How to Make Email Marketing Really Work for Your Business

On the surface, email marketing might sound a bit outdated – who among us doesn’t have 900 unread junk emails crowding up our inbox? 

The truth is, though, there is an art to creating meaningful content that customers will appreciate rather than ignore. Let’s discuss some actionable tips you can use to nurture your audience with email marketing. 

Offer valuable information for free on your website in exchange for emails 

The biggest reason that marketing emails become junk emails is that customers aren’t expecting them and don’t want them. The best way to collect customers’ emails is to simply ask for them in exchange for something valuable and relevant to your service. 

Many businesses offer to send newsletters with industry updates, exclusive promos, and interesting articles to entice customers. Everybody wins – customers receive relevant information, and your business receives a self-selected list of interested leads. This is a simple and effective strategy that will help you build trusting relationships with your customers and grow your list of contacts organically. 

Invest in an email automation service 

If your business is new to email marketing, you’ll want to invest in an automation service and save yourself the headache of manually sending emails to your lead lists. Mailchimp, Hubspot, and Active Campaign are three popular email automation services that allow you to draft, schedule, and send emails over a scheduled period of time. You can even create strings of emails called automations that send based on certain triggers. All you have to do is draft the emails. 

These services also provide analytics dashboards that will allow you to see how your campaign is doing. You’ll be able to track things like open rates and click-through rates, so you’ll know which emails are effectively garnering audience attention and which aren’t. 

Send emails at regular intervals (but not too often!) 

Developing a regular email cadence can help customers learn to recognize and trust your brand over time. Eventually, when they need your service, your company’s name will be top of mind. 

Every company’s optimal cadence is different. Consider how often your content will be valuable to your audience. If you offer a robust newsletter with multiple suggested articles, your audience likely won’t have time to read your emails every day. However, if you plan on sending something simple like a coupon or a holiday greeting, you could send your emails more frequently. 

As a rule of thumb, if you want to send more than two or three emails a week, ask the customer when they sign up for the newsletter how often they want to receive your emails. According to a survey from Hubspot, 34% of people unsubscribe from email lists because emails come too often, so be considerate of your audience’s overflowing inbox! 

Request customer feedback 

One of the best ways to cultivate a positive relationship with your customers is to request feedback on what your customers want from your emails. Sending out surveys and polls is a great way to find out what your customers are interested in, especially if you’re in the market for new ideas. It also lets you know what your customers think about your product and service, which can help you to create better offerings in the future. 

Hire professionals to help you get started 

Developing new, interesting content and dispersing it at strategic intervals takes time. Trust the experts at 1GS to help you get your email automations drafted, optimized, and ready to be sent so you can start building relationships with a broader audience.