Email Marketing for Beginners

So you’ve finally decided to start an email marketing campaign. Good for you! It’s a smart move. When done right, it’s a low cost, high impact tool that can help you build relationships with your audience and grow your business. In fact, according to MarketingSherpa, email marketing generates $6 billion in annual revenue for businesses around the world. And if you want to get started with email marketing for beginners, we’ve got some helpful advice for you.

Who are your people?

One of the first things you should consider is your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? Are they tech-savvy or non-technical? What kind of products do they typically buy? What kind of frequency are they buying? It’s best when doing email marketing for beginners, that you write down the answers to these questions to help you understand who would buy your product or service. Then once you start getting customers, go back to these questions and expand on the answers so you can build a picture of who they are and what motivates them.

Set up an email list

Now that you know who your target audience is, you’ll have to create a way to collect those email addresses. You can use tools such as MailChimp, Sendinblue, Constant Contact, AWeber, GetResponse and many more to help you build your list. Many of them have free options.

In Canada and Europe, make sure that your email capture form has an opt-in form so people can sign up for your newsletter and be compliant with PIPEDA and GDPR.

It’s also good to know that according to HubSpot, nearly 80% of consumers expect companies to use email marketing to communicate with them. So why not oblige them?

Create a compelling subject line

Now it’s on to the fun stuff! Make sure to create effective and engaging emails that will resonate with them. A good first step for email marketing for beginners is to write a compelling subject line. It’s also helpful to use a call to action (CTA) at the end of the subject line. A well-written subject line will help you get noticed among the millions of emails that flood inboxes every day. For example, if they’re mostly interested in e-commerce, then a newsletter telling them about new products or discounts would be a good fit. Or if they’re more interested in getting deals on restaurants, then a newsletter featuring restaurant coupons would be more relevant.

Write a great message

It can be hard to write a good email marketing message that will resonate with your audience. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to improve your email copywriting skills. First, focus on clarity. Make sure the subject line is clear and concise. And keep the message short and to the point. If you can do this, you’ll have a much better chance of getting people to open your email and engage with it. Another tip is to stay away from jargon and buzzwords. While these terms may have a specific meaning to marketers, they’re often confusing for regular people. So instead of using them, try to explain what you mean in plain English that will resonate with your people.

Send emails at appropriate times

Another important consideration is your email frequency. Are you sending out newsletters every day or once a week? And how often should those newsletters be sent? If you send too much email, you might annoy your readers. Sending too little email can leave your readers feeling ignored. To avoid these pitfalls, you need to figure out when is the best time to send your emails.

If your target audience are busy people who don’t usually check their inboxes very often, then it may make sense to send them fewer emails per month. On the other hand, if they log in frequently, then they may appreciate an email every day or two.

You’re not alone

As you read through this article, you’ve probably discovered that email marketing is kind of like a puzzle. You have to figure out how to include your best content and make sure it’s engaging to your reader at the same time. A well-written email makes a great first impression and can help drive engagement and conversions. And if you practice these tips every time you are in front of your computer contemplating your next brilliant email, then you will consistently create engaging and effective emails that will build your brand and grow your business. If you have questions about building your email list, building your email marketing campaign or just getting started with email marketing in general, feel free to reach out via phone, text or email.

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