No far from it! Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways of reaching your customers. Marketing guru, Neil Patel says it has the best return on investment over social media and search engines.
Did you know we send more than 74 million emails a year? Around 3.8 billion people are on email, that’s half the world’s population! People go into their inbox every day, so it makes sense to have email campaigns as part of your campaign strategy.
You also own your email list, your profile on any social platform can be taken away from you at any time.
Email also converts better according to Optin Monster. People who buy from email marketing spend 138% more! Social media does not convert better. The average order value from emails is three times higher.
How to get people on your email list
Don’t buy email lists and don’t send emails to people you’ve met via networking or conferences. You need to set up a newsletter opt-in on your website that is also GDPR compliant. It’s best to use an email marketing service like Constant Contact or Mailchimp. Larger companies are more likely to use products with an integrated CRM like Hubspot or Infusionsoft.
What is a Lead Magnet?
The best way to get more people on your email marketing list is using a lead magnet or gated content. A lead magnet is something valuable that you give away for free in return for an email address.
Examples include:
- e-book
- cheat sheet
- quiz
- questionnaire
- discount voucher
- info guide
Check out my lead magnets at clairewinter.info/freebies. I have a Blog Brainstorm Guide, 2019 Content Planner and Be Your Own PR Guide, all topics that I help my clients with.
You need to make sure that the lead magnet is easy to read and consume. That it is instantly downloadable and that it creates actionable results quickly.
Remember when sharing your lead magnets you need a compelling Call To Action, make it as easy as possible for people to give up their email address.
Also, think about where your opt-in forms are going to be. Popular locations are at the bottom of the page, the sidebar, a popup or on a specific landing page.
No one likes spam!
Make sure your emails are relevant and interesting to the people reading them. Don’t bore or spam them. Some experts suggest the 80/20 rule. 80% should be useful content and 20% sales. You should also check your stats. Find out what time of day you have the best open rates. For example,we get better open rates on a Tuesday than a Monday because many people spend Monday mornings clearing their inbox after the weekend!
How to get people to open your emails
Make sure your subject line stands out. No one is going to open an email with the subject: April Newsletter. Use an informal tone and make sure you have your ideal customer in mind. Always give some useful information and link to a useful blog, video, you can also link to your own latest blog or webinar.
Don’t make the email too long and make sure they know they can unsubscribe at any time. It’s a good idea to segment your list and send a separate email to those that aren’t opening them to see if they still want to be on your list.
Last but not least make sure your email is easy to read on a mobile phone, most platforms will allow you to see what the mobile view is. Use enticing pictures and bullet points to allow people to scan the text easily.
Want to learn more?
Writing emails to help grow your business is covered in my Creating Content that Converts Mastermind.
For more content ideas join my Facebook Community Cracking Content.