Do Email Marketing Campaigns Really Work?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: An email requires some kind of action from the user. They must either read it, delete it, or archive it. (There’s also the fourth option: Ignore it. But most people can’t stand having a bunch of ignored emails cluttering up their inboxes.)
This requirement of action is part of the reason email marketing is so effective.
Another reason email marketing tends to work well is that it serves as a line of consistent communication between your company and your audience. Not only are you staying in front of them by showing up in their inbox every once in a while, but you can also use an email marketing campaign to drive traffic to your social media accounts or a blog post you wrote recently.
If you want to send targeted emails to specific parts of your audience, you can get really granular by segmenting your email addresses within your email marketing platform. This will allow you to craft a custom subject line that matters to the person receiving it, which will increase your open rates and click-through rates.
Increase ROIThe Challenges of Creating an Effective Email Marketing Campaign
Email campaigns may sound like a no-brainer, but there are definitely some things to think about as you develop your email marketing strategy.
Here are just a few of them:
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The Dreaded Spam Folder
Even if your audience’s email service providers don’t automatically sort your marketing emails into a separate folder, there’s always a chance that your recipient will mark your email as spam. With as many emails as most people get in a day, your email campaign needs to offer genuinely valuable information if it’s going to avoid instant deletion.
Everything from your subject line to your landing page should be to-the-point, super professional, and tailored to the audience. Otherwise, your marketing efforts are probably going to waste.
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Slow Load Times
Many promotional emails make the fatal mistake of overloading their message with clunky content. This can result in the email taking a long time to load (and by “a long time,” we mean more than 2-3 seconds) or even not loading at all.
Most people get so many automated emails that even if they’re interested in yours—if it doesn’t load quickly, they’ll likely lose patience and delete it.
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The Popularity of Email Marketing Automation
Even if you have an ultra-targeted email subject line and your audience has been specifically segmented, you’re not the only one out there using email marketing as a part of your overall content marketing strategy. A lot of your competitors are doing the exact same thing, which means you’re fighting a lot of noise.
In order to attract your audience’s attention (and keep it), you need personalized emails that engage subscribers by providing high-quality content, such as helpful information or attractive promotions.
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Lots of New Subscribers, but Few Long-Term Subscribers
If you offer instant rewards to customers simply for signing up for your company’s email newsletter, your next challenge is to keep them engaged.
Often, people will sign up for emails just to get the 20% discount or free shipping on one order. Then, after they have redeemed their reward, they’ll unsubscribe and lose touch with your company.
While they may be in your database now, they have little to no customer loyalty. This means they’re not really adding any value to your subscriber base.
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Design and Functionality
People can access their email on a broad range of devices—mainly phones, tablets, and computers. This means that your email marketing campaigns have to be designed in a way that presents well on a multitude of different screen sizes and operating systems.
If you’re not creating an intentional design, you may end up with missing images, a weird-looking signup form, or other formatting problems that send your email straight to the trash folder.
Types of Email Marketing Campaigns
The first step in an effective email marketing strategy is to decide why you want to email clients or customers in the first place.
- Are you hoping to drive sales, or do you simply want brand recognition?
- Are you more concerned with the click-through rate or the open rate?
- Who are you talking to? Is your audience made of other small businesses, or are you speaking to the general public?
- How will your email marketing tactics tie into your efforts on other marketing channels?
Once you know the answers to these questions, you’re ready to determine which type of email marketing will help you meet your goals.
Some of the most popular types of campaigns include:
Newsletters
These typically include a variety of information and are sent out on a regular basis, such as weekly or monthly.
Lead Nurturing Emails
Usually a series of emails, this method targets a specific audience by building their interest and hopefully converting them.
Confirmations
These emails are sent to a customer who has purchased an item or signed up for something. It reassures them that their action was recorded.
Invitations
Often used to announce the launch of a new product, an upcoming event, or a new seminar.
Promotional Emails
These are the most common type of email marketing and tend to be generic in their messaging.
Seasonal Emails
Companies often have special sales or promotions around the holidays and may send out an email to their database with relevant information.
Surveys
Businesses love to get feedback from their customers, and survey emails are one of the fastest, most effective ways to hear from your email subscribers.
Choosing an Email Marketing Software
When selecting a platform for your email marketing, you have your choice of companies that will help you create, automate, and track emails.
Be sure you choose one that will help you develop effective lead magnets that feed your sales machine with high-quality leads, both on mobile devices and desktop computers. Anything less will likely be a waste of your time and money.
Get In TouchCorporate Video Production for Your Business
Video production is an important tool for your business to effectively reach your target audience and promote your brand. It allows you to create engaging and visually appealing content that can be shared across multiple platforms, allowing you to reach a wider audience and ultimately drive more sales.
Corporate video production also helps to create a positive brand identity and build trust with customers, as it enables you to showcase your business’s unique story and values. If you’re committed to connecting with your audience, there’s no better way than with a high-quality video strategy.
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