Is Email Marketing Going Out of Style?

Are you experiencing low open and click-through rates on your email marketing?

Email marketing is still a highly relevant way to reach your consumers, however, finding the perfect mix of timing and messaging is often difficult. One question we ask companies with struggling email marketing results is: are your emails sales-focused or education-focused? Consumers today are tired of sales messages. We skip TV commercials, don’t answer the phone and throw out direct mail. We are tired of being bombarded by companies trying to push their products and services on us, so when we get an email that fills up our inbox with sales messaging, we not only throw it out, but we unsubscribe. 

For truly successful email marketing you must consider the buyer and intended audience. Map out what they are interested in and what challenges or questions they face. What would they appreciate and find valuable? Buyers today are bombarded with thousands of sales and marketing messages a week so you must break through the layer of crap they are used to and provide remarkable value. Provided below are several considerations when crafting an email marketing campaign:

1. First consider your intended audience and craft a list of topics or questions that they would find valuable or interesting.
2. Determine an appropriate cadence for your emails to be delivered (e.g. once a day, week, month, etc.).
3. Segment your list to specific buyer types and craft unique messages for each. Do not send the same message to your entire list unless your entire list is made up of the same buyer persona.
4. Get rid of sales messaging unless it is appropriate or timely. Try mixing educational content with a discount coupon.
5. Craft a catchy email subject line to lure recipients in.
6. Make sure all of your emails are valuable. If you send out junk, don’t expect results.
7. Use a professional level software to distribute the emails. This will help you get through spam filters, improve open rates and most importantly, provide data on your campaigns. Use this data to improve your results.

For another post about email marketing, check out:
Email Marketing is Alive! 10 Tips to Make it Work for Your Company

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