It’s tempting to think that email is becoming out-dated, given the growth of various social media platforms and the ability to communicate through them. Yet email is still alive and well and, if done correctly, continues to be a great platform to enhance your website marketing.
The key is to have a solid plan in place to get your brand noticed. It also helps to have a great email marketing service by your side to help you with content, design, and a plan that strikes the perfect balance between too much message and not enough.
Keep Content Brief
Effective email marketing is brief and to the point. Each email should have only one topic. Grouping several things into one email means that each message has less impact. Whether it’s registering for a webinar or introducing a new product, make sure it’s just one single request.
Remember that today’s consumers are moving fast. They need to get the message on the first read or they’ll probably skip it and move on. There should be no more than five paragraphs with the pitch in paragraph one and the call-to-action in paragraph two. Help your readers quickly understand what you want them to do and push them to your landing page.
Make It Relevant to Readers
Recent studies have shown that “email blasts” bring very small returns for the effort and generally end up in the Deleted folder. Today’s email marketing is about creating specific offers that cater to your recipient’s needs and wants. If you ignore this, your messages will eventually be viewed as spam and you’ll decrease your overall customer base.
Relevant messaging also means your emails will be targeted toward a specific event or “trigger.” It’s been shown that event messages can generate an ROI five times higher than a standard weekly newsletter which makes it an excellent part of your search engine marketing strategy.
Some specific event emails can include:
- A welcome message to new subscribers
- Thanking long-standing customers
- Notifying a customer of an abandoned shopping cart
This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll email less, but what you do send will be focused on a specific event and have a very specific message.
Finally, break down your database into targeted demographic groups when sending out emails. If you screen subscribers as soon as they join your lists, you’ll have a good idea of what information is and is not relevant to them.
Be Where Your Customers Are
Twitter and Facebook are great sites for your targeted search engine marketing strategies that include emails and email newsletters.
Some companies actually send tweets to their followers letting them know the release date and topic of an upcoming newsletter. These tweets include shortened URL’s that link to the mailing lists of their various brands and services so people can sign up for what they’re interested in. You can place a tab on your Facebook page that is dedicated to your email newsletter and which easily lets people add themselves to your mailing list.
A key website marketing strategy is to ensure that your emails can be read and acted on via mobile devices. One of the most common activities for smartphone users is checking emails. If your messages aren’t readable on mobile devices, you’ve lost some great website marketing opportunities.
Remember, too, that the first line of your email is what shows up as a preview on smartphones and other devices, so make sure it’s clear and compelling.
Choose A Qualified Email Marketing Service
With so much at stake from your search engine marketing program, it’s helpful to have someone on your team with solid email marketing experience. Upton Technology Group can guide you through every part of your email marketing program from initial set-up to details on open rates, click-through statistics and more.