email marketing strategy

How to Make Email Marketing Work for You

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The trend is unmistakable. My clients who use email as part of their digital marketing strategy have more success connecting with their target audience.

Every business needs to have an active email marketing strategy. Here are the essentials.

Use an Email Marketing Tool

Don’t try to do your email marketing campaigns from a regular email account. You will be flagged as a possible spammer by either your email service provider or one or more of the servers that receive your messages. That will shut you down from sending any emails, until you can find the server that has marked your account and get the block removed.

Anyone who has ever tried to negotiate automated phone systems knows you never want to get on the bad side of a machine. They are inflexible. Unless you do things their way, you rarely win.

Use an email marketing tool like MailChimp (my favorite), Constant Contact or Robly. These tools will make sure you don’t get sent to spammer jail. They take care of being nice to all those servers out there so your messages always get to the intended recipients.

Think Beyond Newsletter

When I talk to business owners about email marketing, most think of the email newsletter. They don’t want to write a monthly newsletter and I don’t blame them.

Today’s users don’t want your newsletter. They want relevant, timely information. They generally want an email that has one topic and one call to action.

Consider this content:

  • Sale or promotion
  • New product or service
  • Helpful tips or best practices
  • Changes in your business in terms of offerings, hours, locations, etc.

Have an Email Marketing Strategy

Don’t just start sending emails. Have a strategy that aligns with your marketing goals and the other elements of your digital marketing. The strategy will help you keep your content on point and all of your efforts aligned.

Be sure to consider:

  • How people will be added to the email list(s)
  • Branding and template for consistency
  • Editorial calendar that targets subscriber needs and interests, as well as your goal
  • Data from emails sent that indicate what works (do more of that) and what doesn’t (don’t do that)

Define Your Voice

Email is a 1-1 communication. You may send 100 or more messages at a time, but each one goes to one person and lands in one inbox. Make sure you provide content that leverages the 1-1 connection you are making.

The best email marketers are able to define a tone and voice and keep it consistent across messages. Users are able to “get to know” the business, and as a result, develop a sense of connection.