This article will take you through the different types of emails, what they’re best at, and our personal top tips for maximising your email marketing strategy.‍

Why is Email Marketing Effective?

 Email was one of the first means of digital communication and was first invented in 1969. So how is it still one of the most effective marketing tools today?‍

Ease and Reach

Email has been around for 50 years and therefore all consumers will have access to an email account. This means businesses can directly contact individuals who have shown interest in their business through an easy-to-use medium that is available to all.

Personalised 

Once a subscriber database has been organised, it is easy to create personalised content that applies to smaller groups of your subscribers. Such as those who have been inactive, those who have recently browsed, those who have recently purchased products, etc. 

Emails that target subscribers with more personal content have a higher chance of turning browsing into purchases and loyal customers.

Cost 

The costs to send marketing emails are considerably lower than other marketing channels. With such a high conversion rate with your investment, using email marketing is a no-brainer.

Automated

Once you have set up email automations, you can sit back and watch your well spent investment turn subscribers into long-term customers. 

 

Benefits of Email Marketing

 From the first welcome email to the ‘we’ve missed you…’ emails, reaching your subscribers through varied and engaging emails are fundamental to growing your brand.

There are three key objectives to email marketing:

1. Conversion

New products and promotional offers can be sent to your subscribers in order to sell your products and services.

Try welcome coupons, birthday offers, abandoned cart reminders, and refresher emails about previously browsed products for an extra-personalised touch.

2. Brand Awareness

With the invention of the junk box, people’s inboxes are a carefully selected collection of emails from brands that they shop from regularly and truly care about. Appearing in someone’s inbox will gently remind them what your brand is all about and why they should shop from you over your competitors.

Keep these emails focused on your brand and what makes you special. Think pictures, new products, and other important brand or business developments.

3. Loyalty

Every email that you send builds (or damages) your customer loyalty. If you think about building a community rather than a subscriber base you will be a huge step closer to fostering stronger customer loyalty.

Signpost to blogs, encourage interaction, ask for feedback, and advocate your best-selling products. The more your customers feel included and encouraged in your brand, and brand image, the more likely they are to continue purchasing from your business. 

Types of Emails

 There are a variety of different emails that you can send to your buyers that can turn a subscription into a purchase, and then into a loyal customer.

Each different type of email serves a different purpose. Here are three of the main ones that you might want to start with: 

1. Promotional

 These emails are used to promote new products, special releases, offers, and your brand’s message.

A promotional email marketing campaign could be a series of emails (3-6) sent over several weeks. They should have a clear call-to-action (CTA), that indicates the page you want the subscriber to view, or the products you want the subscriber to buy.

It is important not to bombard your subscribers with promotional emails as this can cause them to unsubscribe. There are some exceptions, however, such as Black Friday or holiday periods where spending is higher in general. 

2. Informational 

Informational emails are either newsletter style or announcement style.

The newsletter will share relevant, up-to-date information about your business; milestones, new case studies, awards won by products or individuals. These emails should be sent at regular intervals throughout the year to maintain consistent contact with subscribers. 

Effective newsletter emails might be more informal, depending on how formal your business image is. The more personal the sentiment, the more valued your subscribers will feel, which will encourage them to interact with your business more regularly.

The announcement emails inform subscribers of company changes, new product releases, and changes to the service that will affect them.

These emails will be far more formal. Website glitches, shipping delays, and stock shortages can all be communicated effectively, instantly, and directly to the customer through email. This makes the announcement email one of the most important in maintaining dialogue with customers.

3. Win Back

These emails are tailored to customers who have been inactive on their account for a while, to reinvigorate them with your business.

This can include emails that ask for feedback, contain exclusive time-dependent offers, or showcase new products that may interest people who haven’t connected with the brand for a while.

Building your Email Marketing List

One of the fundamental parts of email marketing success is the list of people who you are sending your emails to. A list of 100 people can generate 50x the revenue of a list of 3000 people, if the individuals on the list are interested in your products, have signed up themselves.

So, to round off this blog, here are 10 top tips for building a strong and successful email marketing list:

  1. Don’t buy your email lists. Many companies can con you out of money by offering long lists of people’s emails to add to your mailing list. Chances are, these people will not be interested in your products, will unsubscribe immediately, and you will only have wasted resources. 
  2. Send emails that have a purpose. Check back to the points above to see the different types of emails. Making sure that each email is just as engaging as the last to keep your audience hooked. 
  3. Allow all of your subscribers the option to unsubscribe. As backwards as this sounds, reassuring customers of their own choice to receive the emails can actually increase the number of click-throughs.
  4. Think about a double opt-in. Asking your subscribers to verify their email with a click-through link will eliminate misspelt emails from your list, and proves consent from your subscriber. 
  5. Encourage those browsing your website, or purchasing your products to submit their email and opt into exclusive discounts for subscribers.
  6. Make sure some of your content speaks directly to your subscribers in a conversational manner, perhaps reminding them you are grateful for their subscription, or just to check in. 
  7. Break down your email list. Segments for subscribers that have similar interests will result in more relevant emails that will generate a higher click-through rate. 
  8. Think about your subject line and header. Make sure it comes across as catchy or intriguing but doesn’t look like spam. The most clicked-on subject lines are around 50 characters long. 
  9. Ask for feedback (and then act on it). Customers and subscribers respond well to businesses that are people-focused.
  10. Make sure people can reply to your emails. This increases trust in your brand as subscribers know you are available to answer questions and signpost to relevant sections of your website, blog, or social media page. 

Hopefully this article has made you feel more comfortable with what email marketing is and why it would grow your business. 

Interested to learn more about Klaviyo or even sign-up for a free account to get started - simply follow this link: Sign-up to Klaviyo.

Learn more about all things email marketing through the Altum Media blog. 

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Nathan Hoare

Digital expert with extensive global marketing experience