E-mail marketing definition: where to start?

Whether you want to win new prospects, retain them or implement an automated marketing strategy, we offer a guide that can introduce you to this world step by step. We will start with a definition of email marketing and get to a valuable guide and some suggestions for purchasing software.

Emailing appears to be an essential part of your digital communication . 4.1 billion: this is the estimated number of email accounts worldwide in 2021 (Radicati Group study, 2017). Emailing is now the most efficient digital marketing tool for establishing a lasting relationship with your customers. Manage your emailing with professional software for a successful campaign.

Follow our advice to be walked through your choice.

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Definition of e-mail marketing

Email marketing refers to a marketing communication action based on sending mass emails to a specific list of recipients. It creates a relationship between the company and its customers. Emailing can be used in a variety of cases, such as promoting a product or service to customers or potential customers, inviting them to an event, or sending a promotional offer for the purpose of customer loyalty. Increasingly regulated by GDPR restrictions, this approach is based on an opt-in approach of permission marketing that requires users' permission before advertising content can be sent. Although this could be perceived as a threat, it is still a valuable qualifying tool, in fact, since these are users who have deliberately requested to be placed on a mailing list, the open rate will be higher.

Email marketing does not only mean Newsletters, but the includes other types of communication:

• Direct Email Marketing (DEM) This is the mass sending of advertising promotions to its users. It often happens that to maximize conversions, companies turn to third parties to supplement their mailing list.
• Newsletter: This is a less "aggressive" and advertising type of email. In fact, it connects the company and the customer by building a relationship based on interesting content that brings value
• Survey email: A way to gather opinions about one's service
• Welcome email: The email to make the customer part of a community.
• Transactional emails: Different types of emails that seek to facilitate transactions

Trigger marketing.

A customer takes an action on your website (filled out a contact form, requested assistance, sent a message, etc.) that triggers (trigger in English) the automatic sending of an email. Example: The customer placed an order, receives a confirmation e-mail, then automatically receives an e-mail invoice once payment is received, then an e-mail to tell him that his order has been shipped, etc.

Image taken from an infographic by email monks

Emails for call-to-action

They are created in relation to the customer's profile, i.e., depending on the pages visited, products consulted and/or purchased, etc. An email can be sent to the customer for a promotional deal, a private sale, or for their birthday, for example.

Email for reviews and loyalty

A customer has recently tested your service or purchased your product, invite them to share their opinion via email! This helps build loyalty by showing that you recognize his value.

Why make use of e-mail marketing in your company?

86 percent of professionals prefer to use e-mail to communicate in B2B or B2C.

(Source: Hubspot, 2016)

Email is an essential tool for your communication strategy. Especially when you consider that 72 percent of Internet users prefer to receive promotional content via e-mail. In the age of social media, you might think it is better for your company to invest in a social media campaign? Don't be fooled! Email marketing is the second largest source of customer acquisition, after organic search. It is 40 percent more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined.

Build trust with customers

Emailing is a tool to win new customers, but also to retain existing ones. Offer them new, high-quality content, exclusive offers that reward their loyalty or otherwise, in short, show them that they value you! The added value of your emails will lead to new orders on your website, increased trust from your customers,a stronger brand image, etc.

Improve your business offerings

The frequency with which your e-mails are sent will force you to rethink and renew your commercial offering. The idea is to offer your recipients new, relevant and personalized content. Sales, marketing and communications teams will be spurred on by a common goal: to win and retain customers.

Interact directly and quickly with your customers

Marketing e-mails are usually opened within an hour of receipt. This is even more true as 53 percent of e-mails are opened on cell phones (Campaign Monitor study). The immediacy of communication between you and your customers creates a closeness that you should exploit from a business perspective. Tailor your commercial messages to your target audience and to be more attractive!

Professionalize your emailing campaign by choosing the software best suited to your needs:

• Category 1: sending newsletters
• Category 2: list enrichment with forms and landing pages
• Category 3: sending scenario-based marketing emails (autoresponder)
• Category 4: automatic segmentation, data intelligence, behavior analysis

Best practices in your e-mail marketing campaign

Where to start? To make the most of these emailing automation tools, follow these tips to maximize your results!

• Target your audience to send content relevant to your customer base.
• Personalize your messages-a personalized message improves click-through rates by 14 percent and conversion rates by 10 percent (Aberdeen study).
• Write many email items to finally choose the best one. Think about the message you would like to convey
• Take care of the sender's name: According to a Campaign Monitor study, 68% of Internet users choose to open an e-mail or not depending on the name of the person who sent the e-mail.
• Work on form: a readable and pleasing email through a harmonious design with a better click rate.
• Test emails before sending them! If you notice an error after sending, it will be too late.
• Don't forget the unsubscribe link: your readers should be able to unsubscribe at any time.

What are the email marketing KPIs to consider?

Knowing how to choose good metrics to analyze is always important because it allows you to have the right information to determine the right strategy. Here is a list of KPIs that no matter what you should check:

• Open Rate : also known as the open rate, it detects the interest your brand has in users even before they open a given email
• Click rate: focuses more on internal aspects of the content, to see how the user reacts to the proposed content
• Conversion rate: how many users buy, sign up, upgrade. In short, how many accomplish the action you are interested in.

Professional emailing software, the essential ally of your email marketing strategy

Marketing automation

Plan automatic emailing with marketing automation. The behavior, interests and profile of a target group are taken into account to select content that matches them. In fact, 77 percent of the return on investment on this type of activity comes from segmented, well-targeted campaigns at the outset (Direct Marketing Association study). The goal is not to drown your customers or prospects under avalanches of emails, which would cause them to flee, but to offer them information they will find relevant to make them want to be interested in your products or services.

Controlling the deliverability of your emails

To gain visibility into your campaigns, you can at any time analyze your emailing campaign statistics. Check the open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate and other indicators to adjust your strategy. With the help of this data, you will gain in performance during your future emailing campaigns.

Responsive design

When designing the design of an email, keep in mind that there is about a 50 percent chance that it will be opened from a mobile device. It is essential to create responsive emails so that any device is comfortable for the reader and encourages reading. Only emailing software allows you to do this in a professional and systematic way.

Our software proposals

The emailing software market is incredibly broad and offers several extremely good solutions. Today we want to show you 3 that have particularly impressed us:

Newsletter2Go

Email marketing software created in Germany, Newsletter2Go adapts easily to companies of different sizes. Create your own newsletters, launch special offers and accurately monitor your campaign statistics. It is suitable for all users, regardless of technical level. Newsletter2Go is:

• Pleasant user experience
• An email editor with drag-and-drop technology to facilitate the creation of your emails
• Connectivity with tools such as Salesforce, Wordpress, SugarCRM, etc.
• Advanced contact segmentation
• A heat map: to visualize where users click most to optimize your email design

Sendblaster

Sendblaster, on the other hand, is a homegrown product that has made its way globally. Remarkable about this product is that looking at its customers we can find small businesses as well as large ones, how? it will not have limited functions for a large company or excessive for a smaller one? it is available in 2 versions: free and professional, so it will work on any clientele. Among its main features:

• Newsletter layout editor
• Ability to write in HTML mode
• Image filters
• Mail templates
• Customization
• Calendar function within the message

Mailup

Mailup is also a "made in Italy" tool that has spread globally. In contrast to Sendblaster, here we are talking about an increasingly popular feature cloud solution. Another strong point is that it does not stop at managing email marketing campaigns in the strict sense but also extends to mass SMS sending. Let's take a look at its features:

• Configurations to improve deliverability
• No limit on the number of emails sent
• A/B Testing
• Reporting and analysis of sent emails
• Contact segmentation

See all software Email

Expand your audience with your low-cost marketing campaigns

Email marketing is a valuable tool for your marketing strategy; don't neglect it under any circumstances. It allows you to win new customers and keep existing ones in a professional, targeted and cost-effective way. As 83 percent of B2B marketers (Content Marketing Institute study), they use tools to optimize the
emailing software on the market offers easy-to-use online platforms so that you can send your newsletters in record time, with a well-targeted message on the right target audience. All you have to do is choose a tool!