You’ve Got Mail: How to Create an Effective Email Marketing Campaign in 2022
By: Kate Ford
Email Marketing is so 1990’s right? Think again!
People are more likely to use email than any other platform including social media giants like Facebook and Instagram. There are currently 4 BILLION email users worldwide and it is predicted that by 2023, there will be 4.3 billion users. Plus you, as a company, own your email database unlike your social media followers. This means you can set and control your mailing reach instead wondering how the next algorithm update might affect your post reach.
Email marketing also offers an AMAZING return on investment with an average of $38 earned for every $1 spent. With continued rapid growth and a healthy ROI, email offers huge marketing power for you and your small business.
But when the average individual receives 120 business emails (not including personal) per day, how do you create a campaign that stands out from the rest?
The Social Cookie Team has created a quick guide to help navigate everything email marketing - let’s dive in!
Quick Reference Checklist For Successful Email Marketing
Know your audience and use segmentation
Define your email campaign goal and set up basic email outlines
Craft a Subject Line that your audience won’t be able to resist clicking
Create high-value, specific content for your audience
Spell Check, Spam Check, and Send Test Emails to make sure all components function correctly
Creating a Successful Email Marketing Campaign in 2021
Step One
The very first thing you need to start creating relevant, high quality email campaigns is to know your audience. Ask yourself the following questions:
Who are you trying to reach?
What is your audience interested in?
Where are they in their buyer journey?
What relationship would you like to build with your audience?
Most email marketing programs such as Constant Contact or MailChimp let users divide their audience into different segments - USE THIS.
Segmentation allows you to deliver the right message to the right audience. If you segment your list into relevant demographics or interests, you are better able to create personalized emails and campaigns that will have better open rates and will build more meaningful relationships between potential customers and your brand.
Step Two
Next, as with any type of campaign, you need to set your goal. Is it increased brand awareness? Lead generation? Lead conversion? Increased revenue? Increased website traffic?
Once you have defined your email campaign goals, you will be able to set up a basic outline and timeline for each email within the campaign. For example, at Social Cookie, we first send out a Thank You email after connecting with a prospective client and then send them a series of emails offering our services, discussion of common marketing pitfalls, and resources to help their small business succeed.
Step Three
Now that you have defined your audience, campaign goal, and general timeline, it’s time to craft the most important part of your eBlast: the Subject Line.
Subject lines are extremely important! No one is going to see your great copy or images in the body of the email unless they click on the subject line first.
Listed below are a few Subject Line Best Practices:
Be short, descriptive, and specific. Get to your point quickly and give users a reason to click
For example: 5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Next Facebook Ad is more attention grabbing than Tips for Improving Social Media Ads
Use one of these 5 elements to help craft clickable lines:
Curiosity
For example: one of Buzzfeed’s subject lines was “Sorry, Wrong Number.” Difficult to resist clicking this one right? Why? Because it sparks basic human curiosity
Urgency
For example: “Available For One Day Only! 50% off SALE” creates a sense of urgency. If you don’t act now, you will miss out on a great sale.
Relevancy
For example: “Your Meijer Reward Will Expire Soon!” is relevant and personal to the user; their reward for joining your loyalty program will expire if they don’t click and act soon.
Value
For example: “10 Local Trails to Keep You Active This Summer” provides users relevant and useful information for their area and increases the likelihood of a click.
Emotion
For example: WordStream’s “Why Do My Open Rates Suck” tugs at the emotional need to create success and all the positive feelings that success evokes.
Test, test, test! Marketing is a science. Create a couple of different subject lines and see which has the best open rate
Step Four
Once you have captured your audience’s attention with a catchy subject line, don’t immediately lose it with overly wordy and irrelevant content. The body of your email should be:
Eye-catching
Easy to read (ie: not huge blocks of text)
Mobile friendly - over 70% of emails are opened on mobile devices
And to the point
Your content should be specific to your audience and it should address their pain points. Where is your audience in their buyer journey? What information would help your audience make better informed decisions?
Complete your emails with strong calls to action and then follow your timeline with consistent follow-ups.
Step Five
Lastly, take time to review and edit your work. Make sure to Spell Check, Spam Check, and Send Test Emails to make ensure all components are working in your email. You wouldn’t want to sideline your carefully crafted email campaign with a technical glitch or embarrassing typo.
Final Note
Email Marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies you can implement for your business. Taking the time to understand your audience, segment your list, and develop relevant and attention grabbing copy will help to take your email campaigns from basic to brilliant!
When to Consider Outside Help
If all of this sounds overwhelming or out of your wheelhouse, you are not alone! Business owners have a lot on their plate and often, marketing falls to the wayside. If you and your team are looking to focus on operations and hate keeping up with the latest trends, consider setting up a free advertising strategy call with Social Cookie!
During the call, we will go over your marketing needs and see if our services would be a good fit for your brand. Plus, you will receive a Free Digital Ad Audit after the call! Each Ad Audit analyzes your latest ad campaign and provides tips on how to make your ads more successful in the future.
Interested in a chat? Book a Call and start getting your questions answered today!
References and Additional Resources:
(August 2020). How Many Emails Are Sent Every Day? Top Email Statistics For Businesses. Templafy. https://info.templafy.com/blog/how-many-emails-are-sent-every-day-top-email-statistics-your-business-needs-to-know
Cox, L. (2020). 18 Examples of Brilliant Email Marketing Campaigns. HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-marketing-examples-list
Patel, N. (2020). A Beginner’s Guide to Successful Email Marketing. Neil Patel. https://neilpatel.com/blog/beginners-guide-email-marketing/
Patel, N. (2020). How to Write Email Subject Lines That Will Increase Your Open Rate by 203%. Neil Patel. https://neilpatel.com/blog/how-to-write-email-subject-lines-that-will-increase-your-open-rate-by-203/
