Social media might get all the glory, but email marketing is the most direct way to get your information in front of the consumer.
Everyone has an email address which is essentially a personal point of contact. Most people will check their email at least once a day, if not multiple times (considering how available email is thanks to smart phones, laptops, and tablets.) Social media’s biggest problem is the limiting of your access to your customers. For example, even if your Facebook page has 10k “likes”, at best your posts will reach only a fraction of those individuals. In comparison, email marketing ensures your material gets sent directly to the individual with the only limitation being whether or not they choose to open your message. It doesn’t get much more direct than that. Email marketing also offers a surprisingly high return on investment and can be very cost-effective.
Now that we’ve covered why you should choose email marketing, let’s get to the basics of how to go about it.
Find Your Platform
First, find the email marketing campaign tool that is the most user friendly to you. Mail Chimp, Aweber, and Vertical Response are all popular thanks to their simple analytics, response tools, and easy to operate interfaces, but there are plenty of other options. Check in with your small business network to see who they use to manage their email campaigns. Feel free to try out a few different ones before settling on what works best for you. Again, trial and error plays a great role in discovery for these types of efforts. The good news is that many platforms offer free trials so you can see if they work for you before you commit to one.
Write Good Subject Lines, Follow With Good Content
Once you’ve got a platform selected, it’s time to work on the content. Your first priority is your subject line. A subject has to be enough to get your email opened and the rest of your content read. Nobody wants to be fast tracked to the spam folder and an enticing subject line is the only way to avoid the trash. Once you’ve convinced someone to open the email, make sure the message content is relevant and worth their time. Keep it interesting and of value to the recipient. Emails are the preferred and expected way to receive promotions for most people, so if you have discounts or coupons you want to offer, include them accordingly–and mention them in your subject line.
Other Action Items:
- Make it easy to read!
- Give people a reason to want to open your email.
- Make it simple for people to subscribe to your email list. Post a signup link or info box wherever your social media followers are most active.
- Make sure you have consistent branding on all of your marketing efforts, including email blasts and social media.
- Integrate emails with your other social media platforms. Be sure to include a link to your other social media platforms on your email blast and make it easy for consumers to find you.
- Don’t spam your subscribers – have an editorial calendar and a schedule for how you do blasts. Once a week is a good start. Don’t let months go in-between mailings. Decide how often to send and stick with it.
Email may not be as flashy as some contact methods, but it works and you can’t argue with that. Use these tips and information to get started today.
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