A good email marketing strategy has several benefits over other types of digital marketing. For one, an email marketing campaign typically results in significantly higher CTRs than with social media marketing. And social media is a bit of a black box in terms of visibility: the algorithm can switch up at any time in unpredictable ways, making it more difficult to ensure a good ROI or to guarantee your posts are seen. And because those on your list are already invested in your brand, you can get away with being a little “salesy” in your messaging.

 If you know how to do email marketing well, it can be much more effective than AdWords marketing in terms of conversions and CTRs as well. This is because your AdWords audience may not necessarily fit your customer profile like your email list does. AdWords is also competitive, requiring bids for visibility. While it can be a great way to cast a wide net and hope for new conversions, an email marketing campaign is much more effective for customer retention.

 An email marketing strategy can go hand-in-hand with an SEO or content strategy. Since email is the most direct form of digital marketing, you can leverage the platform to drive traffic to content you publish elsewhere. You might also use your email marketing campaign to drive new follows or engagement for your social accounts.

Email Marketing Tips

The above sounds great, but how do you go about designing and implementing an email marketing campaign? These email marketing tips will tell you how to do email marketing right, cluing you in to everything a good campaign should entail.

First, you’ll need to begin by growing and building your list. It’s possible you already have a contact list set up, but we’ll delve into the details on how to effectively grow your list below. Next, you’ll need to define the actual goals of the email strategy: are you trying to drive traffic to your blog content? Do you want to build urgency for a sales period, like the holiday buying season? Are you simply trying to build a personal connection with your audience? Spend some time considering what you want to get out of your email strategy and remember that different emails can have different purposes within your overall strategy.

So, what goes into a good email? A perfectly crafted email should include a well-written subject line, preheader and CTAs. When it comes to developing subject lines for email marketing, aim for something catchy that will drive clicks. Emojis or referring to the reader by name are two great email marketing tips for good subject lines. Just as important as your subject line is the name of where the email is from. For example, you might choose an individual’s name to feel more personable.

Your email preheader should tie into your subject line, then provide a brief summary of the content within the email. This is incredibly important for mobile readers, since it lets them easily get the gist of the email on a small screen, enticing them to open.

Perhaps the most important thing to include in your email is a CTA. This is what drives users to act, whether it be clicking through, converting on a sale or participating in a sweepstakes. Using good visuals goes a long way in driving attention towards CTAs, as do incentives (like coupons, timed offers and more).

Ideally, you should design multiple emails including the features listed above. Once that’s complete, A/B test your emails’ performance to see what works and what doesn’t. You should also segment your list into different audiences, then tailor your messaging to their individual needs.

Where to Begin Growing Your Email Marketing Campaign

Growing your list is a very important—but not too difficult—step for designing your campaign. One of the best places for building your list is your website. This is because those who have engaged with your audience are already interested in your brand, which means they’re likely to crave new updates and insights from it. When users sign up for accounts or make a purchase, invite them to sign up for your list. You might also promote your email updates on your blog, directing them to content of similar quality in their inbox.

The next place you should look for potential email recipients is your social media audience. Promote your campaign on your various channels, offering some incentive to do so. This can be something as simple as promising readers will never miss an update. You might also promote a contest or sweepstakes on social that requires an email signup for participating. The risk you run with this strategy is that many might unsubscribe as soon as the contest is over.

There are many tools for gaining insights on your audience.  Related Digital marketing automation platform makes it easy to segment your audience or measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. With the right tools, designing an irresistible email marketing strategy is a simple task.