Launching an email campaign is one of the best ways to promote your business, drive traffic to your website and increase your overall bottom line. But, if you are not an experienced marketer, it might be difficult to know how to get going on a project of this nature. If you want to start an email campaign and are overwhelmed by the thought of jumping in and getting started, here are some simple guidelines to get you going in the right direction.
Know Your Goals
As with any project, to get to the finish line, you need to have a goal to attain. Whether you are interested in gaining subscribers, nurturing existing subscribers, boosting your overall engagement or you have some other goal in mind, make sure you know what you want to achieve with your email campaign.
Know Which Type of Email is Best to Send
There are several different types of emails you can send to your email list, all of which have a different purpose. The three most common email types you will send include:
- Promotional emails are ideal for encouraging the recipients to buy a product. They also alert readers about various offers and sales.
- Relational emails give the recipients something you promised, such as a weekly newsletter or free gift.
- Transactional emails are used to trigger an action or relate to an action they have taken on your site, like purchase confirmations.
Click here to learn about other types of emails you can send.
Know Your Audience
Doing your due diligence in market research will let you know who your target audience is. If you have not yet made that determination, Google Analytics is a great place to start. You can also learn a lot from looking at your social media platforms. People who visit these sites are likely interested in whatever you have to offer. Once you know your audience, it will be much easier to build a list from which you can work. As you progress in your email campaigning, you can segment your audience so that only specific demographics receive certain emails. That way, recipients are only getting emails that are pertinent to their specific situations.
Choose the Right Email Service
The email service you choose can make or break your email campaign. There are many of them out there, so you will have no problem finding one that fits your needs. The best email marketing services include tools that will help you create successful campaigns. So, determine what you need and go with a service that can deliver it. To see some of the best email services, click here.
Create an Effective Subject Line
The subject line is the first part of the email the recipients will see. So, it needs to capture their attention. If you miss on the headline, your email will end up getting deleted before it is read, rendering it useless. Be sure to make it personal, short and action-oriented. Here are some tips on creating effective subject lines.
Create Your Copy
The body of your email is where your content goes. As you create the content, keep these tips in mind:
- Keep their interests in mind.
- Don’t get to text-heavy. Keep it short, clear, simple and direct.
- Include visuals.
- Properly format for better readability.
- Keep the same template throughout the campaign.
- Include at least one call-to-action.
Do Not Ignore the Footer
Although the body of the email contains the most important information, it does not complete your message. Close your email properly by using the footer to add pertinent information. The footer is the ideal location for adding your contact information, social media links and unsubscribe links.
Set up Autoresponders
Autoresponders are a great timesaver. They are the perfect solution for busy business owners who do not have a lot of time to devote to an email campaign. You can easily set up autoresponders to automatically send out emails to certain customers when triggered by an action by the recipient. For example, if a customer makes an online purchase, he or she may immediately receive a “Thank You” email. When you use an autoresponder, a member of your target audience is remembered without you having to stop what you are doing to reach out.
Set Up a Tracking Method
When you go to the effort of launching an email marketing campaign, you certainly want to know how successful it is. You can track the results of the campaign with Google Analytics or a similar program. Once you start getting results, you can tweak your campaign to make it optimized and more targeted.
Send your Emails
Once your campaign is set up, all you need to do is send your emails out and wait for the results.
If you need help launching your campaign, Business Marketing Engine can help you. Contact us today.