ASSIGNMENT 7

TASK 1

Email Marketing should be an integral part of any businesses marketing strategy, in 2018. It is proven that email marketing is forty times more effective than Facebook or Twitter at gaining new customers, but it only works if you’re using it correctly.

I will run through a few key points you should employ, to ensure your business has an effective email marketing strategy in place.

Personalization in email marketing is proven to be something subscribers respond to. Although, it would seem that a lot of marketers still believe that simply adding the subscriber’s first name to the subject line transcends “personalization”. Don’t worry, it is an effective method, research shows that emails containing personalized subject lines are twenty six percent more likely to be opened, than emails without. However, much more can be done! Try taking personalization further than a subscribers first name and push products relating to a subscribers location, purchase history or actions taken on your website, when sending out emails.

Promotional emails are effective, but inventive marketers need to think deeper when promoting their products, services and brand. Promoting a, subscriber only, one-day sale or sending out gift vouchers is enticing to consumers, but marketers need to be thinking above and beyond these methods.

In 2018, smart marketers will work at creating emails that not only entice consumers, but build lasting relationships. Work at sending emails that push subscribers to read a new blog post you’ve made, create a newsletter that advertises an upcoming event , or thank your customers for their loyalty and support.

Creating a meaningful Call To Action (CTA) in your email marketing is absolutely imperative. According to a recent study conducted by Campaign Monitor, thirty-five percent of marketers say that one of the hardest aspects of email marketing is creating a meaningful CTA.

In order to really kick-start a new year, start focusing in on the CTA in every email. Some ideas in creating an effective CTA could be, guiding a subscriber to rsvp and pay for an upcoming event or purchase a

limited edition print. This should all be presented for the customer in a short, specific fashion, as everyone likes a quick purchase in their busy lives. “BUY” buttons are visually appealing and are especially inviting to those looking at your email on a smart device. You could make the button quite a decent size and use a colour that jumps out at the customer.

According to research by the DMA ( Direct Marketing Academy ) fifty-eight percent of all revenue is generated from segmented and targeted emails. Most good marketers are grouping their subscriber lists into specific segments, firstly probably by sex or location. Inventive marketers need to take segmentation to the next level, in 2018. Try going beyond segments purely based on demographics and maybe try segmenting the female subscribers by prior purchases or even buying frequency and the male subscribers by items purchased. Segmentation is well worth your time, to increase revenue.

An email marketing practice that marketers should avoid is emailing subscribers who aren’t opening your emails. Deleting subscribers from their lists is a practice that most marketers are hesitant to do, which makes complete sense as you could be losing potential sales, right? Graymail is a term given to emails that are sent to subscribers on your list, but never opened. Your delivery rates can be damaged if you continue to send graymail. Inbox mail server providers like Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail examine engagement rates using algorithms. If your engagement rates are low, these unread emails can be banished to the spam folder. By removing email contacts from your subscriber list that haven’t opened your emails in the last six to nine months, you can keep your spam-free reputation intact.

Being reactive is another email marketing practice that marketers should avoid. If you find yourself drafting emails as a sort of reactionary response to your subscriber’s behaviours, you should cease to do this. Using automation, makes this process a lot simpler, where based on behaviour or time, triggers can be setup that send your subscribers emails automatically. E.g. when a subscriber joins your list, a trigger is actioned and a welcome email is automatically sent. Other effective actions marketers can take are to automate a series of emails that are triggered by a subscribers interest level and to schedule emails ahead of time, e.g. for upcoming Sales during peak periods.