Hi there. So, once you're ready to start using an email marketing campaign you'll need to know how to get started. An email marketing service can guide you through the process from start to finish. We're going to discuss the typical features and benefits of email marketing services. We'll talk about how these tools can give you insights into customer behavior so you can deliver more personalized content. While there are many options to choose from most email marketing tools share a few common features. The first, is a contact database that stores all of your customers information. At minimum the database needs to include an email address for each contact. Most software services allow you to include additional information like name, mailing address and other information. You should start building your email database by adding customer data you already have. Most services allow you to upload data from a spreadsheet which is a handy feature if you have a lot of info
Hi there. So, once you're ready to start using an email marketing campaign you'll need to know how to get started. An email marketing service can guide you through the process from start to finish.
We're going to discuss the typical features and benefits of email marketing services. We'll talk about how these tools can give you insights into customer behavior so you can deliver more personalized content. While there are many options to choose from most email marketing tools share a few common features. The first, is a contact database that stores all of your customers information.
At minimum the database needs to include an email address for each contact. Most software services allow you to include additional information like name, mailing address and other information. You should start building your email database by adding customer data you already have. Most services allow you to upload data from a spreadsheet which is a handy feature if you have a lot of information to include.
Next, you want to get people the ability to subscribe and unsubscribe themselves. Most email services provide an online form that you can add to your website by copying and pasting a little bit of code. Your website visitors can then submit the form and sign up for your emails. This data is then automatically transferred onto your contact database.
One thing to keep in mind; these forms are usually customizable so you can ask for the specific customer information that you want but your online signup form should be short and easy to complete. You'll probably have more success growing your subscriber list if you don't require too much information. All you really need is their email address to get started. If you do have information about your customers you can use it to sort them into lists.
For example, let's say you own a pet supply shop. If you know that one set of customers owned cats, you can then group them into a cat list and send them cat food offers. Customers who own dogs would be on the dog list and they get different offers. The more information you have about your customers the more relevant your emails can be.
Now you've got your database. Let's think about the actual emails. Email templates allow you to create a design that matches your brand. You can reuse your template again and again, for similar email campaigns.
Keep in mind, that many people read email on their mobiles so be sure that yours are mobile-friendly. Many email marketing tools allow you to preview your email on different devices before you send. Another great feature to know about is the ability to schedule when your emails actually go out. You can send the email immediately or choose a later day and time.
An email marketing tool can even be used to track what people do when they receive it. You might find that most of your customers open their emails first thing on Monday mornings or during lunch on Fridays. You can then use your email service to record those preferences and send future emails at more relevant times. Email marketing services also track who clicks the links in your email.
These links typically go to pages on your website. So you can then track what those people do once they're on your site. Like whether they read an article or make a purchase. As you learn more about your customers behavior you can then deliver more personalized content.
Many email marketing services offer a personalization feature that places relevant content into an email template based on the person's interests. You can use this feature to send specific messages to different people within your database. Remember those groups of cat owners and dog owners that you set up? While most of your email will contain general information that all pet owners will appreciate your email template can also include one or two fields of content that are tailored for each specific pet group. By targeting each group with a personalized email you increase the chances that they will not only read your email but also click through to visit your website.
So, as you can see, email marketing tools make running a successful email program much easier. Not only will they save you time but you can track which recipients open and take action on your messages. The more you know about your contacts the more personalized content you can deliver. Next, we'll explore how to craft a compelling email and how to best manage your campaigns.