The Basics of Email Marketing
Email marketing is an effective way to increase your email list and grow your business. However, it can be challenging to get started. Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Email Marketing and Why Is It Important?
Email marketing is an effective way to reach out to customers. It uses an email marketing service (an autoresponder) to send out emails in bulk to recipients on an email list.
The autoresponder personalizes each email sent by adding in the name, email address, and other information specific for each recipient on the list. Emails are then sent out in bulk, and the autoresponder records analytics while performing follow up actions to assist email marketers in their marketing efforts.
Autoresponder Analytics Available:
- Records number of emails opened
- Records links clicked inside emails
- Records number of recipients who made a purchase
- Sends out thank you emails
- Sends out upsell offers
- Sends out second-chance emails if no sale is made
Benefits of Email Marketing
The largest benefit of email marketing is the ability to use analytics in order to generate more sales. However, there are other benefits worth mentioning as well.
Email Marketing Benefits:
- Collect subscriber emails and reach out to them directly with targeted content or advertising messages.
- Gain permission from recipients to send them emails. Consent builds deeper trust and connection with the receiver.
- Create an opt-in form to collect emails from site visitors.
- Measure the success of email campaigns to learn what works and what doesn’t in your email marketing mix.
How to Get Started With Email Marketing
To get started with email marketing, it is recommended that you purchase a subscription to an email marketing service.
A good service will:
- Set you up with an email marketing opt-in form to collect email addresses from website visitors
- Let you pre-write emails to send out at different time intervals
- Let you personalize emails for each person on your email list
- Let you send out bulk emails at the same time
Important Note: Each email marketing service is set up differently. You’ll want to go through the training material and documentation for the email marketing service you select to learn the ins and outs of the platform.
To make finding an email autoresponder easier, we’ve reviewed the best email marketing services to help you find the answer that makes the most sense for your marketing needs.
Here are some basic instructions for getting started:
- Select an email marketing service
- Set up an opt-in form on your website to collect visitor emails
- Write emails that are interesting, relevant, and address the needs of your site visitors
- Include enticing subject lines, great content, and call to actions (CTAs) in your emails
- Test your emails regularly to see how they are performing
- Revise emails when necessary
Conclusion
The basics of email marketing are fairly straightforward. Just follow these simple steps:
- Purchase an email marketing subscription
- Add an opt-in form to your website
- Write and send emails to engage with your market
- Make more sales by presenting offers
- Keep testing and refining your emails
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some important email marketing metrics?
Email marketing metrics are used to measure the performance of your email campaigns. These metrics help you understand how people are responding to email messages. Metrics can also be used to predict what actions people will take next, including purchasing products.
Email marketing services come with tracking tools which can provide these metrics for you on a daily basis.
Important email marketing metrics:
- Open rate - percentage of email recipients on your list that open your emails
- Click-through rate - percentage of email recipients on your list that click your links
- Opt-out rate - percentage of email recipients that cancel their email subscription
How often should you send out email campaigns?
Plan to send out emails regularly enough to stay in touch with your subscribers — but not so regularly that your emails become an annoyance.
To know if you’re sending emails out too frequently, observe how many people are opting out of your list. If you find people unsubscribing from your list, it likely means you’re sending too many emails or emails that aren’t resonating with your subscribers. Work on improving this.
What are the best practices for sending emails?
Companies must do their own research to determine the most effective ways to send emails.
There are four key components to consider:
- Content: Are you sending emails people want to read?
- Subject line: Are you catching attention?
- Timing: Are you creating a positive relationship with your list?
- Landing page: Are site visitors opting into your email list?
What are some tips for optimizing your emails?
Here are some tips for optimizing your emails:
- Make sure that you have a clear call to action at the end of your email.
- Use compelling subject lines.
- Make sure that you're not spamming people with too many emails.