And those aren’t the only reasons that businesses would be wise to consider increasing the use of e-mail in their marketing program. Here’s another reason: They cost very little to send. Career consulting company Zippia reports that e-mail marketing delivers an average return on investment of 4,200%.
But to get that level of success, businesses need to send emails with quality content. And business emails with quality content can bring higher revenues for your outdoor brand. By taking the following 6 steps, companies can be on their way to producing more successful marketing emails:
1. Before starting, talk to your customers
Try to communicate with customers who have already done business with your company. Finding out what enticed them to purchase from your company can provide valuable guidance as you start to work on the e-mail. Getting information from customers can also help companies personalize additional emails later and tailor them to customers’ specific needs.
2. Draw the recipient in
Once you are ready to start working on the marketing e-mail, start out with a strong subject line. “Urgent” and “Important” are two examples of subject line language that will make your target audience want to open the email. Once you decide on the language you’ll use in your subject line, decide on what email content could be important or urgent enough for the reader to open the email. Make an offer that would entice them to open the email, such as something that is free or discounted.
3. They’re in. Now keep them there
Probably the most important step toward a successful e-mail is to work toward quality content. Whether it’s a blog, a sale, advertising for a new product, or an editorial comment from your company about a top industry issue, try to ensure the content is interesting enough to keep the reader clicking on their way to making a purchase. At the same time, however, content that is short and sweet is more engaging to readers and makes it easier for them to look through the email for relevant content. Companies should place longer content on their websites and link to it in their marketing emails.
4. Make it worth their while
Many people subscribe to receive emails just for the opportunity to save on products they use repeatedly. Often, the strongest marketing emails include coupons and offer codes. An example would be a gift card reward after the customer makes a purchase.
5. Encourage action
For many brands, email marketing is most effective when it results in sales. And when sales are the goal, the first four steps mentioned earlier don’t mean as much if the reader doesn’t take action toward making a purchase. Encourage the reader to take whatever step you’re seeking with a strong call to action, or CTA. A strong CTA avoids using vague phrases like “click here” or “learn more.” Action words such as “register” or “claim” get better results. Also, try to create a sense of urgency. Make readers feel like they are missing out if they don’t take action. “Limited time” and “last chance” are examples of CTA phrases that encourage action. Another CTA tip is to shade it a different color than the rest of the email to bring attention to it.
6. Follow up
After determining which readers have clicked on links in your marketing emails, whether or not it resulted in them making a purchase, send them follow-up emails to reignite their interest. That can include bonus offers related to the previous offer that attracted their interest. Asking customers if they have any questions about any of your offers is another strong strategy.
Email marketing is an effective way to boost sales, and TBA Outdoors can help connect a company’s automated email messaging with their customer’s exact point in the buying process. That increases the chances that the customer will make that final purchasing decision in your favor. Our fully integrated marketing firm can also help in areas such as web design, brand strategy, creative, interactive, social media, analytics and conversion rate optimization, just to name a few. To get started with help ranging from a simple website analysis to a comprehensive strategy tailored to boost the performance of all of your marketing campaigns, contact us today.
