Some people see email marketing as a method that was successful in the past and that no longer works. This is definitely not the case and you should not think like that. The top lead generation channel is still email marketing. In fact, most marketers use it as a primary campaign. The only problem is that email marketing changed and the rules we used to follow no longer apply. With this in mind, let us think about the main elements that you have to always consider so that you can increase the success of your email marketing campaign.
When you first learn how to market a product online you learn about target audience and how important it is. There are too many that have huge email databases that are not divided in segments based on demographics and target audience needs. You need to segment the database because this helps you to deliver a message that will better resonate with the receiver. That is especially necessary when you market different services or products that are not similar. For instance, a health enthusiast will not buy a hosting service when you advertise it in an email.
You can have the best possible content (we will talk about this below) and still not have people read it because of an improper subject line. The marketing message is important for both physical and online companies. Any marketing message starts with the first line. In the case of email marketing, the first line is the subject, which is responsible for the first impression.
A good approach is to think about the very last of the marketing emails that you opened. Think about why you opened it. There is a huge possibility that you did so because the subject line was really relevant or it implied urgency. It might have even stood out when looking at the inbox. Brackets and unique characters become popular in order to drive a higher open rate. Remember that what works for one target audience might not be suitable for another so experiment.
After the email is opened, the content is the next thing that the viewer sees. If you want to increase the possibility of a click-thru, you need to have some elements of personalization and you need to also consider the following:
- Include more than one link towards the landing page since people skim the content instead of reading everything.
- Try to offer exclusive content. If the receiver gets something that is not available anywhere else, he will be enticed to click.
- Share information that is highly relevant for the industry.
- Always make sure that your content is mobile friendly since a lot of people now read email on mobile devices.
Make sure that your content is never:
- Overwhelming or busy
- Too salesy
- Filled with hidden links
- Too long or that your content takes too much time to load
- Irrelevant for the reader
When you run a blog, you have a marketing plan that surely includes some sort of follow-up on the unique content delivered in the past. The same rule has to be respected with email marketing. Lead generation is always a process that is ongoing and follow-up plans are necessary. For instance, if a lead requests a demo or a quote, you need to offer that in a suitable time frame. When they download something, make sure that they get a little more than what they hoped to find. Strategic follow-up planning ensures that lead generation is maximized.
We already briefly touched on this topic but we have to expand it a little further. If you do not test, you have no idea what email marketing campaign does well and what campaign offers horrible conversion rates. You need to think about HMLT vs Text, timing, content layout, the subject line and anything else that may be relevant and have an impact on CTR. For many such elements appear as being minor but when you tweak them by just a little bit, you can end up with a large jump in CTR and open rate.
Email marketing is difficult and there are etiquette things to keep in mind. A lot of information is necessary and it is quite common to see marketers that end up feeling overwhelmed by all the things that can be done. Adaptability is crucial and you have to learn from the data that is brought in through every single email campaign sent. If you follow the advice above, you will grow and you will notice a higher lead generation rate.
