Email marketing is one of the most effective and profitable digital marketing channels brands of any size can utilize. Studies show that for every $1 you contribute to email marketing, you can expect an average return of $36. With an ROI that high, it’s no wonder businesses spend countless hours crafting the perfect email marketing strategy.

Emails are versatile, creative, and informative. They provide your brand a clean slate for marketing opportunities of every kind. Whether you’re looking to acquire new customers or keep your loyal shoppers in the know on all your latest sales and promos: emails are the way to go.

If you’ve never spent too much time learning how to start an email marketing campaign, we’re here to help. We put together a step-by-step guide to help you understand the ins and outs of email marketing techniques and strategies.

Let’s dive in.

1. Establish KPIs

Before you can start developing your first email marketing campaign, you need to start with understanding the why of your campaign with KPIs. KPIs are your driving force. They allow you to critically think about your content, audience, and bottom line. The best way to do this is by setting your goals and utilizing the email marketing metrics readily available within your platform of choice.

Common email marketing goals include:

• • • Increase website conversions
    • Enhance brand loyalty
    • Decreasing subscriber churn
    • Drive engagement to your website
    • Improve the flow of the customer funnel

   

Here’s a list of a few metrics you can track to help you get started:

• • • • Conversion rate
      • Click-through rate
      • Click-to-open rate
      • Increase revenue per subscriber
      • Increase revenue per email
      • Improve bounce rate
      • Maintain list growth rate
      • Increase overall ROI

     

We recommend focusing on at least 2-3 KPIs at a time and always keeping an eye on your metrics. If you have an email marketing campaign that blows the rest out of the water, you can mimic this content for future campaigns.

2. Build Your Subscriber List

Before you can start segmenting your sends, you’ll need to first build your subscriber list. The best way to approach this is to try out different tactics for getting their emails. You can start by adding a signup page on your website or a popup to capture emails. If you aren’t gathering emails quickly, you can include a special offer and implement a lead magnet. Examples of a lead magnet include:

• • • Free e-book download
    • Discount or free shipping coupon
    • Free case study downloads

   

These lead magnets are always running and capturing leads for your brand in the background. Once you’ve started to build your audience, you can segment your sends for your first email send.

Remember: Your email marketing strategy is for your audience, not your brand. Everything you create will be made specifically for your audience. As your list starts to grow, take some time to understand your audience and use your KPIs to help you see what works and doesn’t.

3. Know the Different Email Types

As your list starts to grow in the background, it’s time to start thinking about how to start your first email marketing campaign. There are several different types of emails. Each of them helps with a different goal and focus.

Here are a few to remember:

Transactional

Transactional emails are sent when a customer takes an action on your website, like making a purchase, purchasing a ticket to your event, or scheduling a service. This type of email doesn’t contain an unsubscribe button and the click-through rate is higher than the average email marketing campaign.

Promotional

Promo emails are about pushing a limited time or special offer to your customers. They are designed to help boost brand awareness and encourage consumers to purchase on your website. Most have a time frame the offer is good for to help add a sense of urgency to the promotional emails.

Welcome emails

These emails are sent to first-time customers or individuals who recently signed up for your email marketing and newsletters. They work great when you combine them with a special offer and have a strong CTA.

Relational

These emails help you build a relationship with your audience. They don’t necessarily need to have a special offer or highlight sales. Instead, you can simply use them to highlight your products and deliver value to your subscriber’s inboxes.

Abandoned Cart

Every eCommerce can benefit from implementing an abandoned cart email series. These are automated emails designed to encourage shoppers to complete their purchases. Over 40% of all abandoned cart emails sent are opened by the consumer and 50% of those opened actually go back and complete their purchase.

Newsletters

Newsletters keep your customers informed on everything they need to know about your business. They’re typically sent regularly and provide in-depth updates on your brand, business, and products. You can choose to send these weekly, monthly, or daily: It’s up to you!

4. Build Your First Email

Did you know that over 296.3 billion emails are sent every day? Let this motivate you to think strategically about the content you create.

Here are the core components:

Subject line

A subject line can make or break your email marketing strategy. In fact, studies show that 33% of email recipients open an email only because the subject line is catchy. On the contrary, 69% of individuals report emails as spam solely based on the subject line.

With that in mind, have fun but know your audience. Subject lines matter is like your first impression, and you should put just as much time and energy into crafting a subject line.

Content

Your content will be dictated by your goals and the email you’ll send out. Want to send out a newsletter? Grab some of your most recent blog content or company updates. Looking for a promotional email to showcase a sale that week? Feature some of your top-selling products.

CTA

CTA stands for call-to-action. It’s a button or hyperlink at the bottom of your email that will encourage consumers to take action on your website. One of the best email marketing tips you’ll receive is to have the right CTA. The CTA helps your customers take action after reading through your email. It pushes them to purchase, sign up for an event, or to book a service. Without a CTA, your emails risk being ineffective.

Design

The design needs to be eye-catching and stand out from the rest of the emails that are filling your customer’s inbox. Play with vibrant colors, stay true to a minimalist theme, or keep things content-focused or value-driven. Whatever you decide to do, just be consistent!

5. Schedule, Track, Revise

Once your email marketing campaign is signed, sealed, and ready to be delivered: It’s time to sit back and let the analytics do the talking! Give your email marketing strategy time to cook for at least a week. After you give it some time, you can analyze your open rate, click-through rates, and any of the other metrics. You can decide which audience segments performed the best and which ones didn’t have the best results.

Every email marketing campaign you launch will provide incredible insight into your audience’s likes and dislikes. As you monitor your first email marketing campaign, you’ll learn invaluable insights about your customers and how they interact with your brand. You can use these findings to restructure and revise your email marketing strategy over time.

Don’t let trial and error discourage you – an email marketing strategy is always growing! The KPIs you established during the first step will work as a guide to help you utilize new email marketing trends and improve your email strategy over time.

Upgrade Your Email Strategy With Kanbar Digital

With email marketing techniques, your business can improve your relationship with your shoppers and turn prospects into paying customers. If you need help launching your first email marketing campaign or revising your strategy, we’re here to help. Our team is here to provide you with the guidance you need to get more out of your email marketing strategy.