The Do’s and Don’ts of Email Marketing

June 29, 2021

Is email marketing worth your investment? At Brandography, we believe so! And we’re not alone. A strategic, well-crafted email marketing campaign can help you connect with your target audience, build brand awareness, and drive conversions!

Thinking about diving into email marketing for your brand? As your Minneapolis email marketing experts, we’re here to guide you through what you need to know so you can make an impact.

First Thing’s First: Is Email Marketing Worth it?
To put it bluntly? Yes. Email marketing helps you connect with your customers, staying top of mind (and top of their inbox)!

In fact, “59% of marketers agree that not only was email marketing the highest ROI-producing marketing method for their organization, but another 25% have also stated that they plan on increasing their overall budget on email marketing over the next year” (Campaign Monitor).

And according to a Litmus study, “for every dollar brands invest in email marketing, they receive 42 dollars in return”. That’s an impressive ROI.

When it comes to debating the merits of social media marketing vs. email marketing, the stats show there’s really no debate:

Sixty percent of consumers say they’ve made a purchase because of a marketing email. Contrast that with the 12.5% of consumers who say they’d only consider using the ‘buy’ button on social media.

Yeah. Email is here to stay.

Set a Goal

Trust us, email marketing goes much smoother when there’s a plan involved. What are your goals with your email marketing campaign?
Are you looking to:

  • Build brand awareness?
  • Secure leads?
  • Drive conversions?
  • All of the above?

List out your goals (hint: you can have more than one!). From there, create a content calendar so you have an idea of what you’re going to say and when.

Remember that calendars are flexible, and you can always change your mind. But having a plan will help you strategize and track success.

What Are KPIs and How Can You Use Them Effectively?

KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. This is what you’ll use to measure the success of your email campaigns.

Let’s look at three primary KPIs and what they mean:

  • Open rate – how many people on your email list are actually opening up the email? This indicates the number of people interested in your content, and how engaging your subject line and preheader text is.
  • Click-through rate – what percentage of people are following the call-to-action? A healthy percentage to aim for is 15%.
  • Unsubscribe rate – is your audience unsubscribing from the list? If so, it’s time to reassess your email content, structure, and design, as well as the frequency with which you’re sending emails.

As you create your email campaign strategy, track your KPIs and see how your emails perform over time.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Crafting an Email Marketing Strategy

Do Understand What Your Email Subscribers Want
Instead of focusing on your accomplishments, understand and offer what subscribers want.

They might be looking for:

  • A deeper understanding of a certain topic
  • Connection to community
  • Solves to a problem
  • More information about what makes your product worth investing in
  • Crafting useful content in your email will help keep your subscribers from clicking that unsubscribe button.

Use your KPIs to see where your subscribers are clicking! That’s a good indicator of what content is resonating with them.

Don’t Overdo the Text
These days people are busy! Avoid crafting your emails with too much dense text. Instead, go for impactful language backed up by useful visuals.

Do Personalize Your Messaging
Personalizing your message with each subscriber’s name increases the chances of the email being opened by a whopping 26%!

Don’t Forget to Include Links
Once you have your audience’s attention in an email, help them know where to go. Including links in your email is a great way to shepherd your subscribers to your website or social media pages. Use a clear Call-To-Action button to help them know what to do!

Do Segment Your List
Not everyone on your email list is in the same stage of buying. For new purchasers, you’ll want a different email series than those we are still thinking about it. Create different lists and talk to your audiences individually, meeting them where they are.

Don’t Send an Email Without a Thorough Proof
Once you’ve designed an email, proofread it thoroughly to make sure all spelling and grammatical elements are pristine.

Pro-tip: According to Hubspot, 46% of email opens take place on mobile devices. Preview the email for different screen sizes, including mobile. Once you know that your email will look good on any device, you’re ready for an audience.

Do Use Your Reporting to Tweak Emails
As you establish a regular email cadence, take stock of your KPIs. Are the open and click through rates on track for your goals? If not, look at your email design with a fresh perspective. What are a few adjustments you could make?

From crafting attention-grabbing subject lines to trying out new designs, experiment with slight changes to see how your audience responds.

Brandography Is Your Minneapolis Email Marketing Expert

Whether you’re looking to start an email marketing campaign from scratch or you think your current system could use a complete overhaul, we’ve got your back.

As your Minneapolis email marketing team, we’ll help you:

  • Set goals
  • Strategize
  • Manage your email list

Then we’ll help you

  • Design
  • Seek approval
  • Send and report on your email

Throughout all of these steps, you’ll have your final approval. That way you’re always in the driver’s seat of your digital marketing.

Ready to dive into the world of email marketing or freshen up your current campaigns? At Brandography, we’re ready for ya! Drop us a line to learn how we can help!

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