Effective email marketing is tough, and furthermore, it’s an ongoing process that never really stops. Even if you have delivered great sales through previous email campaigns, over time your database will inevitably wither due to factors beyond your control – such as changing of emails, jobs, interests and more often than not, people just get tired of marketing material in general.
For this exact reason, it’s important as a business that you are constantly trying new things in an attempt to grow your database. The end goal is to gain new followers and recipients faster than the old ones are dropping off – if you can do this then you’re doing better than most.
So how exactly do you do this?
Well, we probably can’t tell you exactly how it’s done because every industry and market is different, but what we can do is provide a few ideas to help get the ball rolling.
1. Make it personal
Every consumer, no matter what they’re buying, just wants to feel special. If you are constantly blasting your email database with the same generic content, you will soon see your database diminish to nothing very quickly.
The art of effective email marketing comes with making it as personal and relevant to each recipient as possible. Not only will this ensure your existing subscribers stay on your list forever, it also improves the chance your emails will be forwarded on.
Effective email marketing is no different to any other form of marketing, if it’s done well then word will soon start to spread.
2. Go viral
This is the fastest way to boost your email database, but it’s also probably the hardest one to get right. Getting a campaign to go viral isn’t something that comes with a set of instructions – it requires some solid brainstorming and creative prowess.
To go “viral” means that people are voluntarily sharing your videos or content with as many people as possible, and on their own accord. Viral campaigns are most commonly humorous in nature, or they involve a grand stunt that invokes genuine emotion.
3. Provide incentives
If there’s one sure-fire way to get customers to send on your marketing material, it’s if they get something out of it. There’s nothing wrong with encouraging people to share the email themselves, or even encourage them to provide the emails of their friends and family.
The type of incentive you provide is completely up to you, it can be a free item, promotional merchandise, an invitation to a special event or a discount on their next order.
4. Get social
Most email marketing platforms these days provide quick and simple integration with popular social channels, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
A good way to build your email database is to encourage subscribers to share the things they like on their personal pages. Generally if someone appreciates a piece of content or special offer enough to share it on social media, it will also be of interest to their friends.
5. Make it a competition
As with general incentives, competitions are a great way of building your email database quickly. Competitions don’t have to be conducted via email, but can be achieved through social media, via your website or even in your store or branch.
You can make it a condition of entry into the competition, that the person must provide a verified email address. If the prize is good enough, people will almost always accept.
Please note: if you are planning on running a competition then it’s very important you read the competition guidelines set by your state or country. There are usually things you will need to consider, like allowing entrants the ability to opt out of marketing material and not to have their details shared with third parties.
6. Make signing up simple
This may sound like a fairly obvious step, but sometimes customers we meet are so focussed on building elaborate email campaigns that they forget to include a sign-up element on their website home page.
You need to make it as simple as possible for customers to provide their email address on every channel, whether it’s online, in a branch, through social media or over the phone.
For this reason, it’s really important your website can be navigated and viewed correctly on all devices, including mobile, tablet and PC. If your website is not responsive then you are limiting the amount of visitors who can sign up to your newsletter.
7. Partner up
Sometimes there is no need to build your own email database if you can simply leverage off an existing one. If you are a retailer or wholesaler, turn to your suppliers and ask if they can communicate with their database on your behalf.
Another option may be to align yourself with a brand who have a similar target audience, and work together to create a cross-promotion, event or competition. This can be beneficial for all parties involved and also assists with cutting the costs.
Need more ideas? Contact us!
Here at Digital Thing, we’re always looking forward to meeting new business owners and helping them make the most out of their online assets.
Feel free to give us a call anytime and speak to one of our digital experts. We’ll take the time to review your website and email history to identify opportunities and recommend changes.
We’ve been doing this for a long time and take it upon ourselves to stay ahead of the latest digital trends and Google updates. We understand just about everything there is to know about running a successful email campaign and we can definitely help you reach more customers.
