With our time in isolation coming to a close, email marketing is a great and effective way to reconnect with your clients. It’s a valuable platform for you to share what you’ve been up to, provide an update on how your business is going, and touch base with potential clients who may have put projects on pause during this uncertain time.
While email marketing has been around since the early days of digital marketing, it still manages to garner powerful results to this day. For example, recent studies show that for every dollar spent crafting an effective email marketing campaign, sees a +3800% return on investment.
But that’s only if you get it right! Here’s our how-to guide on the best way to implement email marketing in order to build a strong pool of potential clients and boost your business.
Strategise
Email marketing only works if you have a strong strategy in place. It doesn’t work by simply sending a one-off email or gathering together a bunch of emails to send the odd update. Emailing marketing takes patience, time and the construction of thoughtful and engaging content. You build a relationship slowly but surely, one that grows as each email reaches your audience’s inboxes.
The way to achieve this is through having an email marketing strategy that has been developed with your clients and their interests in mind. We suggest sending emails through an email marketing software like Mailchimp that provides invaluable insight into the success of your campaigns and the reading habits of your audience. This means that after every email campaign you’ll be able to see what worked, what didn’t and then improve on your next campaign.
We also suggest segmenting your database, either through client type, geographic location, marketing acquisition channel or project type just to name a few. Target specific groups and write emails that speak directly to their interests and pain points.
Also ensure you have an email marketing calendar. Schedule in emails during busy periods or during days and months where you’ve seen an increase in enquiries. If you’ve been getting certain questions or queries recently, add relevant content into your campaigns too. You can find all this data within your email marketing platform, like Mailchimp.
Quality content = great engagement
Think about when you receive newsletters or business emails. What makes you click and read? What content are you hoping to receive, and what catches your interest? In the last few weeks during COVID-19, an overwhelming number of emails have been sent – think about which ones you clicked on and why? Your answers will help you work out how to stand out from the crowd, in your own email marketing.
In the building industry, the top types of content that garner the highest engagement are videos, educational content like blogs, site updates, people content and new projects. We encourage our clients to take regular site photos, write about current projects, create videos and vlogs that break down the home building process or deconstruct widely held industry myths. Make sure your tone is friendly, informative and exciting.
Another tip is all around personalisation. Use an email software that allows you to address the client by name, include region-specific information and even sign off your emails with a digital hand-written signature.
Create a click-bait subject line
Writing a great email is only half the battle. The first and most important hurdle to overcome is getting clients to actually click into your email. You’ll also want to ensure your emails aren’t being flagged as spam and then being relegated into your audience’s spam folder.
Make sure your send name is your business or directors name, design a dynamic template and carefully craft an exciting, gripping subject line. These small actions will ensure your open and click through rates increase with each campaign.
Again, it’s important to think about what personally makes you click on email. What headlines excite you and what makes you delete an email straight away? Think about these impulses when creating your own marketing campaigns.
Consider an automation series
Whilst email marketing has been around for decades, the most recent and effective tool has been automation software. This new development allows you to send out targeted, hyper-specific and tailored campaigns based on online data collection from a segmented audience. This will ensure your click through rate keeps growing and your clients remain interested.
One of the best ways to do this is through autoresponder campaigns. An autoresponder campaign refers to a marketing campaign where an action – for instance, downloading a free e-book or brochure – from a client triggers a series of personalised emails that are sent out automatically over a few months.
This is not only highly effective, but also simplifies and streamlines the email marketing process, which can be complex and time-consuming. Many popular email platforms such as Mailchimp offer easy-to-use automation software.
Automation is an excellent way to warm up cold leads and keep your brand front of mind for clients. If you’re interested in learning more about reconnecting with clients via email marketing, get in touch with the team at Sea Salt Marketing. As a verified Mailchimp partner, we have the tools and resources to help you cut through the noise and reach more clients through email marketing.