Marketers have a wide range of channels available to them in their efforts to reach potential customers. While some are general – i.e., TV commercials, billboards, radio ads – others are much more targeted and focused. Before the days of email, direct-mail marketing, in which a marketer mails marketing materials directly to a specifically identified group of recipients, was a great way to target likely customers, and it still is. But advances in technology mean that we can take this kind of marketing to the next level through email marketing.
In an article for Entrepreneur, Syed Balkhi argues that email marketing has the potential for great reach and is extremely affordable relative to other channels, and he offers four steps for creating your own email marketing campaign. (Here we reorder them a bit to follow our bias for clear strategy!)
Define the Goal of Your Campaign
We’d put this step first because we like to, as Stephen Covey so famously said: “start with the end in mind.” Your ultimate goal will help you to frame all of the other decisions and steps you take.
There are a number of goals that you could drive with your email marketing campaign, depending on where they are on your sales funnel. For example, you could just be trying to educate potential customers on the market to help boost your credibility; or maybe you’re promoting your own products or services. For existing customers, you might consider upselling them to buy more or spring for a premium version.
In addition to stating this goal, qualitatively, we’d also recommend creating some clear objectives around your goal. How many? By when?
Build Your Email List
You may already have a list of prospects and their email addresses, but there are also strategies to encourage people to provide them to you directly. For example, if your website content is compelling enough, visitors may be willing to sign up for emails from you. Building a list should be top of mind in everything that you do. Whenever possible, try to get contact information (in this case, email addresses) from those who interact with you, whether virtually or in traditional settings.
Choose an Email Marketing Service Provider
Balkhi recommends finding an email service provider to help with sending the emails. “Using Gmail or Outlook is strongly discouraged for sending bulk emails,” he says. “That’s why you need to choose an email marketing service provider. Some great options are Constant Contact, MailChimp or ConvertKit.” These online services which are easy to use also offer great analytics insights to help you determine what works best with your audience.
Craft Your Email
Of course, you need an actual email to send. Writing great copy requires a thorough understanding of your target audience and what’s likely to move them toward your desired end (your goals and objectives). One of the most important parts of the email anatomy is an attention-grabbing and enticing subject line that will make recipients want to open it. Keep the content short and interesting, and include a call to action. Make it easy for your audience to take the next desired step by, for example, including a link to a product page on your website.
(And we would add one final step…) Monitor, Measure and Make Improvements
One of the really big benefits of online, or digital, marketing is the ability to monitor and measure virtually everything you do (or everything you do virtually!). Make sure you’re monitoring your efforts on an ongoing basis and making courses corrections based on what you learn.
Direct-mail marketing can still be highly effective, and we’ve written on the topic in the past. But email marketing has some added benefits in terms of reach, efficiency and affordability. (P.S. We can help!)
Stay up-to-date on the latest traditional and digital marketing trends and insights for communication leaders: subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter.
About Us
Strategic Communications, LLC, works with B2B clients to help them achieve their goals through effective content marketing and management with both internal and external audiences. We are adept at evaluating and analyzing communication efforts and working with clients to plan, create and publish high-quality, unique content, through both on- and offline media to achieve desired results. Our background in business journalism, marketing, PR/media relations and online communications makes us well-positioned to serve the needs of 21st-century marketers.
We serve clients who are looking for help creating content for a wide array of channels—from social media posts to full-length manuscripts, and everything in between. We focus primarily on service-related B2B topics and work with a number of independent consultants interested in building their thought leadership through online channels. For ongoing content management, our first step is to fully understand your goals, objectives and the competitive landscape.
Then we’ll conduct a thorough analysis and assessment of your digital presence, compared to competitors, and recommend a communication strategy to achieve your goals. But, we also regularly take on individual projects – white papers, blog posts, contributed articles, etc. If you’re interested in learning more, let us know!
(Strategic Communications is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise through the Wisconsin Department of Administration.)
Recommended Reading
21st Century Secrets to Effective PR: Tips and Best Practices for Gaining Media Exposure
