Why use email marketing?
Email marketing is one of the best ways to turn prospects into clients. It’s quick and cost-effective.
There are several components to consider and they all work together.
These include:
✓ Your email list
✓ Email marketing platform
✓ Type of message: useful tips, news, reviews and special offers
✓ Free downloads
✓ Landing page
✓ Opt-in form
Building your list is an ongoing process and there are many ways to attract people with free products and offers.
You could purchase a list and do a one-off mailing to tell people about a new free service you’ll be offering. You can include a preview and invitation to opt-in to a separate list. That way you’ll have their permission and interest to build a loyal following.
You’ll probably want to segment your list into different groups for various test mailings. This will provide useful data on what works and what doesn’t.
The email marketing platform is where you’ll store your contacts, lists and campaign templates. It provides tools for automating campaigns, tracking results and managing file downloads.
Here are three popular platforms:
Mailchimp
Aweber
Constant Contact
Your message is the heart of your campaign and might include useful tips, news, reviews and special offers. It’s a good way to stay in touch with clients and prospects.
Always provide useful information rather than sales spiel. Use articles and videos to help people make better decisions, avoid problems and save money. Here are some examples:
Industry news, comment and reports
Subscription newsletters can be free or chargeable and offer specialist intelligence reports on financial markets, property or scientific research.
If you offer professional services, then reports and case studies are a good way to build a credible reputation. Keep 80% of your content focused on useful information and 20% on why they should contact you.
Product reviews, comparison tests and best buys
Product reviews are valuable, provided they are genuine and unbiased reviews. Reviews with affiliate links imply a vested interest in financial rewards and therefore less credible. Cameras, cars, laptops, phones and kitchenware are popular products.
If your business is product-based, then you might offer test reports and maintenance guides. Again, provide 80% useful information and 20% on a special offer or upgrade. Time-based trials work best.
Product sales and limited offers
Many product businesses use special offers to promote warehouse clearances and new product launches. They are benefit-driven campaigns, designed for impact and sales.
Emails with high visual content are more compelling
Early marketing emails were drafted as sales letters and often used an old typewriter font.
Today, emails use images and video with colourful and elegant typography. This creates a memorable impact and better user experience.
Images are essential for product marketing businesses, so it’s important to include a link to a website version as many email systems have images switched off by default.
You can offer a wide range of downloads such as ebooks, reports and brochures. They increase website traffic and give you a reason to stay in touch and tell people more about your expertise and products.
It’s a good idea to have a range of download products to test in your email marketing campaigns. That way you’ll know which downloads are popular.
Landing pages are designed to capture leads. They focus on one product or service offering. If you have several products or services, it’s best to create separate landing pages. That way you can track them separately and compare results.
You can also create multiple landing pages for the same product, each with a different offer. That way you’ll have clear results to compare.
Landing pages are usually created on the email marketing platform, but can be created on your website. If you use your website domain, then remove page navigation to avoid visitors being distracted.
Landing page components:
✓ Compelling headline
✓ Summary of offer (video or photo)
✓ Detailed offer with reports and testimonials to back up offer
✓ Opt-in form with offer summary and benefits
✓ Autoresponder follow-up emails with download links
✓ Download page
✓ Opt-in form
Opt-in forms are essential for building your database and can be as detailed as you like. It’s best to use simple forms for a free download. Multiple landing pages will each have their own forms.
Assessment and survey forms can be very effective lead generation devices.
Always use a compelling call to action heading with your form and test different phrases as they can drastically increase your signup rate.
Email marketing services
Putting a successful campaign together requires a mix of skills such as copywriting, marketing, website design and tracking metrics.
We can help with all these services.
Contact Francis Newman to discuss your email marketing campaign.
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