The prospect of e-mail marketing sends alarm bells ringing in the ears of many small eco-business owners. The reality is, e-mail marketing is easy when you know how. So pull up a chair, bring your coffee, and let us be your guide.
How to get started with E-mail Marketing.
So, you’re over ‘the fear’ and now you want to start an e-mail campaign? That’s great! First, you’ll need some e-mail marketing software. There are lots of options that vary in terms of features depending on your budget.
We like to use MailChimp. MailChimp’s ‘Forever Free’ plan allows users to send up-to 12,000 e-mails per month to a contact list of 2,000 or less. You have access to a range of editable templates that work on desktop and mobile – no coding experience necessary!
Once you’ve signed up, it’s onto the fun part – the content. Here’s a step by step guide to e-mail content best practices:
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Create a catchy subject line
Keep it short and sweet. Goudreau (2014) recommends around six to eight words. Go ahead and play around with MailChimp’s features; you can add personalisation, emoji’s and even A/B test to see which performs better.
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Less is more
It’s great that you want to start talking to your customers, but there’s no need to tell them your life story. People are time-deprived, so don’t make them work hard to find the information. Use hyperlinks to link back to larger articles. Use text formatting. Put keywords in bold and lengthy information in bullet points.
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Be consistent
Once you’ve settled on a design, stick to it. Sending different e-mail styles over time can confuse the recipient and dilute your brand. Try creating 2 or 3 e-mail templates before you start; one for news, one for offers and one for ad-hoc e-mails.
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Be mindful of mobile
A recent study showed mobile is preferred nearly 2:1 over webmail, with 55% of emails opened on mobile devices during May 2016 to April 2017 (Email open rates…, 2017). Aim to reduce e-mail load-speed by using optimised images and minimal formatting.
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Calls to action
Remember the point of your e-mail. What do you want people to do? Read a blog post? Find out more about a product? Use a discount code? Make the calls to action something to shout about.
Once you’re happy and you’ve hovered over the send button for a good half an hour (we’re all guilty!) your work is done. Nearly. There’s still one small but critical task remaining – reporting. MailChimp’s report function provides lots of great information on how well your e-mail performed, so be sure to use it. You can see who opened, clicked, unsubscribed or forwarded your e-mail. They also compare your e-mail’s performance to your industry’s average. Use this information to make your e-mail better next time. Knowledge is power!
We’ve come to the end of our whistle-stop tour of e-mail marketing. If you would like any more information or to speak with a member of our team, please e-mail hello@cocoondigital.com.
Sources:
Email open rates on mobile devices have doubled in past five years. (2017, August 1). Retrieved from https://www.b2bmarketing.net/en-gb/resources/news/email-open-rates-mobile-devices-have-doubled-past-five-years
Goudreau, J. (2014, March 19). 15 Tips for Writing an Excellent E-mail Subject Line. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-write-an-excellent-email-subject-line-2014-3?IR=T