Start Email Marketing: An Ultimate 5 Steps Guide

Start Email Marketing

An Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide of Email Marketing 

An average of 347.3 billion emails are sent and received each day in 2023 which is around 4.3% more than in 2022.   

Email marketing is powerful like any other tactic. Email’s ROI is mostly high. In 2022, 10.5% was the average click-to-open rate. This is the basic guide to understanding and working with email marketing for your business. We’ll cover many important things in e-mail marketing to help you get started. However, you may also checkout 15 proven strategies to build a successful email list.

Let’s understand what is Email Marketing

Email marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves sending targeted emails to a group of recipients to promote products, services, events, or engage with the audience. It’s a direct and personalised way to communicate with your customers, leads, or subscribers, and it’s often used to build relationships, drive engagement, and increase sales.

Why do marketers use email marketing?

Marketers use e-mail marketing for a variety of reasons, as it offers numerous benefits and advantages that contribute to their overall marketing strategies. Email marketing provides a direct and personalised channel of communication with customers and prospects. Marketers can reach their audience’s inbox, which is a space they actively check and engage with.

Email marketing provides a direct and personalised channel of communication with customers, better audience engagement, automation tools and personalisation. It can directly lead to conversions by promoting a sale, sharing product recommendations, or sending exclusive offers.

12 Benefits of Email marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful and effective digital marketing strategy with numerous benefits for businesses and organisations. Learn some key advantages of email marketing below:

1. Cost-Effective: E-mail marketing is relatively inexpensive compared to traditional forms of marketing such as print advertising or direct mail. With the better use of this marketing, businesses can reach a large audience at a fraction of the cost.
2. Wide Reach: Email marketing enables you to reach a global audience instantly. You can communicate with your subscribers and customers regardless of their location.
3. Targeted Audience: You can segment your email list based on various criteria such as demographics, behaviour, purchase history, etc. This enables you to send targeted and relevant content to different segments, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.
4. Personalisation: Such platforms allow you to personalise your emails based on the recipient’s name, location, preferences, and more. Personalised emails generally have higher open rates and click-through rates.
5. Automation: Email marketing tools offer automation features that allow you to set up and schedule emails in advance. This helps save time and ensures consistent communication with your audience.
6. Engagement and Interactivity: You can include interactive elements such as videos, GIFs, quizzes, and surveys in your emails to engage recipients and encourage them to take action.
7. Conversion and Sales: Mail marketing can drive conversions and sales by delivering targeted offers, promotions, and product recommendations directly to your subscribers’ inboxes.
8. Integration with Other Channels: Email marketing can be integrated with other marketing channels, such as social media and content marketing, to create a cohesive and comprehensive marketing strategy.
9. Brand Awareness and Loyalty: Regular communication through email helps keep your brand in the minds of your audience. Consistent and valuable content can foster loyalty and trust with your subscribers.
10. Easy Sharing and Forwarding: Recipients can easily share your email content with their friends, family, or colleagues, extending your reach through word-of-mouth.
11. Mobile-Friendly: Most people check their emails on mobile devices, making email marketing an effective way to reach users on the go.
12. Long-Term Relationships: Email marketing enables you to build and nurture long-term relationships with your audience, resulting in repeat business and customer retention.

How to get started with email marketing?

Getting started with it can seem overwhelming but breaking it down into five key steps can make the process more manageable and effective. In this guide, we’ll walk you through each step, providing actionable tips to help you launch a successful e-mail marketing campaign for your business. Let’s see how you can start with it.

Step 1: Set Clear Goals

Before you dive into email marketing, define your goals first and aim the achievements you want to get through your email campaigns? Common objectives include increasing sales, driving website traffic, promoting new products, building brand loyalty, or nurturing leads. Having clear goals will guide your strategy and help you measure your campaign’s success.

Actionable Tips:

• Write down your specific goals and make them measurable. For example, aim to increase website traffic by 20% within the next three months.
• Consider how email marketing aligns with your overall marketing and business objectives.

Step 2: Build and Segment Your Email List

Your email list is the base of your email marketing efforts. To begin, collect email addresses from your existing customers, social media followers, website visitors and more. Encourage sign-ups by offering incentives such as exclusive discounts, free resources, or informative newsletters.

Segmenting your email list involves categorising subscribers based on common characteristics like demographics, purchase history, or interests. Segmentation allows you to send targeted, relevant content to different groups, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.

Actionable Tips:

• Create sign-up forms on your website and social media platforms.
• Offer a valuable lead magnet, such as an e-book or webinar, to entice people to subscribe.
• Use segmentation criteria that make sense for your business, such as location, age, or preferences.

Step 3: Create Compelling Email Content

The effective email content is the key to engaging your subscribers and driving desired actions. Your content should provide value, whether it’s educational, entertaining, or promotional.

When designing your email templates, ensure they are visually appealing and mobile-responsive. Use a mix of text, images, and buttons to guide readers through the email and encourage them to take action.

Actionable Tips:

• Tailor your content to the interests and needs of each email segment.
• Use a conversational tone that reflects your brand’s personality.
• Incorporate compelling visuals and a clear call to action (CTA) in every email.

Step 4: Choose the Right Email Marketing Platform

Selecting a suitable email marketing platform is crucial for managing your campaigns efficiently. There are several platforms available, each offering various features and pricing plans. Research and choose one that aligns with your business size, budget, and goals.

Most e-mail marketing platforms provide tools for designing emails, managing subscribers, automating campaigns, and analysing performance metrics.

Actionable Tips:

• Compare different platforms based on features, ease of use, scalability, and customer support.
• Choose a platform that integrates well with your existing tools and systems.

Step 5: Test, Analyse, and Optimise

Once you’ve launched your email campaigns, the work doesn’t stop there. Regularly monitor your campaign’s performance using the analytics provided by your chosen email marketing platform. Tracking metrics is useful such as conversion rates, open rates, CTR, , and unsubscribe rates.

Use A/B testing to experiment with different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, CTAs, and content layout. Analyse the results to identify what works best for your audience and refine your future campaigns accordingly.

Actionable Tips:

• Set up a consistent schedule for reviewing and analysing your email performance.
• Continuously test and optimise different elements to improve your results over time.

5 Ways To Send Marketing Emails

There are several methods you can use to send marketing emails to your audience. Each method has its advantages and considerations based on your business’s needs and goals. Before selecting a method, consider factors such as your audience size, budget, desired features (automation, analytics, personalisation), and your comfort level with technology. Here are five common ways to send marketing emails:

1. Email Marketing Platforms:

   Using dedicated email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, SendinBlue, or HubSpot is one of the most popular and effective ways to send marketing emails. These platforms offer user-friendly interfaces, customisable templates, automation features, list management, and analytics. They ensure deliverability, track open and click rates, and provide valuable insights to improve your campaigns.

2. CRM Systems:Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, such as Salesforce, Zoho CRM, or HubSpot CRM, often include email marketing capabilities. These systems allow you to manage customer data, segment your audience, and send personalised marketing emails directly from the CRM interface.

3. Transactional Email Services:

   If you primarily send transactional emails (e.g., order confirmations, password resets) but want to incorporate marketing content, transactional email services like SendGrid or Amazon SES (Simple Email Service) can be used to send promotional emails. However, make sure to adhere to their terms of use regarding promotional content.

4. Personal Email Clients:

   While not recommended for large-scale campaigns, you can send marketing emails directly from your email client (e.g., Outlook, Gmail) to a small list of recipients. This method is best suited for one-on-one communication or reaching out to a highly targeted group. However, personal email clients lack the automation and tracking features of dedicated email marketing platforms.

5. Custom Email Solutions:

   For more advanced users or businesses with specific technical requirements, you can build a custom email solution using programming languages like Python, PHP, or Node.js. This approach allows you to have complete control over your email-sending process, but it requires technical expertise to set up and maintain.

AB testing is important in email marketing campaigns

A/B testing or split testing, holds paramount significance within the realm of email marketing campaigns. It is a systematic approach that empowers marketers to optimise their strategies by comparing two variations of a single element within an email, such as subject lines, CTAs, or visuals. This method allows marketers to empirically determine which version resonates better with their audience, leading to enhanced engagement and conversion rates. A/B testing provides valuable insights into customer preferences, enabling marketers to make informed decisions and refine their content for maximum impact. By iteratively testing and analysing these variations, businesses can fine-tune their email marketing efforts, amplify their effectiveness, and ultimately deliver more relevant and compelling messages to their subscribers. As the digital landscape evolves, A/B testing remains an indispensable tool in the arsenal of email marketers, facilitating data-driven optimisation and contributing to the continuous improvement of campaign outcomes.

3 Useful Tips For Email Marketing

1. Segmentation for Personalisation:

   Segmentation is the cornerstone of successful email marketing. By categorising your email list into distinct groups based on factors like demographics, behaviour, purchase history, or engagement level, you can deliver highly targeted and relevant content to each segment. Personalisation goes beyond simply addressing recipients by their names; it involves tailoring the entire email experience to meet individual preferences and needs. When subscribers receive emails that resonate with their interests and behaviours, they are more likely to engage and convert.

2. Compelling Content and Clear CTAs:

   Your email content should be engaging, informative, and visually appealing. Build concise and compelling subject lines. Within the email, focus on delivering value by providing useful information, exclusive offers, or actionable insights. Incorporate visually appealing elements such as images, videos, and graphics to enhance the overall experience. Alongside valuable content, ensure that your email has a clear and prominent Call to Action (CTA). Whether it’s “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” or “Get Started,” a well-designed CTA guides recipients towards the desired action.

3. Mobile Optimisation and Testing:

   Ensure that your email templates are responsive, meaning they automatically adjust to different screen sizes and orientations. Test your emails across various devices and email clients to ensure they look great and function smoothly. Additionally, conduct A/B testing on different elements of your emails to determine which variations yield the best results.

We hope this guide helps you get started with email marketing. Remember that treating the reader as a friend increases conversion and more subscribers find your emails useful, they get back to your frequently. For more useful resources you can contact us or browse our blog and keep an eye on our Medium page (coming soon).