Seven tips to help maximise your email marketing
Email marketing is da bomb!
It’s one of the best marketing strategies you can implement to help you achieve your marketing goals – whatever they are.
To help you maximise your email marketing, here are seven email marketing tips.
1. Start with the end in mind
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Every marketing strategy or activity you implement should start with setting your goals.
Email marketing is no different.
Know what you want your email marketing to achieve.
Whether it’s:
- Driving sales
- Positioning you as the go-to expert
- Providing information that will help your subscribers
- Building your mailing list
- or something else
your email marketing goal/s should be SMART – so you know when you achieve said goal/s.
2. Choose the right email marketing platform
There is a plethora of email marketing platforms out there, which can making the right choice hard.
What’s important is that you take the time and do some research to work out which one is best for you and your business.
If you’re just starting out, platforms like Mailchimp and Mailerlite are excellent because they are vey simple and easy to use. And they’re great for beginners and small businesses.
However, they do come with limitations. Especially if you're using the free version.
Platforms like Active Campaign and Hubspot are more complex, being CRM systems that offer email marketing as part of their platform.
It really comes down to knowing what you’re wanting your email marketing to achieve.
That's why I suggest looking at the different options available and choosing what works for you and your business.
Some email marketing platforms that are out there are:
- Mailchimp
- MailerLite
- Active Campaign
- Hubspot
- Klaviyo
- ConvertKit
- Sendinblue
- EmailOctopus
• Onmisend (ecommerce focus) - GetResponse
- Constant Contact
And the list goes on…..
3. Make sure your details are right
Once you’ve chosen the email marketing platform that suits your business, make sure you set up your account with the appropriate details.
Things like:
- Correct Profile Settings
- Country
- Timezone
- Email address
- Legal requirements such as subscription explanation ie why you’re receiving this email
- Set up branded email templates
- Make sure your sign up form is branded and set up to trigger an automated welcome email
4. Don’t be a spammer
Obviously you need people to send your email marketing to!
This is where building your mailing list is important. And there are online strategies and offline strategies that you can implement.
However, the most important thing you need to do is to familiarise yourself with the Spam Laws.
Check out the ACMA website here.
You don’t want to be a spammer. That’s bad. Very, very bad.
Not only from a legal perspective, but from a damage to your brand perspective!
Don’t be a spammer.
5. Build your mailing list using multiple ways
Right – so now you’re clear on not being a spammer, you want to build your mailing list.
There’s multiple ways you can do this and I recommend choosing more than one. In other words, don’t put all your email marketing eggs in one list building basket.
Here’s some ways to build your mailing list.
Remember, make sure these strategies comply with the spam laws.
Online mailing list building strategies
- Add your existing clients and customers (make sure you can do this legally – some industries don’t allow this)
- Set up your social media buttons to encourage people to sign up for your newsletter
- Promote a lead magnet aka freebie, that people have to provide their email to get (again, make sure you’re following spam guidelines so people are clear on what they’re signing up for)
- Website popups – yes, we hate them, but when done right they work
- Website footers – have a sign up form across your website to make it easy for visitors to join your mailing list
- Email signatures – Include a link to sign up for your mailing list in your email signature
- Facebook group – offer an optional freebie when people join your group for providing their email address
Offline mailing list building strategies
- Signup when paying – train your team to ask people if they would like to sign up to the mailing list to receive exclusive offers
- Events – when hosting events encourage participants to join your mailing list
- Networking – collect cards/ask permission
- In-store offers – equivalent to online lead magnet/freebie but promoted in-store
- Customer loyalty programs
- Run competitions – go into the draw to win… (familiarise yourself with your State licencing requirements)
- Create a birthday club – people need to provide their email and day/month of birth
6. Be regular
No, I’m not talking about eating prunes!! 😊
I’m talking about regularly staying in touch with the people on your mailing list.
To do this you need to create a content plan for your emails. Check out my article on just that topic here.
7. Stay relevant
At the end of the day you want your email marketing to achieve certain goals. And to do this you need to make sure your content is relevant for your mailing list.
But how do you know that your content is relevant?
By measuring your results.
Look at your open rates and click through rates on calls to action on your emails.
If those number are escalating, it’s an indication people are interested in what you’re sending them. In other words, your email content is relevant.
It’s good practice to be familiar with your industry benchmarks. Why? Because, if your open rate is above your industry average, it indicates your content is relevant.
Mailchimp provide a few free email marketing benchmark figures here.
On the down side. If your email open rates/click through rates etc are decreasing and/or your unsubscribes are increasing, that’s an indication your content is not relevant.
And that means you need to adjust your email marketing.
Look at what’s changed, what’s the difference between your successful emails and your less successful ones. Has your industry or competitive environment changed? Have the wants and needs of your mailing list changed?
Reviewing your needs to be done regularly to make sure you’re continuing to be relevant.
So, there you go. Seven tips to help maximise your email marketing.
If you need help developing your email marketing strategy, planning your content, or want your email marketing done for you, let’s catch up. I’d love to help you.
