When it comes to discussions about the future of digital marketing, most experts will say that email marketing campaigns are it. That’s because email is among the more surefire methods for getting the word out about your business directly to those who will be the most likely to engage with your brand or product.
Email marketing has grown in popularity as of late and turned into a cornerstone of any competent marketing strategy. But even as more companies both large and small are embracing email marketing to get their message across, not everyone knows how to do it properly.
It’s not enough to simply gather a database and shoot out some emails to your subscriber base from time to time. Remember, this is about marketing and whether you’re emailing your message or plastering it on a massive billboard, the content of your message is what matters. Mistakes can be made with respect to content and context and gut your campaign before it can even get started.
Some of the most common mistakes that are made are also some of the easiest to avoid when you introduce proper planning and thorough preparation into the equation. Any good marketing campaign, regardless of the venue or method for getting your message across, is about knowing what you are trying to say and to whom. Too many marketing strategies fail to delineate a specific audience and then target that segment effectively.
But we’re going to help you avoid those problems by pointing out what will torpedo an email marketing campaign almost immediately. In some cases it’s lousy planning that will do it, in other instances it’s poor execution that can be the culprit. Some businesses think merely sending an email will get their customers to engage but that’s just not accurate or realistic.
For businesses seeking out richmond seo marketing solutions, here are some of the ways that email marketing can help and why the right campaign is critical for success.
Lack of Clear Objectives
Any marketing plan is built around a specific goal. What that is might be different from one business to the next but it’s absolutely vital to know what your goals are when designing a marketing strategy. For email marketing that can be a tougher nut to crack as they may not always come with a certain objective in mind.
Instead, email marketing campaigns can become unfocused and listless which then makes them entirely ineffective as a reliable marketing tool. But as we’re talking about establishing a clear objective for an email marketing campaign, the most important goal to remember is one that services the business first.
Your email marketing should be devised with certain objectives in mind that are also easy to accomplish. For instance, if you want a customer to click on a link that is contained within the site, perhaps to ultimately complete a sale, you could be casting too wide a net.
As an alternative, design your email marketing strategy to attract a certain segment of your buying public so that you have a better chance of reaching your chosen objective. Perhaps you want to target repeat customers through your email marketing campaign. Identify those customers who have purchased something in the past, targeting them specifically through email marketing leaves you with a better likelihood of getting that segment of your audience to do what you wish.
So think about how your email marketing campaign is poised towards completing a clear and specific business objective. If your strategy lacks this crucial component or your current goals no longer fit in with your business goals, then it’s time to take a step back and re-think your plan.
Lack of Consistency
When you are sending out an email to your subscriber base, it needs to be done in a way that makes it worth viewing. Sure, there are many factors that can contribute to providing your customers with the proper motivation to interact and engage, but one of the more critical components is devising some kind of consistent schedule.
This isn’t something you’re just going to stumble across by luck, pinpointing the most optimal day and time to send out your emails is something that takes serious trial and error. But once you get it down, you may find that your emails are accomplishing what you want with more regularity.
Here’s the problem, your customer base is seeking something credible and informative in your emails. If you just send something out on a whim whenever you feel like it, there begins to form a sense of haphazard quality to your marketing. However, establishing a specific day (Monday, Saturday?) and a specific time (morning, late night?) as well as a particular frequency of distribution (weekly, twice a month?) will make your customers feel more of an urge to read what you are sending and ultimately engage in the manner you intend.
Lack of Engaging Content
Finally, your email marketing campaign may be failing because, on top of your indiscriminate targeting and poor distribution schedule, the content in your emails is lame. It’s boring and not remotely fascinating on any level.
You have a built in set of fans and followers who have given your their email addresses. But some businesses seem to think that’s the end of it. They sometimes forget that the emails they send to these addresses need to be worth a read. Think about how many emails you receive in a day. You need to make sure the one you are sending to your customers is just as compelling as those work emails that drop in all day.
How you go about creating compelling content is going to depend largely on your brand or product and each business needs to consider what makes their message unique. Once that has been determined, develop your email content around it and start to get the attention of your audience. When you have that, you can then compel them to take action.
But no matter what, never be boring. That’s certain death for any campaign, email or otherwise.