Did you know that email marketing has the highest return on marketing investment? This primary source of lead generation gives an average return of 38$ on every 1$ spent! Marketers world over are going bullish on this direct marketing channel as there is no dependency on social media platforms or search engines here. The frequent changes in search engine algorithms and social media rules can make any regular marketer dizzy and hence they are turning to low cost email marketing services for small businesses.
We have 5 innovative email marketing solutions for startups to kick-start their effort:
- Integrate Email Marketing with Content Marketing
There is a high probability of your mail ending up in the spam folder if it is irrelevant to the recipient. Nobody wants a hard sell pitch in their inbox. Mails will not be read unless they are relevant to the audience and this is the reason why content marketing extends to include mails. According to Mailigen, emails that are relevant to the recipient drive 18 times more revenue than general broadcast email.
It is important to first build a relationship with potential customers by sending them what they want to read about. Your mails should be information that the reader looks forward to receive. This can only be achieved with providing quality content that is relevant to the reader.
2. How to build Mailing List
Email marketing is great for sales conversion. But how do you build your mailing list? Apart from gathering email IDs of existing customers and followers on social media, you can collect data of visitors to your site. You can also offer a free newsletter or information guide in lieu of email ID. You can also exchange data with businesses that are relevant to your industry but not a competition.
Always build a database of people who are actually interested in your product/service and information. Email list segmentation increases click-through rates by 5 percent. Buying random lists will only increase your cost with no return on investments.
3. Get Smart with Smartphones
The power of smartphones cannot be overstated.75% of the Gmail’s 1 billion users access mails on mobile handset. HubSpot reports that 69% of mobile users delete emails that aren’t optimized for mobile. It is therefore important to optimize your mails to mobile and also explore ways to take advantage of this. For example, many marketers include a link to their app on app stores in their mails.
4. Exciting Email Campaigns
There are many campaigns that can be strategically planned to keep your readers looking forward to your mail. Surveys and quizzes are a great way to engage your readers. Not only will this give you an insight into your audience, your readers will also look forward to the results of survey they were a part of.
Referral campaigns are another way to take advantage of your existing mailing list. Samples, freebies and discounts can be given on your product/service for referring a friend.
5. Personalize and Customize
Email marketing is the best suited channel for personalized marketing. Use all the marketing automation software available to give your readers a personalized experience. Many brands address to reader’s first name in mails and this instantly builds connection. Keep your mails interactive and ask for feedback often. It is important to grow everyday and avoid getting boring and stale in your mails.
Compared to Pay-Per-Click, and social media advertising, you need only little investment for starting email marketing campaigns. When you implement it in the right way you can get high returns and thereby more conversions in the long run.