Wearesocial, the global social media marketing, and communications provider estimates we’ve surpassed the 4 billion email users worldwide, and, according to Wordstream, every dollar spent on e-mail marketing translates into $44 of revenue, that’s an ROI of 4,400 %! Some marketers, however, are still reluctant when it comes to launching a newsletter. How to fix this?
As a novice or even an experienced marketer, you probably struggle with how you approach your customers via mail. You are put off by the idea of investing too much time into it and not getting the right message across, and you’re particularly familiar with your customers blowing off your latest incoming email, we all know how that goes.
Newsletters offer you an effective and direct channel to communicate with prospects and customers to turn those interactions into conversions and increase brand awareness. It’s all about strategy.
Of course, creating jaw-dropping newsletters can be a bit of a challenge at first, especially considering the ramifications. An ineffective campaign is sure to cause you more harm than good, and it could very often define whether a client stays with you or heads somewhere else, and let’s face it, they sure have a lot to choose from.
Channels of communication will come and go, but if one thing is for sure, consumers are not yet fully on board with the idea of their data being shared through social media (we might see a change in the near future), which still positions email providers as a reliable, safer, more affordable and easily trackable way to communicate with your customers.
As the tendency in 2018 and the Q1 of 2019 showed, mobile email opens accounted for almost half of all email opens, which should stress just how important, creating a mobile-friendly environment is.
So what steps should we follow in order to create a powerful marketing email newsletter and turn this situation around?
1. Choose the right tool
You might want to start thinking about dropping that free email marketing solution you’re so fond of. Sure, it might save you a few bucks, but it’s also keeping you achieving great results.
What kind of features are we looking for? Fully customizable layouts, the possibility to run A/B tests, SPAM tests, real-time complete OR and CTR statistics, among others.
So whether it’s a template you’re working on or a personalized e-mail, SALESmanago email tool made it simple for you. No need to be a graphics or coding expert.
2. Properly segment your database
Knowing who you’ll be addressing is a key element to your emailing strategy. It’s easy, though, to become overwhelmed by the tremendous amount of information we have access too, but when used to your advantage, and given the right tool to manage your contacts, this kind of data will allow you to focus on what really matters and provide your recipients with actual relevant information. Some of the categories you could choose from are:
Demographic information: Location, gender, age, nationality, occupation, type of organization and industry, job function, seniority level, etc.
Transactional information: Again, if you’re looking to provide your recipients with valuable information, you have to keep trackthe their latest purchases and understand how they align with their overall behavior as a digital customer.
Behavioural information: Knowing the time at which they open your emails, or visit your website is crucial to an effective process of communication with your customers.
3. Personalize the content
A newsletter marketing tool will only be as strong as its ability to fully customize the content you’re sending out. Customers are looking for brands that are willing to closely engage with them, which calls for a curated approach.
Giving your users a heads up regarding products that may come into a store at a specific moment and relate to their past choices is a great way to make the customer feel like more than just a subscription account number. You can also announce clearance sales or through in a coupon into the equation. Anything that can add up to their experience of you taking a personal interest in them.
4. Spend some time on it
While you don’t necessarily have to profess love to your customers with each email you send out, it is important that the content reflects the values and personality of the company. How can your audience engage with something you, yourself, are not very sure what it stands for in the first place? This requires to put some actual hours into the writing and overall layout process and delivering a credible and meaningful message. It’s not about length, it’s about content. Write something you would look forward to receiving.
5. Make it easier for the reader
I’m talking about organizing your information and establishing a clear structure. Think of the layout as a smaller version of the customer purchase journey, where your mission is to take them from the header to the footer. The farther you take them, the more likely they are to meet your conversion expectations.
Header: You don’t seriously think you’re the only company sending out newsletters to that customer, do you? Get your company’s name nicely placed up there.
Body: Don’t turn it into a puzzle with cool graphics for them decipher, keep it simple and straight to the point and they’ll be sure to want to keep those newsletters coming. With that in mind, don’t forget about making it mobile and tablet friendly.
Footer: Make sure to include all your contact information and always provide them with an opt-out option.
SALESmanago’s newsletter
AI has only come so far in allowing us to accurately design and put into action a series of complex processes of communication with our customer base, but when it comes to delivering an actual message, it is not quite there yet, and while we wait for that to happen, combining these pointers with SALESmanago’s automation AI powered engine is a great way to start building an effective newsletter campaign. If you’re serious about email newsletters and want to brush up your approach to customers make sure to check out SALESmanago.com for more information.
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