In September, a report released by Yelp showed that 60% of businesses that temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic were unable to reopen. If you’re one of the lucky ones that managed to survive, now is the time to start planning your 2021 marketing strategy.
Despite the fact that email has been around for a long time, it’s still the number one communication channel. That’s why email for marketing strategies should be a cornerstone of your 2021 plan.
Email is one of the most effective ways to nurture your audience. It will also help you convert curious onlookers into paying customers better than almost any other marketing strategy. Want to make sure you make the most of your email marketing strategy in 2021? Here’s what you need to know.
Why Email Marketing Is Still Important
If you have any doubt that email marketing is still relevant, consider this – there are currently well over 3.8 billion email users in the world. That means that over half the planet uses email! Estimates predict that this number will continue to grow, reaching 4.2 billion by the end of 2022.
Email marketing is also one of the most cost-effective digital marketing strategies. It will also give you a return on investment (ROI) that’s higher than many other marketing alternatives. Using email marketing, it’s also easy to personalize the reader experience and connect your other marketing channels for a smooth and cohesive buying journey.
In addition, the available analytics allows you to gain valuable insight into your customers so you can continually improve your success rates.
Optimizing Your Email for Marketing Strategies
One of the most important keys to internet marketing success is having a well-thought-out strategy in place. Before you send out a single commercial email ask yourself the following questions.
1. Why are you sending emails?
Defining your goals ahead of time is the best way to develop a consistent strategy.
2. Who are you sending your emails to?
The best emails in the world won’t do you any good if they aren’t seen by the right people. Don’t waste your time buying email lists from third-party companies. Doing so will usually cause you more problems than it’s worth.
Instead, take the time to build out your own email list. It will be far more effective and well worth the effort in the long run.
3. When should you send emails?
Always consider your timing. Is now an appropriate time to reach out to your contacts? Is what you’re sending relevant in the current environment?
It’s always a good idea to keep track of major events and make sure you have a way to easily pause your email marketing if necessary. The last thing you want to do is send out a tone-deaf email in the middle of a crisis.
On the flip side, having an easy-to-use system will give you the ability to create and send a campaign on the fly if a change in the environment creates a new opportunity.
4. How often should you send emails?
When creating email marketing campaigns, you need to strike a balance between staying in touch enough to get noticed while also not reaching out so often that you irritate your readers.
To figure out the best contact frequency, you’ll need to spend some time researching your audience. Once you’ve got your answer, make sure you stay consistent by creating campaign schedules and committing to following them.
Email Marketing Best Practices
There’s a bit of a science to creating successful email marketing campaigns, but once you’re familiar with the best practices, you’ll soon find that you’re marketing like a pro.
Choose the Right Platform
To make the most of your email marketing efforts, you need a full-featured platform. Some of the capabilities to look for include:
- Integration with your CRM system
- Mobile optimization
- Automated response handling
- Easy A/B testing
- Segmentation-triggered automation
Before you commit, make sure the platform has everything you need. If you skimp here, you’ll end up wasting time and effort, only to end up with subpar results.
Optimize Your Emails
When it comes to online marketing, copy matters! Unless you have a real talent for writing, it’s a good idea to turn this over to a professional copywriter. They’ll know how to create catchy subject lines and write consistent content that engages the reader.
It’s also important that the subject line and content are written in a way that won’t trigger spam filters. Otherwise, your intended recipients may never even see them.
By nature, humans are visual creatures. This makes it critical to include relevant images in your email marketing campaigns.
We also like to feel special, which is one of the reasons personalized emails are so much more effective than generic ones. Taking this extra step shows that you care about your readers and enhances the overall experience.
Always Add a CTA
The call to action (CTA) is another critical element of every successful email. This should tell the reader exactly what you want them to do when they’re done reading your content. Some common CTAs include clicking on a link, purchasing an item, or registering for an event.
People have come to expect a CTA, so don’t worry about feeling pushy. If you don’t tell them what you want them to do, there’s very little chance that you’ll get the results you’re looking for!
Analyze Your Results
If you really want to make sure your campaign is successful, it’s important to track your results. You’ll want to pay attention to user behaviors, including how many people open your emails and how many actually follow your CTA.
Use these analytics to continually tweak and improve your reader analytics.
Work With an Email Marketing Pro Today
Leveraging your email for marketing strategies isn’t difficult, but, if you’re like many business owners, you just might not have the time. That’s where we come in! Prsuade Creative Agency is here to help with your email marketing and help you keep up with all the latest digital media strategies.
Contact us today to learn more!
