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Email marketing is a strategy which uses email to promote a business or service to customers. It’s one of the most effective and cost-efficient marketing strategies for small and medium businesses.
Benefits of email marketing include:
There are lots of things to consider in order to create a successful marketing email. Types of emails that can be sent as part of a marketing strategy should be a combination of:
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It’s important to choose an email platform that works for your business. There are lots to choose from but you must consider your budget, resources and what results you want from your email marketing activity.
Things to consider:
Find out more with this article from Business Gateway on choosing a platform
Free plans from useful platforms
To be successful with your email marketing activity you must build a database. This is a list of people who gave you permission to send them your marketing material. Here are a few things to consider.
You want to make it easy for people to subscribe to your emails. An easy way to do this is to have a clear call to action (CTA) on your website. Also keep the sign-up form short and simple and only ask for the most essential information. Be clear and transparent on what your subscribers should expect about the frequency and content of your emails, and how you will look after their data.
Having an unsubscribe option lets customers be in control of what they receive in their inbox. It will help to reduce your overall spam rates and ensure that you're sending emails to an active audience.
Keep your database clean and updated. You can remove unengaged subscribers from your email marketing list, so that you only market to those who want to receive your emails. You could also consider gathering more information on your subscribers so that you can split your list into groups based around what interests them most, such as a preferred time of year for visiting or their favourite leisure pastimes.
This is the legislation about the collecting, use and storage of data. Read more about personal data management in our article on analytics and tracking.
Design emails to fit your business using your brand colours and logo. This will make your emails feel familiar to your customers. Keep it consistent.
Make time to plan, write, design and send your e-newsletters regularly. Aim to send e-newsletters to your subscribers at least once a month.
Make sure you leave plenty of time for the editing and revision process. If possible share with colleagues to get feedback.
Send test emails to make sure your emails look as intended on mobile, tablet or desktop. Everything you send should be mobile-friendly.
Track your email marketing using metrics like open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate.
You should also track how many people unsubscribe from your list, how many people report your email as spam, and how many people share your email. Evaluate what’s working and what’s not.
Read this article from MailChimp for advice on how to measure and track your email marketing activity
Create and share engaging content about your business through email to start and grow a community of potential customers. You need to find interesting and authentic stories to tell about your product, your business, your location and your sector.
