Email has been around for years and has replaced postal mail. Now email competes with social marketing. What's needed for effective email marketing today?

Email marketing is one of the tools in the marketing toolkit. Email campaigns can be used throughout the sales journey from growing awareness in a database to nurturing customers with privileged information.

But it email is not a magic bullet or cheap alternative to other activity and should be used with care or it can damage your reputation.

Structure your email and be honest

By now there is sufficient analysis surrounding the use of email in marketing that you are probably aware of some of the critical Dos and Don'ts. Do make sure your subject header is clear so that people understand it and make a decision about its relevance within a second or two. Don't spam the world. Do be precise about what you want to discuss and offer logical next steps for people to engage with you. Do try to be original as well as honest. Don't try to cram too much information into this contained medium.

Tone of voice and call to action in emails

The lists of top ten email success factors and top ten disastrous mistakes are readily available through search. Much of the commentary about email is marketing common sense. Your focus today should be on balance, tone of voice and CTA (calls to action).

For example, if your topic is novel in some respect, should you make your email content more educative? If you are speaking about a well known or highly contended topic, how do you make your content more interesting and valuable to the recipient?

Permission and content - GDPR email effectiveness

These are pressing matters as email is percieved as personal and sometimes as intrusive. Only valuable content will get read and go undeleted or unreported. A degree of respect for the recipient is therefore important.

Try to understand the industy, position, issues and aspirations of the person you are writing to. If you can demonstrate an understading of what's important to them in their world, rather than talk purely about yourself, you will create a better foundation for engagement. Consider, also, whether your tone of voice should alter for B2B and B2C email.

How often should you email?

Timing and frequency are also important. Is this a one-off one-to-many broadcast or would a campaign be more effective during which you can analyse results and amend your content to take more recipients on a mutually beneficial journey with you.

Campaigns lend themselves to widening the means of engagement beyond email, as part of your relationship and community building strategy. At Allround Creative we would look at email as one aspect of a mix of activity that creates dialogue and active participation.

Social media, online and offline events, articles, tips and feedback requests are among the activities that complement email marketing to make it less one-way and static. 

On the mechanics of email marketing, there are a few new Must Dos

Effective database management

One central database allows you to maintain an overview of customers and prospects, but segmentation is needed to tailor email content to the needs of your different audiences and remain relevant. Good housekeeping is also required for effective email marketing, so keep your database up to date, and process opt-outs and undelivered email, or your email reputation coud be at stake.

Know your recipient

Know your recipient's world, their aspirations or concerns, and be as personal as possible. Otherwise, expect to be treated as spam.

Have a purpose that is event or topic driven

Blasting the world is a thing of the past. Emails with a crystal clear call to action are more effective than a standard newsletter. Again, relevance is key.

Optimise emails for mobile

Mobile data traffic is increasing at a phenomenal rate yet, so far, less attention has been paid to optimisation for the 40% of email opened on mobile devices than has been paid to web site mobile optimisation. 

Please get in touch to discuss email marketing as a standalone marketing activity or as part of your wider sales and CRM strategy. Allround Creative manages local, international and multi-lingual email campaigns.

Email marketing strategy | Contact Sales