Email Marketing - How does it work?

How to use email marketing to utilise your database, increase brand awareness and generate more sales.

Email marketing has been around for quite some time now, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, according to HubSpot, 79% of marketers list email marketing as one of their top 3 most effective marketing channels. That is a large chunk! But are you utilising it?

With the consistently growing use of digital communication, email marketing is still relevant and valuable to businesses of all sizes. Let's take a closer look at it, how it works and why it should still be a part of your marketing strategy in 2023.

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What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is a direct marketing method that uses emails to engage with your audience. It is a way of sending information about you and your brand directly into people's inboxes; creating product/brand awareness, generating leads and driving sales.

Email databases are built up through your website subscribers or online customers, essentially people who have already shown interest in your brand and opted to receive relevant content from you.

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Types of Email Campaigns

Email marketing campaigns can take many forms, but some common types include:

1. Newsletters: These are regular updates sent to subscribers, which usually include a mix of company news, industry insights, and promotional content.
2. Launching an offer: This is an email campaign designed to promote a specific offer or deal to subscribers.
3. Reactivating a Database: This is an email campaign design to re-engage with subscribers who have been inactive for a while.

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Why Email Marketing is Still Relevant

Email marketing should still be a part of your marketing strategy this year for several reasons:

1. Targeted Reach: Email marketing allows you to target specific segments of your audience with tailored content, making it a highly effective way to reach your target audience.
2. Cost-effectiveness: Compared to other marketing channels, email marketing is relatively inexpensive.
3. Measurable Results: With email marketing, you can track key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, allowing you to measure the success of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions.
4. Builds Relationships/Loyalty: Email marketing can help you build stronger relationships with your subscribers and increase customer loyalty.
5. Everyone (almost) uses email: According to a HubSpot survey, 99% of customers check their email every day, making it a highly effective way to reach your target audience.
6. High Open and Click-through Rates: Email marketing has some of the highest open and click through rates of any marketing channel, making it a highly effective way to engage iwth your audience.

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Tools for Email Marketing

1. Mailerlite
2. Mailchimp
3. Drip
4. Active Campaign
5. Through your CRM

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Creating an Email Campaign

It is much simpler than it initially seems, it just requires a bit of dedicated thought and intentionality. When creating an email campaign, you first need to define your campaign goals and your ideal audience.

Once you have figured that out, then decide on the type of campaign you want to create. This could simply be a newsletter, an awareness campaign, a promotional email, an event invite, or automation.

From there, map it out, create a little outline for the key points of your goals and figure out if it is going to be a single email or a series of 5!

All the tools we suggested above give you the option to build and design your email within them. My preferred tool is Mailerlite for its ease of usability and design freedom.

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Content for Email Campaign

The content for your email campaign will depend on your campaign goals, but these are some of the best practices to follow.

1. Design your email for easy reading and use relevant images and visuals to increase engagement
2. Personalise your content, use your unique voice and add your branding so that people have no question about who the email is from.
3. Timing your campaigns strategically - align them with your promotions and times of days when people tend to be most active on their devices (i.e. 9pm at night is not an ideal time).
4. Call to Action - have a core call to action and encourage your audience to do what you want them to do!

I know it sounds like a lot but these are all really easy, achievable little things that have a great outcome for the success of your campaign.

Additionally, you can simply start with a title and key points, search for examples, be authentic and on brand, use blog content, answer frequently asked questions, and repurpose content that you have already created.

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Lead Generation for Email Marketing

Lead generation is an essential part of email marketing, and there are many ways to get people on your list. You can use sign-up forms on your website (opt-in), which usually comes with an offer such as a download or discount. You can also use pop-up forms on your website, add 'Sign Up' upon purchase or even social media advertising.

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Email Automation

You don't have to actually do it all the time! If you have a few automations set up, or email threads for specific 'email groups' then you can be confident in knowing that your audience is getting regular interaction with your brand still.

This is a really effective way to re-engage with customers and encourage them back to your website.

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Email marketing is a direct marketing method that uses emails to engage with your audience, create product/brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales. It is still relevant and valuable to businesses of all sizes due to its targeted reach, cost effectiveness, measurable results, ability to build relationships and loyalty, and high open and click-through rates. By using the right tools and following the best practices, email marketing can help you utilise your database, increase brand awareness and generate more sales.