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New to this? Read up on the basics of this very old and proven marketing strategy.
Is email marketing effective for your small business
Take a look at whether this is the right strategy for your business or not.
Read more >>
What is email marketing
Learn in it's most basic form what email marketing really is.
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How to get emails for email marketing
To be successful at this strategy you will need to build a responsive subscriber list.
Read more >>
How to create a email marketing campaign
Building a list is one thing, knowing how to blast out emails is another.
Read more >>
Related Categories
User Friendly and Affordable
$19 - $149
Landing Page Creator
500+ Templates
30 Day Free Trial
$15 - $799
30 Day Free Trial
700+ Templates
Unlimited Emails
Robust and Highly Flexible
$11.95 - $29,200
Integration With 300+ Apps
Segmenting & A/B Testing
Drag & Drop Email Editor
Powerful and Simple
$10 - $400
iPad Subscribe App
In-depth Reporting
Drag & Drop Email Editor
Simple and Affordable
$14 - $405
Marketing Automation
SMS & MMS Campaigns
Sleek User Interface
Advanced Features
$29 - $3,999
Flexible Automation Rules
Landing Page Creator
Wordpress Plugins
Unlimited Automation
$13 - $110
Advanced Reporting
Landing Page Creator
Transactional Rules
Mobile Responsiveness
$19.90 - $209.90
Private IP Address
Automation & Segmenting
Integrated Social Analytics
Social Integration
$9 - $415
Comprehensive User Interface
Advanced Segmenting
CRM Functionality
Advanced Automation
$9 - $1,300
Advanced Tracking
Advanced Newsletter Design
eCommerce Integration
High End Newsletters
What are email marketing services?
Email marketing is sending commercial messages directly to potential consumers through electronic mail. The emails sent are either advertisements, requests for business, sales solicitation messages or even donations. An email marketing service is a software that assists in making email marketing productive, effective and reliable. Here is a brief rundown of the functions of an email marketing service.
· Provides professional email templates that can be customized to suit a company’s needs and preferences.
· Maintains a segmented email list subscribers. The segments are based on a number of factors such as consumer spending habits, consumer likes and dislikes and the length of time that addressees have been on the email list.
· Sends emails as scheduled by marketers.
· Tracks the results of emails sent by providing statistics such as number of clicks, bounces, open rates and dormant subscriptions. This helps ascertain the success rate of email marketing campaigns.
· Provides integration with other programs such as social media platforms.
· Automatically updates subscriber lists by eliminating the unsubscribed and including any new subscriptions.
· Regular spam testing to gauge email receivership against factors that can block a template.
Why use email marketing services?
Email marketing has become the norm for many marketers focused on building and retaining consumer loyalty. This is because;
1. Studies prove that emails have an unmatched ability to drive conversions
If an email marketing strategy is well thought out and effective, it has the potential of delivering high returns on investment. Email marketing allows hyper-targeted and streamlined communication with customers. Unlike social media marketing where status updates and photographs are for a general crowd, emails are personalized and relevant to a customer’s particular individual needs.
2. Email is the most reliable, professional and preferred business communication channel.
A large percentage of the population regards emails as a professional medium through which they can receive information on products and services. This is unlike social media platforms that are largely considered a friendly interactive platform for friends and family. Marketing is well received and positively responded to on email than on any other channel.
3. Email is an open and unrestricted communication channel
Most marketing channels such as twitter and Facebook are controlled and owned by a third party. These third parties often make decisions that are unfavorable to markers such as algorithm-controlled feeds which are aimed at increasing paid advertisement. In contrast, email is neither owned nor controlled by a particular entity. The diverse array of utilities involved in email marketing ensures no changes or limitations detrimental to marketing are made. This means that a company can invest money and time into developing a great email marketing strategy without running the risk of a third party limiting its effectiveness.
4. Email is consistent and stable
The internet is dynamic, ever-adapting and ever-changing. Sites come and go in the blink of an eye. For instance, My Space which was once the largest global social networking site now ranks 1500th in the United States. This simply means that building an effective email marketing strategy is a stable long term investment that will definitely pay off in the future.
5. Email messages are delivered directly to the targeted audience
Reliable research proves that 90 percent of emails are delivered to an intended recipient successfully. Considering email marketing is communication to individuals who have already made subscription, a company is sure that it is investing into reaching an audience that has interest in its products and services.
What to look for in email marketing services?
A productive and successful email marketing campaign requires an email service provider that targets the desired consumer niche and delivers actionable results. Here is a brief rundown of what to look for in an email marketing service.
1. Professional eye catching templates
For marketing emails to attract and retain the attention of recipients, the templates have to be sharp and professional. This saves time on time as the email accentuates the content.
2. User friendly drag-and-drag templates
Ensure an email service provider has drag-and-drag templates that allow adding images and texts without much hassle.
3. Versatility
Ensure that an email service provider optimizes emails to enable access on several platforms such as phones, tablets and laptops. Emails should look sharp on all platforms. Ensure an email marketing service optimizes for mobile devices and accentuates the emails with responsive templates.
4. Social media integration capability
Go with an email marketing service that makes it easy to share all marketing emails on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
5. Allows scheduling
A feasible email service provider should enable and accommodate planning and scheduling. Settle on an email marketing service that allows planning on when and who to send emails to without too much effort on the company’s part.
6. Reliable tracking tools
An efficient email marketing service should give exhaustive information on how successful a marketing campaign is. A reliable tracking tool should give statistics such as number of clicks, number of dormant subscribers, number of new subscriptions, open rates and bounces.
7. A reliable and helpful support team
It is advisable to go for an email marketing services that is equipped with an excellent support team that answers all inquiries and promptly addresses all issues and concerns.
8. Affordable
It is recommended that an email service provider should be affordable based on a company’s budget allocation. A marketer should thoroughly investigate the costs to ensure they reflect the quality of service provided.
9. Reputable and trustworthy providers
It advisable to choose an email marketing service that has an established reputation. Avoid fly-by-night providers that are still new in the market. Settle on an email marketing service that has established business relationships with online giants such as Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google.
10. Availability of free trials
Settle on an email marketing service that offers free trials. This gives a company the opportunity to test out the features of an email marketing service and ascertains whether it is a good fit. This helps analyze whether the services offered meet a company’s needs and wants before making an actual purchase.
11. Avoid long term contracts
Avoid signing up with an email marketing service that requires more than a month-long commitment. When starting out, try out a short-term commitment so that it is easy to switch or cancel services without much hassle.
12. Robust and established infrastructure
Ensure that the email marketing service you choose to use has reliable structures in place such as multiple high speed internet connection via several sources. The last thing any email marketing campaign needs is a system breakdown that will paralyze marketing efforts.
Email marketing strategies, tips and tricks
Email marketing is currently done by many businesses. Therefore, for an email marketing strategy to thrive and remain effective in the cutthroat market of digital marketing, it is imperative to develop creative and innovative strategies. The inbox of a standard consumer is thronged with marketing messages and attention seeking emails. Reliable statistics estimate that over 144 billion marketing-related emails are sent each day. To stand out from the masses, a company has to implement creative result-yielding strategies. These include;
1. Establish trust with recipients through personalization of emails
The success of email marketing relies heavily on establishing a relationship with the recipients. Injecting personalized recommendations into marketing emails effectively converts clicks to actual sales. Customize your emails based on each subscribers browsing behavior. However, personalization has to be done on a meaningful way otherwise it will come across as forced familiarity which is too "salesy" and turns recipients off.
2. Use freebies to attract and retain the attention of recipients.
According to a study done by Blue Wine Media, emails are that offer freebies have very high open and click rates. A recipient’s line of thought favors emails that give something away freely. Additionally, it is through freebies that a potential consumer can have a taste of what a company has to offer.
3. Regularly re-engage inactive subscribers
A huge subscription list does not necessarily indicate the number of active recipients. Reliable research indicates that average inactivity from email addresses on the subscription list is over 60 percent. Regularly carrying out a re-engagement campaign turns sign-ups to devotees. The use of catchy subjects accentuated with quality content will make a re-engagement campaign more successful.
4. Optimize emails for mobile users
Design all marketing emails to ensure they look great on mobile devices. After all, over 40 percent of emails are opened through phone. Here is a brief rundown of effective mobile-design tips;
· All marketing emails should be in a one column to enable an easy mobile read.
· Ensure the font size is legible and readable on all mobile phones.
· Ensure the call-to-action is visible and easy to tap on phone
· Design all marketing emails with user ergonomics in mind. Consider the fact that most phone users scroll and tap using thumbs. It is therefore pertinent that all clickable features are placed in the middle of the screen.
5. Send marketing emails at appropriate times
Most consumers have busy schedules and lack the time to open marketing emails during working hours. Most recipients actually consider such emails as a nuisance. A feasible strategy is to send marketing emails after working hours. This is between 8pm to midnight. Another effective email marketing strategy is sending marketing emails on weekends. Since most marketing emails are sent on weekdays, those sent during the weekend stand out more. In order to effectively compete with other companies that also use email marketing, a company has to send emails when recipients have the time read them.
Top 10 Best Email Marketing Services Compared
Not long ago, to run an effective email marketing campaign you would need on-site servers and programmers to help set it all up. Not anymore. These email marketing services below allow you to get all setup in minutes with no coding necessary as all functionality is point and click. Whether you're seeking to build a big email list to conduct bulk mass mailing campaigns or setup a auto-responder after somebody joins your newsletter, these solutions below can help you achieve all of that and more.
