Email Marketing - A Beginners Guide
by Ben Wilson on May 16th, 2017
Do you want to connect your business with online consumers? Your brand, website and social media platforms are important, but don't forget about email. About 200 billion (yes, with a "b") emails are sent every day, so you might want to be part of that action. Read on to find out why.
When you use email marketing, you connect with your audience and potential customers online directly. Email marketing is a type of tailored direct marketing that lets you customise messages, developing and using your own unique database to reach your customers.
Why is Email Marketing Important?
- It is easy to use. Everyone can write, open or read an email, with no real tech knowledge required.
- It is cost-effective. Email costs virtually nothing to send. You get all the benefits of old-school mail with none of the expense. Your prospective customers can engage with your brand instantly by clicking through to your website from their phones, computers or tablets. Once at your site, they can learn more about your products and services, contact you with questions, or make purchases with the click of a button.
- It is easily customised. You can divide your mailing list into segments to target the recipients of certain emails. You can also address your customers by name and even target the call to action directly. Web design online tools let you create emails that are eye-catching and effective.
- It is measurable. How many people opened the email? How many clicked through to your site? Did anyone unsubscribe and did they say why? With email marketing and the right tools, you get all these answers automatically.
Best Practices for Email Marketing
When we design an email marketing campaign at Web Force 5, we adhere to the proven best practices, using the best content management software and our proven CRM solution. Best practice as it applies to email marketing is summarized below:
- Short, sweet and useful. Content is key in email marketing, so make sure yours is on point. Make sure each email message provides a concrete benefit to your readers and subscribers. Help your messages stand out from your competitors' by writing and designing them so they're a pleasure to read and view.
- Send regularly. Whether you email your subscribers every day, every week or every month is a secondary consideration. The primary best practice to observe here is to send periodically based on what best suits your business. When you know your emailing schedule, it helps you to plan your content and design in plenty of time.
- Keep design simple. Your email marketing campaign is not where you should go wild showing off your design prowess. Keep your entire design no more than 600 pixels wide for best viewing on mobile devices, and focus on your text, since many email services block images from new senders.
- Test your templates. Some email clients may strip your heading tags; others may refuse to let you use Flash. These systems will require several test runs to a variety of email services to make sure your message is getting through the way you want it to. Thankfully, the Web Force 5 email marketing system has been designed to remove a lot of these hassles.
Email Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing
Sure, social media marketing is important. But don't let the thrill of getting a lot of likes on Facebook blind you to the power of email marketing.
More than three times as many people have email accounts as are on Facebook and Twitter combined. When you reach out to your prospective customers via email, you reach them directly; you're not hoping they happen to be scrolling through their Facebook feed.
When you communicate your marketing message via email, studies show your customer is more likely to stop and read it than if you deliver the same message via social media. Email feels more important, and it gets more attention as a result. If your email content is worth your customer's time — if it's well-written, beautifully designed or offers them something appealing — your customers will even come to look forward to your regular emails. Compare that to social media ads, which are often seen as a nuisance.
The Web Force 5 Solution
At Web Force 5, we've created an easy content management system (CMS) designed specifically for small to medium businesses here in Australia. Our CMS includes all the detail and versatility you need for online marketing, including an integrated affordable CRM solution, e-commerce functionality and more. You don't need to be technically savvy to take full advantage of our email marketing CMS, which lets you capture visitor details, customise your messages, and easily create and send email messages. Furthermore, you can import and start with your own database if you prefer.
Contact us at Web Force 5 to see how we can help you leap forward in the profitable, affordable and efficient world of email marketing.