6 Email Marketing Tips for Beginners

Posted December 31, 2019

Fifteen-second videos that link to an eCommerce store. Chatbots that automatically respond to customer queries. With so many amazing and trendy digital marketing tactics, who has time to even consider good old email marketing? Turns out, every business owner worth their salt should.

Email Marketing: Why It’s Still as Powerful as Ever

The wide array of marketing tools today can be overwhelming especially to beginners. As a sensible entrepreneur, you want to funnel your resources to the best possible investments.

Although many trendy marketing tools appear too promising to resist, it is tried-and-tested tactics like email marketing that sustains a brand in the long haul. In a nutshell, email marketing is a process wherein businesses use email as a means of building a relationship with an audience.

The following email marketing facts and figures show its valuable role in business today:

By 2022, global email users are expected to reach 4.3 billion (Statista)
320% of business revenue is attributed to welcome emails
81% of small to midsize businesses name email as their primary customer acquisition tool
80% of retailers claim email is their strongest driver for customer retention
40% of marketers say email is critical for B2B content marketing success
99% of consumers access and check their emails every day
86% of professionals prefer email as a means of business communications
73% of millennials prefer to receive business-related messages via email
59% of consumers admit that email has influenced their shopping
49% of consumers say they like receiving promotional emails from their favourite brands every week

These data show the influence that email has over businesses and consumers. It also emphasizes how email has become such an important part of everyday life. Because the business world can sometimes be a blur of passing fads and fluctuating ventures, you need to put in your investments in something as solid as email.

Benefits of Email Marketing

It gives you full control. Broadcast, a type of traditional marketing, often requires brands to collaborate with experts to fine-tune an ad. The campaign is also broadcasted to the general public, which could include people who may or may not be interested in your offer. With email, however, you have full control over the kind of campaigns you want to run, the design assets, and the audience who will receive your message.
It’s targeted. You put in hours, time, and talent when you create a campaign – it’s only fitting to show it to people who can appreciate or get it. This is what happens when you market via email: people need to proactively subscribe to get your messages. This initial step alone shows the intent of the audience to listen to what you have to say, follow directives, or support what you have to offer.
It’s easy to use. Email has been around almost as long as the World Wide Web. As a business owner, you already have a solid foundation of how it works. You also know from experience that receiving generic promotional messages can sometimes prompt the recipient to skip opening it or mark it as Spam. This ease of use will prompt you to make more creative and effective email marketing plans. Unlike social media where different channels have a different dominant group of users, email is such a common tool that it is indiscriminately used by people of all ages, gender, or walks of life. Thus, it’s a versatile promotional and communications channel.
It’s cheap. No money to spend on elaborate marketing programs? No problem! Email, with its intricate campaign-making details, is affordable even for startups. In fact, MailChimp lets users send up to 10,000 messages and list 2,000 contacts for free.

The Beginner’s Guide on How to Email Market Effectively

Now that the crucial role of email has been established, it’s time to learn how to leverage it for your marketing advantage. Create an email marketing strategy with intent and proficiency, starting with these 6 effective email marketing tips:

1. Cover the basics.

A list of email marketing tips should start by taking care of the basics. This will help you map out an action plan that covers the most important facets of email marketing. Although more details can be added as your business and market expand, your basic email line of attack should include:

Knowing your long-term objectives. Do you want to increase your subscribers by 10% at the end of the quarter? Do you want to send promotional messages to boost sales by 20% by the end of the year? Define targeted and measurable goals that you want to achieve through your email campaigns.
Defining your target audience. Building your subscriber list will be easier and more effective if you know your target audience. Identifying their basic demographics, needs, goals, and preferences will help you curate more targeted emails.
Highlighting your advantage. What value can you offer that people can’t find elsewhere? Identifying your competitive advantage will allow you to design a campaign that grabs and holds attention. People receive dozens of emails every day, so presenting a unique, irresistible offer increases your visibility among your throng of rivals. Learn how your business can beat competitors here.
Identifying your metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs). There are many possible metrics and KPIs to follow. It’s best to choose the ones that you can tie to your overall business goals. These could be the size of your email list, your email click-through and open-rate, and conversion rate.
Using a mobile-adaptable design. 66% of emails are opened on a mobile gadget, according to a report by Marketing Land. It’s only imperative to choose mobile-friendly email templates or designs, so your content doesn’t break or freeze.

2. Develop your subscriber list.

Building a subscriber list is a simple, passive process and must, therefore, be done consistently. Don’t get complacent in building your list even if it has already ballooned through the years. Installing a sign-up feature on your website helps you acquire new subscribers that you can eventually turn into customers. Place subscription forms on your business home page, blog, or anywhere that people can easily access.

Don’t miss out on building your subscriber list manually either. When attending business events or industry conferences, proactively ask people to subscribe to your email. Even if you don’t close deals in such events, acquiring new subscribers is still a win.

TIP: Building a subscribers list should go hand in hand with segmentation. That is, organize your contacts or list according to the subscriber’s qualities and shopping history or website activity.

3. Keep it direct and personal.

Generic emails (those cringe-worthy messages that start with Dear Customer for example) are highly likely to end up in the Promotions folder, Spam, or Trash – if they get opened at all. To increase the chances of your messages being opened, add a personal touch whenever possible.

This could mean adding the name of the recipient to the subject line and greeting and incorporating words relating to the recipient’s browsing or shopping history. Most email marketing tools let users enter codes that automatically inputs the recipient’s name when the message is sent. Here are 5 email marketing tactics you can do so your message doesn’t get filtered through the Promotions tab.

4. Write professionally.

This sounds elementary, but you’d be surprised at how many business emails are strewn with typos, peppered with grammatical errors, and structured in a complicated format. You owe your subscribers a good read – and you can only do so with a crisp, clean email. Here are a few things to consider:

Hire a content writer so all your email communications – from templates to newsletters – are written professionally.
Keep sentences short and sweet.
Space paragraphs appropriately.
Use bullet points or numbered lists.
Include graphics that load easily. Use photos to complement your message, rather than break your content.

5. Add direct links and clear calls to action.

Don’t forget that the aim of your email, as with other marketing campaigns, is to prompt the audience into action.

Have a list of goals ready for every message you send, and make sure that these are apparent from the get-go. Are you promoting a new product? Include a link that directly routes customers to the product page. Do you want to increase your social media followers? Incorporate buttons so subscribers can easily follow you on your social pages.

6. Make unsubscribing convenient.

Sometimes, the fastest way to keep people subscribed is to show them an easy way out. People have become wary of spam, clickbait, and aggressive advertising. Seeing promotional messages with an easy Unsubscribe link or button is both refreshing and welcome.

Rather than turning clients away, it encourages them to subscribe or keep receiving your emails when they know they can opt-out anytime. Besides, it’s also a way to prevent your messages from being flagged as Spam.

The most effective email marketing strategy is full of proven tips and tested consistently and purposefully. Use these 6 email marketing tips to fine-tune your email action plan.