Did you know that somewhere around 4.1 billion people still use and read emails in 2021?
Unlike VHS and dial-up internet, emails are one piece of technology that is here to stay.
Emails’ enduring popularity makes them the perfect proving ground to get new customers for your business.
All you need is an engaging email marketing strategy.
Yes, we’re talking about email campaigns, which are easier and simpler to create in 2021 than ever before.
Let us show you how.
Below are 5 steps for how to create a highly engaging email marketing campaign for your business.
1. Grow Some Subscribers
Your first step on the road to launching your email marketing campaign is to grow some subscribers! Your campaign won’t grow your business or increase your customer base if there are no customers around to read it.
There are a few different ways you can encourage and even incentivize people to sign up for your email list.
One strategy is to place a pop-up on the landing page of your website. When someone visits your site, they are immediately greeted with an invitation to subscribe to your content via email. Entice them to sign up with an offer for a discount in your store or exclusive freebies, available only by becoming a subscriber.
Another way to get people to subscribe to your email list is to include a CTA (call to action) statement in your blog posts. When a visitor comes to your site to read your blog, tell them that they can receive similar content conveniently in their email by becoming a subscriber.
The last method we’ll cover is to leverage your social media presence to encourage new sign-ups. Let your followers (and potential followers) on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even Pinterest that by subscribing to your email list, they’ll benefit from more awesome content, including exclusive discounts or other incentives.
Get the word out and watch your subscriber count grow!
2. Decide What You Want Your Email Campaign To Accomplish
An email campaign is not worth its salt if it doesn’t provide substance or service for your readers.
Otherwise, why would they want to subscribe?
They came to you for expert advice, guidance, recommendations, discounts – or whatever it is you offer.
You need to fulfill your end of the bargain and give them what they signed up for.
Think carefully about what you want your email campaign to say, and what goals you want to reach at the end of it.
- Are you trying to grow your subscriber count even more?
- Are you trying to convert potential customers into real, paying customers?
- Are you passing on new, useful information?
- Do you want to promote a new product or service?
Ask yourself these questions and outline a direction for your campaign. Make a list of how many emails will be in it, with a clear end in sight.
3. Plan A Schedule Down To The Minute
Now it’s time to plan your campaign’s schedule.
You need to think large scale and a small scale for this step.
In other words, you need to consider when and with which email you want your campaign to end, as well as immediate details such as the dates and times you want them sent.
Layout and schedule each email in your campaign ahead of time so that each one is delivered at the promised time. It’s important to keep the promises you made to your subscribers.
If you told them to expect an email every Monday and Thursday, then you need to deliver.
Planning your campaign schedule far in advance will ensure you don’t scramble week to week.
4. Write Your Emails
Now we come to the all-important step of writing your emails.
Even though this is the 4th step on our list, it is not the least important. The way you write and format your emails could make or break your readers’ level of engagement. If they’re bored by the length or turned off by bad grammar and spelling, you’ll lose subscribers fast.
First, it’s important to get the length just right.
According to a 2016 study by a productivity company called Boomerang, emails that had just 75-100 words received the highest response rate out of the roughly 40 million emails the study analyzed.
Shoot for a length somewhere in that range or just outside of it to keep readers engaged without boring them.
As for the email copy, get to the point quickly using concise sentences and paragraphs. Feel free to sprinkle in a few links to your products and services, as long as they fit into your email naturally.
Use spellcheck and editing services like Grammarly to double-check your writing skills if you’re not that confident in them.
Finally, make your subject line short and sweet. Mailchimp, a popular email marketing service, recommends you make it no more than 9 words or 60 characters long, with only 3 punctuation marks maximum.
5. Use An Email Marketing Service To Send Them Off
To automate your emails and ensure they’re sent off on time, you’ll need to hire an email marketing service.
As a bonus, such a service will give you the tools to design a visually attractive email and analyze how well your campaign is performing.
Mailchimp, which we referred to earlier, is a popular choice for its easy interface and cost-effective pricing plans. Some other high-quality options are MailerLite, Hubspot, and SendPulse.
Shop around and see which plan fits best for your marketing goals.
While you’re structuring your email marketing campaign, just remember you have a pool of 4.1 billion people to work with. With the right strategies and attention to detail, even just a minuscule piece of that gargantuan number will bring you enormous profits.
