Photo: Unsplash
Email marketing isn't just for big companies with dedicated teams. Even small businesses can harness its power to grow rapidly. By regularly refining content and form, entrepreneurs can directly connect with customers, turning simple ideas into significant results.
Why is it so important to master email strategy? A significant 19% of sales actually come from email. So, if you follow the right strategy, you will increase not only the number of opens and clicks, but mainly income.
Here are some tips to help you achieve your goals:
Before diving into email marketing, it's crucial to define your goals. Without clear objectives, how will you know if you're on the right path?
What do you want to achieve with email marketing? Whether it’s gaining more customers, increasing your contact list, boosting open rates, or building brand awareness, your goals should be specific and measurable.
Focus on one main goal, break it into smaller steps, and set deadlines. This approach helps maintain motivation and ensures that every action aligns with your overall objective.
By this we don’t mean “find a new colleague”, but a marketing system that supports your email efforts.
This is a long-term commitment, so take the time to choose wisely. You need more than just a tool to send emails; you need one that:
How to choose? Price matters, but don’t let it be your only guide. Since email marketing offers the highest ROI, consider other factors like features, trial periods, and customer support. A responsive support team can be invaluable when you need help getting started. Feel free to try out Parlo, as it offers all that with affordable pricing.
What product or service do you want to sell via email? Who is your target audience? What strategies will you use to reach them?
These are the essential questions to answer. You won’t reach everyone—different people have different habits. For example, a 30-year-old might check emails once a day, while a 50-year-old responds immediately, and a 20-year-old might prefer Instagram over emails.
Identify which of your customers are most likely to engage with email. Understand their behavior, interests, and priorities. Then, tailor your emails specifically for them. Sketch out their profiles to better understand how to connect with them.
Your contact database is your most valuable marketing asset. These are people who know, trust, and may have even bought from you. Unlike platforms like Google or Facebook, your database is yours, unaffected by changing rules or algorithms. Everyone has a database, even a new entrepreneur with just a few contacts. It’s a strong foundation to build on.
How to build a contact database?
First step is to create a base. Start with a simple Excel table. Populate it with existing customers, inquiries that didn’t convert, and business cards from people you've met. Export contacts from your email, ensuring these are people who know you—adhering to GDPR rules is crucial. Avoid buying databases or scraping contacts from the internet, as this violates data protection laws and regulations on sending commercial messages.
Then, work on it! To grow your business, you need more contacts. Attract new leads with an irresistible offer—something valuable in exchange for their email address. The old “Subscribe to our newsletter” approach no longer works.
Trying to sell a winter coat to someone who lives in the tropics—or pitching a product to someone who already bought it—isn’t effective.
So, organize your contacts into categories. Retailers might need many groups, but most businesses can start with two: customers and non-customers. For better results, further segment by purchase history, contact source, or interests.
This segmentation lets you send more targeted emails, improving open and click-through rates. Remember, not everyone is ready to buy immediately. Tailor your approach to new prospects, gradually introducing them to your offerings before making a direct sales pitch.
For best results, consider these 3 essential email types:
Start with marketing to build interest before selling. Don’t rush into a sale; create a desire first.
For welcome emails, craft a series that engages new contacts over time, whether they’ve given you a business card or downloaded your offer. Follow up with additional information, solicit feedback, and include customer testimonials. This sequence helps recipients get to know your brand better.
Regardless of your email marketing goals, you need to make offers to drive sales. Even in non-profits, customer satisfaction and funding are key rewards. To sell, clearly present your offers. People won’t buy if they don’t know what you’re selling or why it’s valuable. Most need direct prompts to take action.
Be aware that not everyone will buy immediately. Keep in touch by sending useful newsletters and maintaining regular communication.
Include:
This ongoing engagement helps nurture leads and keeps your brand top of mind.
To assess your email marketing success, rely on data, not just intuition. After each campaign, review the key statistics:
These metrics reveal what's effective and what isn't. Track these numbers to identify trends and deviations. For instance, a drop in deliverability might indicate issues with your content or that your emails are being flagged as spam. Need help with understanding your email performance and statistics? Here’s our straightforward guide to help you decode email metrics with ease.
You also need to track financial impact. Does email marketing boost customer acquisition and sales? Use tools like Google Analytics, UTM parameters, or direct sales data to measure how email marketing affects your revenue and whether the investment is justified.
In email marketing, while graphics and content are important, they must align with your overall strategy. Success isn’t measured by the number of emails sent or opened, or by how much people like the content. Instead, it’s about achieving real business results.
To sum up, a well-executed email marketing strategy will drive more inquiries, orders, customers, and brand fans.
We are launching early 2025 — First 100 subscribers get 30% off lifetime discount!
* By subscribing to the waitlist, you are not obligated to use the service upon its launch.