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Aspects of email marketing that you should consider include:
- Targeted Communication: Segment your audience and send messages based on varying factors, such as previous purchase behavior, demographics, interests, and location.
- Personalized Content: Use the person’s name and add other information, such as previous interactions with your business.
- Measurable Results: Use the analytics associated with email marketing platforms to determine where you may need to tweak things. Metrics you should measure include conversions, click-through rates, open rates, and the number of unsubscribes.
- Start-up expenses for email marketing include software subscriptions; consider using it as an option to paid advertisements.
- Automation: Send triggered emails based on conditions you set. For example, you may want to send emails when someone signs up for a free trial or initially joins your newsletter list.
You should consider email marketing to reach your target audience in a less noisy room than social media. Messaging can impact sales; identify your messaging goals and segment your audience.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of email marketing?
Email marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach your audience and track your campaign success, but it’s not always perfect, and you need to consider both sides. You need to build a mailing list, factor in the time it takes to grow your subscriber base, and consider what does and doesn’t work with your audience.
Here are some of the benefits and drawbacks associated with email marketing:
| Pros | Cons |
| Sometimes less expensive than other marketing channels | Can be overwhelming; it’s important to strike a balance in the number of emails you send |
| Potential for return on investment (ROI) | Can annoy customers if your emails are low-quality or filler content |
| You own your audience, unlike on social media and with SEO | Requires consistency |
| Various automation tools | You need a strong email list to begin with; can be time-consuming to build |
| Several metrics to track (e.g. CTR) | Time investment needed for campaigns |
| Personalized communication; feels less generic than mass messaging | Software can become expensive if you have a large list of subscribers |
| Lets users interact with your brand when they want to |
How much does email marketing cost?
Your email marketing costs can vary depending on several factors, such as:
- Email List Size: Some software tools have pricing tiers where your subscription price increases as you get more mailing list subscribers (e.g. Mailchimp). You can check this before signing up.
- Features Required: Email marketing software differs in terms of features offered.
- Email Service Provider: Your email service provider might result in varying email marketing costs, especially if you have a professional address.
- Staff: Decide if you want to hire an email marketing specialist or a more generalized marketing assistant.
How do you choose an email service provider?
You need to first think about your goals and needs before picking an email service provider. You should also consider:
- Usability
- Whether you need automation tools
- Analytics/analytics integrations
- Budget
- Email-building features
- Audience segmentation tools
How do you build an email list?
You should add a block and/or pop-ups on your website telling people to subscribe, and incentives (e.g. checklists and eBooks) are also worth thinking about. Mentioning your email list to a social media audience and offering discounts are other ways that businesses build email lists.
How important is the email subject line?
The email subject line is the first thing a recipient will see when your message lands in their inbox. Since it can impact open rates, you should spend considerable time writing your headline and testing how different ones resonate with your audience.
Your subject lines must be short, intriguing, and relevant without straying into clickbait.
What email metrics should I track?
Open, clickthrough, and conversion rates all need to be tracked. You should also see how many people unsubscribe from your messages for essential campaign insights.
Can I combine email marketing with other types of marketing?
You can – and should – use email marketing alongside other channels. Consider where email marketing sits within your sales funnel; use a different tool to generate leads and then email marking to nurture them. Use the marketing channels that make the most sense to your brands.
How can I set my emails apart from spam?
Utilizing best practices for clear communication involves avoiding tactics like excessive capitalization, misleading subject lines, and irrelevant content. Instead, focus on providing value, using clear calls to action, and personalizing your emails to increase engagement and avoid spam filters. For example, avoid misleading subject lines and content that won’t interest your audience. Personalizing is also a good idea, and so is focusing primarily on value while avoiding too much capitalization.
Conclusion
Despite talk about email marketing being dead, the truth is that many companies still use it. There are several reasons for this, from costs to lead nurturing and direct outreach. You should have a clear goal before stepping into email marketing and invest the required time to build your mailing list. Knowing how to measure analytics, and tweaking accordingly, is also essential.
