In today’s world of videos, instant chat services, social media and infographics, many seem to think that email marketing is dead. If you think you can do away with email marketing as a digital strategy, you are missing out on the real metrics. Email marketing is still going strong and still remains a good strategy for your business.

The proof is in this SmartInsights.com data ranking email marketing as the number 1 most effective marketing channel ahead of social media, SEO and affiliate marketing.

Email Marketing Tools To Try Before Buying

However, small startups and businesses usually have limited funds when it comes to digital marketing. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get started on email marketing because there are many tools you can try before you buy.

WIX Email Marketing

Wix is not just a popular website builder. It’s also like a one-stop shop for all your business marketing needs. Their free plan lets you access 3 email campaigns where you can send over 5,000 emails. You have the choice of dividing your email limit to the 3 campaign or spend it all in 1 blast. The 5,000 sending limit resets every month.

When you’ve mastered or outgrown the free plan you can upgrade to the paid version where you can get exactly what you need.

MailChimp

This is perhaps one of the most popular email marketing tools today. MailChimp offers many features for their customers even if you’re just a free member. This includes basic templates, small business CRM, basic campaign reporting, 2,000 contacts and a sending limit of 10,000 emails per month. Not bad.

The best thing about MailChimp is that even though you’re not ready to move to a paid plan you can access add-ons and a pay-as-you-go option is available. This is a good tool because it’s tried and tested by many.

SendInBlue

SendInBlue is probably one of the simplest email marketing tools you will ever find. The free plan doesn’t cap you on subscribers which is great if this is your primary mission.

However, there are limitations to the free plan. It has a monthly cap of 9,000 emails, but they have 300 emails per day limit which can be too small for some users.

This is still a good tool to use if you’re just beginning so don’t forget to check them out.

MailerLite

MailerLite is the tool for small starting businesses. It is a beginner-friendly marketing tool that allows users to send unlimited emails to 1,000 subscribers. The paid and free plans have a lot of similarities but the paid plan has newsletter templates and other useful features.

SendPulse

As far as “free”plans go, this is another marketing tool you can try. However, it can be quite limiting for some users. For example, the  image storage of 20MB is paltry making it a bad choice if you plan to send a lot of newsletters and infographics.

However, this does not mean to say that you should discount SendPlus. The free plan still has a ton of amazing features making it a good choice for small businesses on a budget and startups.

Benefits Of Email Marketing

Let’s outline some email marketing benefits for those that are still unconvinced.

• It’s a direct and personal way of communicating with prospective and loyal customers.
• It’s more effective than social media.
• It’s measurable for future optimization.
• Cost effective compared to other methods.
• Strengthens relationships between you and your clients.
• Increase website traffic that could turn into sales.

A Sydney Digital Marketing Expert can help formulate tailored strategies to help you target customers and boost sales.

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Even though 58% is still a decent rate, it still has room for improvement. Here are some tips on how you can make it work for you.

Make It Personal

Don’t be afraid to get personal with your clients. According to studies, personalization has a big impact on response rates and also boosts engagement.

Simple adjustments like using their first names and knowing their basic customer information can make a lot of difference. Also make sure that their names are spelled correctly and to use correct tittles whenever necessary.

Make Subject Lines Attractive

The first thing customers see when they receive your email is the subject line. It has to be something catchy to make them open your email. On the other hand you also don’t want it to look like spam.

Put some thought and effort into creating straightforward and clever subject lines. The type that makes it easy for your recipient to understand what you’re talking about in approximately 3 seconds. Also make sure that the subject line supports your headline and body of your email or newsletter.

Write A Targeted But Brief Copy

One of the best tips to remember when writing an email newsletter is to make it short. Nobody has the time to read a lengthy post so make sure that it is concise and targeted for your specific audience. Open with a text that will hook your audience such as an offer they can’t refuse or a rhetorical question.

Make your copy easy to scan by breaking it down into sections or having short paragraphs.

Pay Attention To Details

Small things can make a big difference. A good example is making sure that forms that need filling up only require minimal information. This will make it easier for them to submit forms and to entice them into signing up. Remember nobody wants to fill up forms especially if they’re using a mobile device.

Paying attention to small details can boost customer experience and response rate.

Know When To Send (Or Not To Send)

Successful email campaign means that knowing the best time to send an email newsletter and when not to.  Unfortunately, there is no exact formula because frequency can vary depending on audience, location, service and product. 

The best you can do is to send once a month. However, don’t just send a newsletter just for the sake of sending. You want to communicate and reach out to your audience. So only do so when you have something you want to tell them or when you have something good to offer.

Call To Answer

In the world of email marketing, a call to answer (CTA) is powerful. Incorporate persuasive words like What? How? Or Why? Tell users what they need to know, how to use it or how it can benefit them and why they should do it now.

Tailor each call to action for your audience and provide multiple links in your newsletter to make it easier for them to take action.

On-Point Landing Pages

It won’t be a successful email campaign if your newsletter is spot on but your landing page is off. This type of mistake has a big impact on your conversions.

Your landing page is an extension of your newsletter. It should contain the same messaging, design and offers featured in your email. Use your landing page to elaborate your newsletter.

Avoid Email Marketing Blunders

This is fairly obvious but some marketers still continue to commit the same email marketing blunders. One of the most obvious is using all caps in subject lines and other parts of the copy. Using small fonts is also fairly common. Remember, some people might be reading your newsletter on their cellphones and small print can make it hard to read. Another mistake is not including an unsubscribe link.

Being a successful marketer is not easy. However, there are ways you can get better at it. Analysing data and paying attention to what your customers want is a good start. Alternatively Creativ Digital can help you succeed in the competitive marketing landscape and help set you up for long term success.

The post How To Make Email Marketing Work For Your Business appeared first on Creativ Digital.