Email Campaigns
Research shows that for every £1 spent on email marketing, the return on investment is, on average, £44. Email marketing is clearly an effective way of promoting your business … as long as it’s done correctly.
Here are some tips to help you create effective email campaigns.
Set your business objectives and goals
Have a plan. Ensure you create a sequence of emails that takes the reader on a journey. Know the frequency of the emails, the content you’re going to include, and what action you want the recipient to take.
Have SMART goals and be clear on what you want to achieve. For example
- Specific – create a specific type of email campaign, such as an email to promote a new product, raise awareness, re-connect with existing clients etc.
- Measurable – make sure you have a system in place to measure and track the results
- Achievable – make the goals achievable, i.e. get 10 new customers
- Realistic – make the target realistic
- Timescale – set a timescale do the project within
Know your ideal target market
Create a buyer persona, i.e. characteristics and attributes of your ideal customers
- Industry type i.e. Accountants, construction, public sector, zoos
- Location i.e. Postcode area, county or country
- Company size by number of employees
- Type of office i.e. Head office, single site or branch
- Contact method i.e. Postal, telephone, email or a combination
- Contact within the company i.e. MD, sales, marketing, IT, HR etc.
- Challenges and motivation for buying
If you don’t have a list to email then mailing lists can be purchased from a reputable data broker.
Know the type of email and what you are promoting
Decide on the type of email i.e. newsletters, information or promotional email.
Know the information you want to send, company news and information or what products or services you want to promote.
Right message
Create an attention-grabbing headline – 47% of people will open an email based on the headline alone, so make sure it stands out to get your email opened.
Segment your data and create a message for each segment. Personalise your message to make it resonate with your audience.
Know their pain points and demonstrate how your product / service solves their problem.
Include social proof, such a testimonials or links to review sites
Make sure you have a call to action, with clear instructions on what you want them to do next.
Keep your content short and easy to read.
Right time
Make sure you get the timing right. Test and measure the best time / day / month to send your emails to get the maximum results.
Use an Email Service Provider
Using Outlook can compromise your email service and get you blacklisted with your ISP, so use an email service provider.
There are many on the market, with differing levels of input required and information supplied. Look for ones that fulfil what you want them to do, and are easy to use. For example, some include templates and workflows, and automate many actions, which reduce the amount of time you spend preparing campaigns. You may also need the software to include analytics, so you can understand what is (and is not!) working, and take follow-up actions with those who engage with your email.
Make sure you follow up and record the results
Think about the series of events, create a sequence of different approaches to follow up with your audience.
- Send your 1st email, then connect and engage on social media on the day it lands
- Send your 2nd email in sequence, then follow up with a telephone call
- Measure the results and review your action plan
Frequency is key to a campaign – send too many and people unsubscribe, too few and they forget about you – so you need to strike the right balance.
Be prepared and plan ahead
For example, you could plan an initial email to get someone to buy your product or service, then a welcome email when they buy, followed by a confirmation of benefits, then one asking for feedback, the next highlighting other services, one asking for a testimonial etc. Make sure if you do create a sequence, that you consider the gap between each email – again, strike the right balance so as to keep them informed and interested without annoying them.
If you have an accountant, they should be your first stop for business advice. If you don’t have an accountant or they can’t help, BuBul has a wide range of experts available. For more advice on email marketing, contact our expert* Joanne on LinkedIn.
*We’ve picked experts we know and trust who are good at what they do. All of them will give you at least an extra 30 minutes free advice if you contact them and would then charge their normal prices. They don’t pay to be on BuBul and don’t give us any money from anything they earn as an expert.
