Building an Email Marketing Strategy

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is the strategy of sending emails to leads and customers. It’s basically the modern-day equivalent of flyers and direct mail, used as a way to get information directly into someone’s hands, or in this case, their inbox. Email marketing refers to more than just sending out a weekly or monthly newsletter. It spans every email you send to your customers, from that first welcome or thank you, to a follow up to ask for reviews. All these communications are part of your larger email marketing strategy.

Advantages of email marketing

Email conversion rates are much higher than social media conversion rates, and you have access to a broader audience. A study found that email marketing acquired 40 times more customers than Facebook and Twitter combined.

Social media efforts and content marketing depend on algorithms that determine what comes first on a SERP (search engine results page) or social feed. When it comes to email marketing, you own the list of contacts, so you’re not at the mercy of an ever-changing algorithm. On social, you also run into the possibility that a platform will fade out and disappear entirely. With an email list, you can download your contacts and move them to any other email service, so you never lose touch with the community you’ve built over the years.

Email is also easily automatable. With email marketing tools, you can build workflow and automation that sends out emails based on actions and triggers you have planned. This strategy allows you to take a step back and focus on the other needs of your business.

How to build an email list & get started

There are some easy ways to build an email list. Think about your customers— the people who have signed up for your services or have expressed interest in your company. Some simple ways to collect emails for your list include:

Adding a newsletter form or pop-up on your homepage
Adding a CTA on social media or in your blogs
Creating a lead magnet that offers free content in exchange for an email address
Making a quiz

Your business has a lot of choices when it comes to which email marketing and automation software you can use to implement your strategy. Some of the email marketing software used most by small businesses include:

Email marketing tips

Segmentation and personalization: Creating different email lists allows you to deliver specific information to particular groups of people, which is crucial to your email marketing strategy. You can separate your email list into customers, leads, or people who opted into a download, allowing you to share tailored messages and information with specific audiences. When someone signs up for your email list, you should use a form to gather their name and other relevant information, and then use these details to personalize your emails and increase your engagement.

Make it worthwhile. If you are going to send an email, make it worth it. Sending too many emails with no real value will turn an audience away quickly. Only send emails when they contain content that is relevant to your audience and goals. Remember, as easily as someone may have invited you into their inbox, they can hit that unsubscribe button.

Pay attention to analytics. Decide what matters most to you when it comes to email analytics. Do you want increased sales, heightened website traffic, or just simply for your list to open your email? HubSpot’s Email Marketing Stats list can help you understand your click rates and opens in a larger context.

At Bit-Wizards, our award-winning digital marketing team uses email marketing strategies to raise awareness, increase sales, and drive conversions for our Managed IT Services and Software Engineering departments. Check out our other marketing resources to help your company grow here.