If you’re not already an expert, you probably have no concept where
to start when considering setting up an email newsletter. And even
though there are actually a number of mad geniuses out there, any person
prepared to be thoughtful and strategic when it comes to their target
market can easily be successful. In your industry, there must be no one
better qualified than you. This article is intended to help increase
your self-confidence as an email marketer by offering you each of the
essential resources you need to master email marketing.
Newcomers to email marketing frequently will say how the process seems impenetrable or maybe magical to them. People get the impression that email marketing is something that only hired gun copywriters with four-figure hourly fees can comprehend. It may be that there is just a little bit of magic involved, but no more so than in any other form of marketing. If you take the time to analyze your market thoroughly, you find yourself making smart decisions, planning your email marketing campaign intelligently, and reaching success faster than you would have guessed.
A good starting point is to look at your campaign’s overarching purpose. What is it for? When people receive your messages, what do you hope will happen as a result? This part is easy if you’re building a list in order to promote a single product. But in other case you may want to consider the long term. Sending out regular messages over a long period of time can be a lot of work. In order to do that, you’d better make sure you know who your audience is.
No matter what you do, the first step is always going to be researching your market. You need to develop a clear assessment of what your market is, what demographics you’re a good fit for, and what specific needs you’re able to meet. But of course no matter how much research you do, you’ll find that things are different in practice than they are in theory. Even within specific geographic areas, populations are increasingly diverse. Over time, you’ll see different segments of readers emerge on the same mailing list. All you have to do is use software such as Active Campaign Email Marketing software to send unique, targeted content to each one of these segments.
Another important factor is the way your message looks. The design elements that you use in your messages should be consistent with the ways that you want your readers to interact with it. For example, in many cases you will want your readers to click through the links in your message and arrive at your web site. In this case, you’ll generally want your email template to be a pretty good match for the design of the actual web site. If they look the same, the reader will automatically know they’ve found the right place.
Next, you’ll want to consider what type of content will be appropriate for your email campaign. For example, let’s say you want to send out an informative newsletter every week. After you’ve done that for a while, you don’t want to just toss out an advertisement to a list like that. It won’t convert. By working your sales pitch into the existing informational format, you make it more familiar and more believable to your long-time subscribers.
Finally, you need to think about how you can get most of your recipients to open up and read the messages you send to them. There’s a little bit of a “secret sauce” factor that goes into this. A lot of things come into play. Any copywriter will tell you that the headline is one of the most important elements of marketing, no matter which medium you choose. The headline sells the message, while the message sells whatever you are selling.
But many people don’t realize that the first line of your message can be equally important. If you go into your email reader and look at the list of new incoming messages, you’ll probably notice that you can see a little snippet from the top of each message. If the teaser snippet is not compelling, many readers will assume the message is not worth their time, no matter what the headline may have promised. Another thing you may want to take into account is the hours that your particular subscribers will be most open to receiving your messages.
One thing you should never hesitate to do with your email campaign is to try new things. The more you do, the more you’ll develop an understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Once you’ve been doing this for a while, you’ll be amazed by the way you become so in tune with your market that you naturally understand what will or won’t work. It’s like magic.
Guest post by email marketing expert, David Godot.
Newcomers to email marketing frequently will say how the process seems impenetrable or maybe magical to them. People get the impression that email marketing is something that only hired gun copywriters with four-figure hourly fees can comprehend. It may be that there is just a little bit of magic involved, but no more so than in any other form of marketing. If you take the time to analyze your market thoroughly, you find yourself making smart decisions, planning your email marketing campaign intelligently, and reaching success faster than you would have guessed.
A good starting point is to look at your campaign’s overarching purpose. What is it for? When people receive your messages, what do you hope will happen as a result? This part is easy if you’re building a list in order to promote a single product. But in other case you may want to consider the long term. Sending out regular messages over a long period of time can be a lot of work. In order to do that, you’d better make sure you know who your audience is.
No matter what you do, the first step is always going to be researching your market. You need to develop a clear assessment of what your market is, what demographics you’re a good fit for, and what specific needs you’re able to meet. But of course no matter how much research you do, you’ll find that things are different in practice than they are in theory. Even within specific geographic areas, populations are increasingly diverse. Over time, you’ll see different segments of readers emerge on the same mailing list. All you have to do is use software such as Active Campaign Email Marketing software to send unique, targeted content to each one of these segments.
Another important factor is the way your message looks. The design elements that you use in your messages should be consistent with the ways that you want your readers to interact with it. For example, in many cases you will want your readers to click through the links in your message and arrive at your web site. In this case, you’ll generally want your email template to be a pretty good match for the design of the actual web site. If they look the same, the reader will automatically know they’ve found the right place.
Next, you’ll want to consider what type of content will be appropriate for your email campaign. For example, let’s say you want to send out an informative newsletter every week. After you’ve done that for a while, you don’t want to just toss out an advertisement to a list like that. It won’t convert. By working your sales pitch into the existing informational format, you make it more familiar and more believable to your long-time subscribers.
Finally, you need to think about how you can get most of your recipients to open up and read the messages you send to them. There’s a little bit of a “secret sauce” factor that goes into this. A lot of things come into play. Any copywriter will tell you that the headline is one of the most important elements of marketing, no matter which medium you choose. The headline sells the message, while the message sells whatever you are selling.
But many people don’t realize that the first line of your message can be equally important. If you go into your email reader and look at the list of new incoming messages, you’ll probably notice that you can see a little snippet from the top of each message. If the teaser snippet is not compelling, many readers will assume the message is not worth their time, no matter what the headline may have promised. Another thing you may want to take into account is the hours that your particular subscribers will be most open to receiving your messages.
One thing you should never hesitate to do with your email campaign is to try new things. The more you do, the more you’ll develop an understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Once you’ve been doing this for a while, you’ll be amazed by the way you become so in tune with your market that you naturally understand what will or won’t work. It’s like magic.
Guest post by email marketing expert, David Godot.
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