“So … Um … Hey” Is the Last Thing You Want Your Prospects To Read
If you’ve ever spent time in sales, you know that the cold call is the most dreaded form of lead hunting.
Sending automated emails can operate much the same way: you don’t have much of a relationship with the recipient, yet you’re asking them to pay attention to you, and potentially even asking them for a favor: download this, subscribe to that.
The awkwardness isn’t just in the delivery; it also shows up in the results. Cold email? Cold lead. Unless you’re working with an email marketing service team that knows how to get your prospects’ attention, even when they’re unfamiliar with your business.
What Is Email Marketing Again?
Email marketing is an automated marketing tool that allows you to send an email to recipients from your list of prospects, clients, and former clients. The recipient’s activity — whether they read, open, or act on the email — is then provided as data to determine future steps, based on their level of interest, along with plenty of insights: the best times to send, how to structure content, what content should be included, whether the email is landing in spam, what industries are responding, and even revenue.
The Data on Email Marketing Services in the U.S.
The opportunity is there. Email-based digital marketing services deliver an ROI punch. The leading platforms for email marketing (think Mailchimp and others) cite a $30 to $40 ROI for every dollar spent.
It’s also far more effective than direct mail. Chief Marketer sees a 28.5% higher return than direct mail’s 7%.
But that’s assuming that you’re using best practices, analytics, and assistance from an email and content marketing services team.
Email Done Right.
Heed the guidance of folks who have gotten results from email marketing, and you can position yourself for success with this digital marketing service.
This is the general process of a winning email campaign, and the questions you should be asking yourself during each phase.
- Create a strategy: What do you want recipients to do? What kind of data do you hope to collect? How do we plan to follow up with recipients?
- Identify your audience: Who will receive the email? Why are they your target audience?
- Send at the right time: When does your email marketing service team recommend sending your email, based on available data?
- Determine the right content: What will your content communicate? Does your content align with your goals?
- Track the results: What do these results tell us about how to proceed with future emails? What do they communicate about who’s interested in our brand or offerings?
- Qualify leads: Who engaged? Are they leads we want to follow up on?
- Act on leads: How will we keep leads engaged? What is our strategy for making progress in those relationships?
A marketing services team with content, data, and email marketing expertise can create your entire strategy and process to ensure your campaign starts with the right goals and leads to a list of qualified leads you’re eager to engage in new ways.
Advice From an Email Marketing Service Team
It’s not difficult to figure out a solid approach to an email campaign because email marketing platforms (the programs that allow you to do the sending and tracking) have a vested interest in ensuring that your campaign is successful. There’s plenty of guidance online about how to get results.
However, implementing a plan that follows best practices is the tricky part, as a highly effective approach takes time and energy that most businesses aren’t able to provide for themselves.
Expect these best practices from your marketing team:
- Send to people you’ve engaged with in the past or those you’d like to connect with.
- Authenticate your email address so you can send from a business email account.
- Follow recommended content marketing service approaches for subject line length, headers, content purpose, and more.
- Test email success to determine what approach is gaining traction.
- Think about the frequency of emails. Don’t send at an overwhelming cadence.
- Allow recipients to unsubscribe.
- Group subscribers by their relationship to your business (e.g., purchase history, pipeline position, engagement), and provide differentiated content for each.
- Monitor platform analytics to refine your process.
Get More Than Crickets From Your Email Marketing Service Campaign
You don’t have to send emails that feel like an unwanted solicitor at the front door. You can create a campaign that gains traction, allowing you to keep prospects aware of your brand, engaged with your message, and willing to act.
Peter Mishler is a senior copywriter. He enjoys learning everything he can about your business to help build your authority and web presence. Peter is the author of three internationally published books, for which he has received critical acclaim and national writing awards. He loves spending time with his wife and two children.
