with consumers, whether shopping, seeking information, or interacting with digital assistants. Wider Use of Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is poised to become a ubiquitous tool in the marketer's arsenal, offering immersive experiences that transcend traditional advertising methods. With VR, brands can transport consumers into captivating virtual environments where they can interact with products and services unprecedentedly, fostering deeper engagement and brand loyalty. As VR technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, expect to see a proliferation of immersive marketing campaigns that leverage the power of virtual experiences to captivate audiences and drive conversions.

The Power of Storytelling

12 Mar, 2024
Marketing tends to focus on analytics and systems, but we sometimes forget about one powerful tool that has existed since the beginning: storytelling. From our ancestors telling ancient myths to be passed down for the generations to come to modern-day brand narratives, stories have held the power to inspire and connect in all different ways. Today, consumers face a constant bombardment of advertisements and catered content; using the power of storytelling in marketing campaigns has become critical for businesses, especially smaller firms aiming to create meaningful connections with their target clients. Why Storytelling is an Effective Strategy When a brand uses storytelling to convey its message, it connects with the audience emotionally. By telling a compelling story, marketers can create a memorable experience for consumers, making them more likely to remember and engage with the brand. Additionally, storytelling allows marketers to communicate the brand's values and personality more authentically. Instead of bombarding consumers with sales pitches, storytelling enables brands to share their stories and build trust with their audience, increasing brand loyalty and customer engagement. The Emotional Resonance of Stories At the heart of storytelling lies its ability to bring out emotions and create profound connections on a human level. Unlike traditional marketing messages focusing solely on product features or sales pitches, stories can engage the audience's imagination, stir empathy, and spark genuine interest. By weaving narratives that resonate with their target audience's hopes, dreams, and challenges, small marketing firms can create a powerful emotional bond that transcends transactional relationships. Building Brand Identity and Authenticity Storytelling is a potent tool for small businesses to authentically define and express their brand identity. Through compelling narratives that reflect their values, mission, and vision, small firms can differentiate themselves from competitors and carve out a distinct identity in the minds of consumers. Whether recounting the founder's journey, highlighting customer success stories, or showcasing the company's commitment to social responsibility, storytelling allows small businesses to humanize their brand and foster customer trust and loyalty.

A Guide to Employee-Generated Content

13 Feb, 2024
In a world of "influencer marketing" and brand deals, companies can easily overspend their marketing budgets and get caught up in the frenzy. An influencer may feature your product or brand only for their videos to perform poorly. At best, you lose out on the money spent sending the product to the influencer and whatever you spent on hiring them. At worst, your business gets a bad reputation online, and customers don't take your brand seriously. Consider that influencer marketing is just the "shiny new toy" in marketing. In that case, companies should continue to produce consistent, cost-effective outcome. One source for this? Your Employees. Employee-generated content refers to any videos, pictures, or copy that employees publicly post about their position and the company. Find out the benefits of employee-generated content (EGC), what this content can look like, and how to implement EGC into your overall strategy. What Does Employee-Generated Content Look Like? The beauty of employee-generated content is that it can take many forms. Any content your employees make that involves details about their role, the company itself, or the relationships they've developed with coworkers or customers/clients can be EGC. A simple, straightforward EGC piece can be an employee spotlight for new hires or veteran employees. You can choose to craft employee spotlights as infographics with a picture of the employee along with some fun facts about them, write a long-form piece from an interview with the employee speaking about their time at the company, or even long or short-form videos with the employee speaking on their experiences. While these methods may require the help of a graphic designer, copywriter, or videographer, the idea is that the employees generate the content by speaking about their experiences and introducing themselves. Other ideas for EGC pieces might be "day in the life" videos following a specific employee throughout their day, reflections employees have from conferences or professional development opportunities, employment milestones or recognitions, or even just pictures employees take with each other or showing what happened that day. There are limitless options and iterations for employee-generated content, and the key is to find out what works well for your business and why.
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