Over 87 percent of marketers use email to share content and increase sales. Email is an excellent avenue for increasing brand awareness in addition to assisting with sales. However, email, on the other hand, requires preparation and maintenance in order to reap these benefits. Therefore, before you start email marketing, consider these five questions to make the most of your newsletters and campaigns.
1. Are you ready to go the distance with email marketing?
It’s crucial to maintain a level of consistency in email marketing. Many businesses begin sending marketing emails only to discontinue them after a short period of time. You don’t want to be a part of that group. Email marketing takes time to work, just like most things in life and business.
So, before you start email marketing, consider whether you have enough resources to keep going. The only way to increase participation and achieve results is to maintain a consistent approach. You don’t need a six-month content strategy. You’ll find it out on the fly. You must, however, have faith in your ability to send emails on a regular basis.
2. Is your email marketing list one you can rely on?
The quality of data is rapidly deteriorating. Regardless of the size of your email list, it’s critical to keep it in good shape if you want to communicate with your readers.
Getting bounce-backs or contacting people who might report you as spam is a surefire way to end up in the Spam bin.
Even a new email list, especially in the B2B arena, can have incorrect data. Therefore, run your list through a reputable email checker before clicking “Send.” It’ll help you get rid of old, inactive contacts and increase your deliverability.
Furthermore, repeat the process every few months. After that, unsubscribe any subscribers who don’t open your emails. You’ll keep your sending reputation and keep landing in the inbox this way.
3. Do you have the right ESP?
Choose the best email service provider or ESP for your company. Be ready to commit to a long-term email marketing strategy and have a sizable list of eager recipients.
Now, make sure the case studies and clients using the ESP are like yours or organizations you’d like to be like. ESP functions can vary. In addition, minor variances in features may be critical for your industry. Some platforms, for example, place a premium on marketing and automation features, while others prioritize deliverability and growth.
Social proof can assist you in determining which ESP is best for your company. Take advantage of the free trials these providers offer before committing to a service.
4. Are you giving the information that your audience expects?
It’s critical to stay on topic. People expect the type of content you promised when they subscribe to your emails. Therefore, making sure people get what they expect is one of the best ways to maintain subscribers on your list.
People will unsubscribe if they sign up for something and end up receiving only email advertisements. If you receive too many unsubscribes, you risk ending up in the Spam folder. This, in turn, will damage your sender reputation. It’s difficult to change this label after the fact.
5. Do you follow best practices?
Legally send emails. Email marketing provides a lot of advantages, but it also has some drawbacks. Therefore, it’s critical to follow best practices. You can create a checklist to serve as a guide until they become second nature:
A. Never add a person to your mailing list without their permission. Opt-in is a good idea for everyone.
B. Buy or rent email databases only if absolutely necessary. They aren’t your customers and they know it.
C. The sender’s identity should be obvious in your “from” name. It fosters long-term involvement and builds trust.
D. Use a valid email address rather than a no-reply one. People ought to be able to respond to your letters.
E. An unsubscribe link must be available in all of your email templates.
F. Avoid subject lines that are misleading. In the long term, honesty will lead to more clicks.
Finally, make sure you adhere to all the regulations governing email distribution in the countries where your consumers live. Keep the General Data Protection Regulation, the CAN-SPAM Act, and other laws on hand and in mind. Knowing the best practices, the laws, and the regulations will help keep you on the safe side. These are all good things to know before you start email marketing.
