Building an email list of people interested in your organisation is one of the most powerful assets in your marketing arsenal. Creating a thoughtful email blast that targets a group of people who have explicitly chosen to receive regular updates directly in their inbox is one of the most profitable activities you can do in your marketing.
We’ve previously talked about MailChimp, our preferred email provider, and explained why and how you can start sending emails with MailChimp.
But what should you include in these emails?
- Add social media sharing buttons near the top of your emails to show subscribers where they can find you.
- Use the MailChimp button widget to create clear CTAs.
- Do regular mailings to stay top-of-mind. There’s always something interesting to share (more on that below).
- Add your logo to the top of the email and link it to your website.
- Link all images.
- Keep your emails short and easy to read. You will be surprised how little of your email is actually read.
- Try different times to send your emails. Your customer base is unique. There is no “standard” best time to send an email. Try different times and days to see what gets the best results.
Email marketing is the best way to capture a customer’s attention. People will interact with your organisation in different ways online, but they will rarely know as much as you might think.
If they buy your products, do they know about the blog you write? If they follow you on Instagram, how will they know about the competition you have on Facebook? When you’re busy promoting your organisation, it’s easy to assume that people see all your messages and are aware of everything going on in your organisation.
But in most cases, this is not the case.
Your followers are too busy to see everything, algorithms can keep your posts out of news feeds, plus they are bombarded with hundreds of other messages daily. Your customers are fed with an extreme amount of information every day, often it can take multiple interactions and reminders to get them to take the action you want them to take.
An email blast is the most powerful way to get your messages across. Instead of disappearing into their newsfeed, an email will stay in their inbox until they choose to delete it. So don’t make the mistake of assuming that they know about everything you do, just because you published it online.
All good marketers share their news via email, so should you.
- Tell them about new products you have recently launched.
- Invite them to events you will be attending.
- Involve them in your charity initiatives and campaigns.
- Share your latest blog posts.
- Invite them to competitions you run on social media.
- Introduce them to partners and collaborators.
- Inform them of any changes to your terms and conditions.
- Remind customers of important dates for offers, promotions and product launches.
- Announce when you join a new social media platform or introduce a new sales channel.
And watch your sales increase!