While simple e-mails are a tried-and-true tactic for connecting with contacts, a more structured and creative approach to e-mail marketing is a must for any company that wants to engage with its target audiences. E-mail marketing campaigns keep brands at the forefront of their customers’ minds, especially if they follow a regular schedule. E-mail marketing that leverages high-quality content can also help you drive prospects deeper into the sales funnel, helping your organisation win new business.
There are numerous e-mail marketing platforms available that marketing departments can explore, including MailChimp, Constant Contact or Sendinblue. Any platform will help simplify e-mail marketing, as you’ll be able to keep track of subscribers, develop design templates and have a clear overview of the results of your communications. So what are the best ways to use MailChimp or another solution for e-mail marketing. Read on for four tips to take your campaigns to the next level.
There are certain best practices that brands can adhere to in order to make their email marketing campaigns more successful. Consider the recommendations below as part of your e-mail marketing strategy to better engage your prospects and customers.
While many B2C e-newsletters tend to focus on promotions and products, the more successful ones offer interesting and useful content for audiences. For example, Away, a leading suitcase manufacturer, distributes its publication Here to digital subscribers, highlighting destinations to travel to, profiling creative and influential people and even providing tips on how and what to pack for your next trip. It’s content people want to read – and even something they’ll be excited to receive each month in their inbox.
For B2B organisations, emphasizing educational content is even more important, as recipients are concerned with overcoming challenges in their businesses. Solving these issues help leaders save time, support employee wellbeing, reduce costs, enhance sustainability, improve customer satisfaction and more.
Your business may sell into numerous markets. For instance, your solutions may be well-suited for the foodservice, hospitality, retail and healthcare industries. Thus, you may want to slightly alter the types of messages you send to each audience, as they have different needs and interests. To keep your subscriber lists better organised and enable more precise targeting, separate your contacts into different lists based on industry. You could even filter by geographic location or customer vs. prospect. When you distribute your e-mail communications, you can easily select the lists you want to target with your message.
Is your e-blast or e-newsletter promoting the launch of a product, an upcoming webinar or a contest voting period? Take a close look at the content and analyze when it makes sense to schedule your news. You’ll want to provide ample time for things like event registration and contests. For announcements about new solutions, acquisitions and special promotions, you’ll want to promote these as soon as possible.
Timing can have a big impact on your open and click-through rates. Thus, in addition to determining the best day for your distribution, consider when exactly your audience is most likely to be engaged. Perhaps it’s mid-morning or late afternoon. Avoid sending emails at odd hours, like very late at night and very early in the morning unless you have evidence that your recipients would be receptive to communication during these timeframes. You may also want to customise your distribution times based on the time zones your subscribers are based in.
The benefit of using a professional platform like MailChimp is that you have access to numerous metrics to show you what’s working and what needs improvement. Starting about 2 days after your distribution, download your report and review the open rate, total number of opens, click-through rate, total number of clicks and see which stories are attracting the most clicks. This can serve as your guide for your upcoming content. If a certain topic is popular, you may want to consider elaborating on it more in a future issue of your e-newsletter, conducting research around the issue so you can share results or even developing additional content around it, like infographics, e-books or videos.
Sending the Right Message
Email marketing gets your brand’s messages directly into the inboxes of your target audience. To increase open and click-through rates, and reduce unsubscribe rates, it’s crucial to carefully consider the structure and content of your e-newsletters and e-blasts, as well as the timing. Thankfully, the process of email marketing doesn’t have to be difficult. By following the above tips, and using a helpful platform to distribute e-mails and track results, you can send the right message every time.
Stay top of mind with customers and prospects by regularly distributing news and company updates. Reach out to Mulberry to get started on an e-mail marketing campaign that will drive leads, build credibility and enhance customer relationships.
Jess Messenger is an Account Director at Mulberry Marketing Communications, an award-winning full-service B2B communications agency based in Chicago, London and Australia. She enjoys developing PR campaign strategies and writing for B2B audiences across numerous verticals such as retail, foodservice and healthcare.