How many times a day do you look at your emails?
Or are they always there and you get pop up notifications or pinged every time a new message comes in?
You’ll understand why I’ve asked this as you get into this article.
So…
How cool would it be if one of those notifications was an email from your business! Even if the email isn’t opened, the notification has registered and your name has flashed up. It's impossible to un-see a seen and it could be that small ‘nudge’ your contact needed to take the next step with you.
Fact : Emails, texts, social media notifications are addictive – they all raise your dopamine levels. This is why the work so well (and is also why you should turn them off!) What to know more, click here
With so many email service providers (EPS) ( known as either Email Marketing Services (EMS) or Customer Relationship Management (CRM)) available these days – ranging from free to $1000+ a month – there is nothing stopping any business using Email as part of their marketing strategy.
Email (Still) Delivers The Highest ROI
“What marketing is going to give me the best results?”
This is a question we hear a lot, and honestly the answer varies because their are so many variables.
If you have a list – it doesn’t have to be big, but it does need to be current and active – it has been our experience that email marketing will give you the best Return on Investment (ROI).
In a survey (June 2016) US Marketers claimed email marketing produced a 4x higher ROI than other channels (see graph)
If you don’t have a list, or your list is old and cold you need to be working on lead generation and building your list. Automating this process will make it so much easier, and yes you guessed it, you use email for this too.
Your ROI is a measurement based on your goal, so whether your goal is to increase sales or to increase leads, you need email to do this effectively.
The Role of Email Marketing
In essence Email Marketing is used to help move a person from one stage of their customer journey with you, to the next.
There are 8 key stages of a Customer Journey:
1. Awareness
2. Opt-In (or walk in)
3. Convert
4. Engage
5. Delight
6. Loyal Customer
7. Fan
8. Raving Fan
We’ve laid the steps out in a previous blog - Stranger to Raving Fan, Your Customer Journey see it by clicking here
The purpose of stages 1 and 2 is to get an email address. Then the most effective way to move them though the other steps is using email. Don’t worry if they don’t complete initially, it’s par for the course. Maybe the timing wasn’t right, or their interest was low…
…for now!
However, when you have an email follow up sequence in place, it means you keep in touch and become their go-to when they are ready.
You email sequences are part of your bigger picture, the savvy business owners today are using Dynamic Behavioural Marketing (DBM) techniques more and more and seeing better engagement rates and ROI's. (You can read more about DBM by clicking here)
Not Just Any Old Email
One of the biggest mistakes we see with email is the quality and relevance of content being sent. Consumers are too savvy (and time poor) these days and will hit the un-subscribe or spam button faster than you can count to 10 if you send out irrelevant ‘crappy’ emails.
Don’t send an email just for the sake of sending one. The worst thing you can do is think, it’s not that important, it’s ‘just’ another email!
It is important. Email is an integral part of your customer’s experience with your brand. Your aim is for them to see you as professional and efficient at what you do.
A surefire way to achieve this is start with a plan.
Pro Tip: Did you know that low open rates and no or low engagement are harmful for your email deliverability?
What this means is future emails you send out will end up in the junk, spam or promotion file, and never be seen! Keep your list clean and keep your emails relevant.
Plan and Prepare
Email marketing takes time, so you want to make sure you’re getting the best return on your time investment you possibly can. The most effective way we’ve found is to plan your approach and prepare in advance.
4 questions to help you with your email planning:
1. What is the objective (goal) of your email or sequence of emails?
For example, is it :
- to re-engage a cold list,
- to offer a product for sale,
- to confirm an order, or
- to educate and inspire?
2. Who are you writing to?
This is really important as it defines the language you will use in your email. It may also define the type of medium you choose to use. Email isn’t just writing, you can easily include video, audio or pictures.
3. What problem are you solving, or solution are you providing?
Your readers are not interested in your products or services or the bells and whistles they have. They are interested in themselves and their problems or desires, the key is identifying these problems and desires and letting them know how to achieve what they want (and it just so happens that your product does exactly that!).
This picture demonstrates this perfectly. I’m a huge lover of coffee, but I’m not interested in the spec’s of the coffee pot. I’m interested in what coffee offers – it’s time out, it’s catching up with friends, it’s fun.
Which image makes you want a coffee?
There’s an old saying that goes,
‘people buy with emotion and justify with logic’
…tap into their emotional needs first and follow up with the practicalities.
4. Are there any other resources you need?
For example, do you need :
- A free offer to give in exchange for their email,
- A landing page to collect their details,
- A place to store your free offer.
The 7 Essential Parts of an Email
Every email you send is a representation of you and your business, so you want it to look good. First impressions count, and are the difference between your email being opened and read or being scrolled past and deleted.
The 7 essential parts of an email are:
From – needs to clearly show who you are. (It’s the first thing I look at when I scan my inbox – if I recognise it, I open the email, if I don't it's deleted)
Subject Line – tells the reader why they should open the email.
Pre-Header – opportunity to add a little bit more information.
Content – make it relevant and high quality content.
Call To Action – clearly tell the reader what you want them to do (eg click here to sign up)
Signature – make it easy for them to contact you.
Unsubscribe Option – you might not know it, but there is a legal requirement that your email must include a way for customers to opt out.
You’re Ready To Push The Send Button
You’ve got your plan, your emails are written and you are ready to push ‘send’.
Pro Tip: Test everything before you send to your list. Every EMS or CRM I’ve used has a ‘send test email’ or ‘preview’ button, it’s there for a reason, use it!
When you’re happy, hit the send button and wait…
…this is your moment of truth. Will you get a response, or will there be crickets! You know, that eerie sound of silence.
What Do The Reports Say
There is a wealth of information you can gain by using the data provided in your EMS / CRM and Google Analytics. Things like email open rates and link clicks are easy to find, and will help you make informed decisions.
Your email marketing efforts will be even more successful when you look at the reports, analyse the data you see and take action based on that data.
It’s Worth The Effort
There isn’t a business I can think of where email doesn’t have a place. It can seem a little (or at times a lot!) overwhelming. Using email effectively is definitely front end heavy with the planning and set up, but it is worth the effort!
It’s a process that can (and should) be automated and when it’s set up all you have to do is monitor and tweak. Another benefit is you can easily replicate the process – work hard once and reap the rewards.
Interested in bettering your email ROI? I’ve created an easy to follow checklist that will have you sending your emails like a Pro. Click the image to request your copy.
