What is email marketing?

Ever wondered what email marketing actually is? Don’t worry 😉, we have got you covered.

Let’s start with a definition of email marketing. Email marketing is a powerful tool, which marketers use to reach their target audience and their marketing goals. It involves sending targeted emails to a list of recipients, who have chosen to receive messages from you and your company.

Email marketing is an essential part of the digital marketing mix for many businesses. It allows organisations to communicate directly with their target audience through emails. Which are then used to send information, discounts and newsletters to a target audience.

Communicate with your target audience

Sending newsletters is a form of direct marketing. It enables direct communication with your recipients and offers possibilities for personalisation. It is also easily measurable, allowing you as a company to analyse and improve the effectiveness of your campaigns to get the most out of your email marketing KPIs.

With marketing automation, companies can go a step further and automate campaigns to deliver relevant content to the right audiences at the right time. It is an effective way to raise awareness of products or services and encourage repeat purchases.

Many topics come up when talking about email marketing. But lucky for us all, it’s not rocket science. Let’s break these concepts down together, starting with the first topic: what makes e-mail marketing such an effective marketing strategy for businesses?

Why is email marketing an effective strategy for all businesses?

Email marketing is a form of marketing that involves engaging in a recipient’s interest. This makes email a powerful tool for any business. One of the main reasons: you are in direct contact with your customers.

1. Direct communication with your customers

Compared to, say, social media or other online marketing channels, such as radio and TV, you are not dependent on a third party to get in touch with your customers.

If something were to happen to the connecting company, e.g. TikTok being banned in the US, all your marketing efforts and potential leads would be lost. With email, you have the security of never losing contact.

2. Personalisation with email

Another reason is that you can engage your audience in a personalised way. Through personalisation and segmentation, you can address your audience on an individual level, while reaching many people.

Personalised mailings offer the opportunity to build rapport with your audience, and make them feel special. This leads to more conversions and repeat purchases.

3. Measuring results

The power of email marketing also lies in its ability to measure results, giving companies insight into the success of their email campaigns. Using the right tool, you can easily discover what works for you and optimise your email marketing strategy. Read more about this later in this article at ‘Measuring the success of your email marketing campaigns’.

4. Cost-effective marketing

Last but not least, email is a cost-effective approach. Compared to traditional marketing channels like TV, radio, or print media, email marketing costs peanuts. You’re essentially paying for a good email marketing service and that’s about it.

Email marketing consistently delivers one of the highest returns of all digital marketing strategies. For every dollar you spend, email marketing generates a significant return. Figures quoted often range from $36 to $42 for every $1 spent, but this can vary by industry and strategy.

Now that you know why email marketing is the perfect marketing partner to have your strategic business pockets, let’s talk about some benefits email marketing brings to the table.

Benefits of email marketing

There are many advantages of email marketing over other forms of marketing. Find out why email marketing is an effective long-term strategy for businesses. A top five.

1. Generating leads and customers

One of the main advantages of email marketing is its ability to capture leads and customers. By sending targeted, commercial emails to people who have shown interest in your products or services, you can nurture these leads and guide them through the sales funnel.

This can lead to conversions and ultimately to the growth of your customer base. Moreover, the targeted campaigns you run with email marketing increase your chances of generating quality leads, who are more likely to make a purchase.

2. Increasing engagement with your target audience

Content marketing and direct mail via the inbox go hand in hand. By regularly sending valuable and engaging content in each email, you can increase engagement with your target audience.

Sharing relevant information, tips and personalised offers keeps recipients interested and engaged with your brand or company. Resulting in increased loyalty and brand awareness.

Moreover, by using interactive elements in emails, such as surveys or polls, you can increase recipient engagement and collect valuable feedback. You can then use this to improve your marketing strategy.

3. Encourage repeat purchases

One of the most powerful aspects of email marketing is its ability to encourage repeat purchases. By regularly sending personalised updates, offers and product information to existing customers, you encourage them to buy products or services from your company again. This can increase your company’s sales and boost your return on investment.

Moreover, you can use marketing automation to set up specific campaigns aimed at encouraging repeat purchases. For example, think of personalised offers for repeat customers or loyalty programmes that reward customers for their repeat purchases. Or a simple reminder if their previous purchase needs to be renewed.

4. Do more with less

In essence, automation in email marketing is all about doing more with less. It allows you to maintain a high level of engagement with your audience, personalise your messaging at scale, and continuously optimise your campaigns for better performance—all without needing to clone yourself.

5. Email works well with others

You don’t have to work on email marketing in isolation. It’s actually a great tool to incorporate with other marketing means and emphasise omni-channel marketing strategy.

You can integrate your email marketing software with your CRM, CMS, ERP tools or shop systems to make emailing easier and to stay on top of it all. Not only that but if you want to reach people with a multi-channel approach, email is your tool.

To name a few examples: You can reach out to people on social media and continue in a more one-on-one direct communication via email. Or you can benefit from the urgency and speed of SMS while allowing email to carry the bulk of information.

Tips for a successful email marketing campaign

So far, we’ve hopefully given you a good overview of what email marketing is. Now that you’re aware of what you can do with email marketing, you probably can’t wait to start setting up your own successful email marketing campaign.

Here are a few key tips to keep in mind and get you on the road to optimal ROI right away.

Tip 1: segmenting your email list

The first tip for a successful email marketing campaign is to segment your email list. You can send relevant and personalised content that matches their needs and preferences.

Do this by dividing your recipients into specific target groups based on their interests, demographics or purchase behaviour. This can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates, by making sure your audience finds your content relevant and engaging.

Segmentation makes this possible,  by reducing the risk of sending irrelevant content to your audience. This way, all your recipients will have a better overall user experience and a more positive image of your brand.

Tip 2: personalisation of emails

The second tip is to personalise your emails. By addressing recipients by their first name, sending personalised offers and sharing content tailored to their preferences, you increase engagement and interaction with your emails. Resulting in higher open and click rates and ultimately more conversions.

Personalisation also helps your recipients build an emotional connection with your brand, making them feel more connected to you and more likely to make a purchase. It is an effective way to reach many and still maintain the unique feeling of a one-to-one conversation with your customers.

Tip 3: use attractive subject lines and content

A final tip for a successful email marketing campaign is to use attractive subject lines and content. The subject line is the first thing recipients see when they receive your email and should encourage them to open it. Try integrating a touch of personalisation in the subject line as well, such as greeting them by first name, or mentioning an interest.

By using catchy and relevant subject lines, you can increase the open rate of your emails and increase the chances of recipients clicking through to the content. Did you know this also works for the sender’s address? People are more likely to open your emails if they see it’s from another person rather than a company.

It is also important to share valuable and engaging content in your emails. This can range from product offers and news updates to useful tips and information. This could include using eye-catching images, compelling calls to action, and clear, concise language.

Just remember the golden rule ‘less is more’, as you can accidentally come across a spammy, not just for receivers but by email providers such as Gmail. By finding the right balance between promotional and informative content, you can keep recipients’ interest and increase their engagement with your brand.

Measuring the success of your email marketing campaigns

Now that you have created your email campaigns or newsletters it’s time to look at the data and measure your success. Below you will find some handy tips.

The importance of tracking and analysing statistics

As mentioned earlier, a big advantage of email marketing is that you can properly measure and analyse the success of your email marketing campaigns. By keeping statistics such as open and click rates, conversion rates and unsubscribes, you can see the number of emails opened and see how many readers click on a link. This will help you determine what works and what doesn’t, and which aspects need improvement.

Moreover, statistics help you identify trends and patterns within your email marketing efforts, and offer insight into how your recipients are responding to your content and offers. This allows you to refine and optimise your strategy to achieve better results.

A/B testing in email marketing

Let’s not forget A/B testing. A great tool to extend your tests and gain insight into what works for you. A/B testing in email marketing, you compare two versions of an email to see which performs better on a specific target/element.

Take for example the subject line, the email content, the call-to-action (CTA) button, the images used or even the send time. It’s a simple but powerful way to optimise your email campaigns and make sure you’re always putting your best foot forward.

In conclusion, over email marketing

Well, I hope we have answered your question ‘What is email marketing?’ thoroughly. You should understand now that email marketing is a powerful and versatile tool that can benefit businesses of all sizes and industries.

By leveraging the strategies and tips discussed in this article, you can create effective email campaigns that engage your audience, generate leads, and drive conversions.

Remember to segment your email list, personalise your messages, and use attractive subject lines and content to capture your recipients’ attention. Tracking and analysing your campaign statistics is also crucial for understanding what works and what doesn’t, allowing you to continually refine and optimise your approach.

Apply strategies and experiment

The success story of Frontis and their client demonstrates the potential of well-executed email marketing campaigns. By setting clear goals, targeting the right audience, and utilising personalisation and automation, they were able to exceed their objectives and deliver impressive results.

As you embark on your own email marketing journey, keep these lessons in mind and don’t be afraid to experiment and adapt your strategy based on your unique needs and goals. With dedication and a data-driven approach, you can harness the power of email marketing to build lasting relationships with your customers and grow your business.