Email Marketing is a cost–effective way of advertising and enables you to communicate relevant information directly to your customers or potential clients. It can also be used to build relationships with your current customers, inform them of current offers or discounts and increase brand awareness.

What do you need to focus on? The subject line of your campaign is crucial as it will encourage the recipient to open the email and read or discard it. Engaging content is crucial in email marketing to encourage people to read and scroll down through the email. It should be interesting and relevant to the person. Content can include advice and tips on your product or industry new while also avoiding constant selling or promotions. The platforms available allow you to pick out a template or theme that suits your brand. Make use of visuals, bullet points and quotes to break up long paragraphs.

For best practice in email marketing, people must opt-in to be included on the mailing list. A sign-up or subscription form can be included on your website inviting people to subscribe to receive the latest news or offers available. A leaflet could be created and distributed for a competition with an email address as an entry requirement. An email list built in this way increases the chances of a successful email marketing campaign as these people obviously have an interest in your business.

Once you have email addresses. Once size doesn’t fit all. Divide your lists based on different attributes of the recipients. For example, organise lists by interests, behaviours or location to allow for a more targeted approach. Where in the sales funnel they appear i.e. potential customers versus those who are already customers. The open rate will increase as the content people are receiving is relevant and personalised to them.

Advantages of email marketing:

  • An easy, effective way of acquiring customers and sales
  • Cheap and instantaneous
  • Sending relevant information to the right people
  • Recipients can unsubscribe to avoid annoyance
  • Personalised approach

Some of these points are disadvantages as well, as its relatively easy to send an email, our inbox is inundated with offers. To maximise your time investment in creating email marketing, create good quality content your subscriber wishes to see and never be spammy.