Email Marketing do’s & don’ts

By E-mail Marketing we simply mean sending campaigns via E-mail. It offers a lot of advantages, but only if you do it right. There are many rules and techniques to help you start a successful email marketing campaign.

Benefits of Email Marketing

Email has been around for a while, over 40 years actually, and it has truly become an integral part of every-day communication. Statistica.com even found that in 2021, 4.1 billion people used email every day. That is a very large potential audience.

Email marketing is an easy, and cheap, way to reach many (potential) clients at once, and staying in regular contact with them. In that way, email marketing is the perfect tool to build your branding with. That’s why most of us get a stream of newsletters every day. So your inbox will most likely also be filled with emails containing promotions, campaigns, competitions, and news updates.

Aside from these informative emails, you’ll probably also see many automated marketing emails. These messages are triggered when you complete, or fail to complete, a set action. For example, when you visit an online shop, create an account, and move items into your shopping basket without actually purchasing them, you’ll receive automatic emails reminding you of the items.

Another, and maybe the most important benefit of email marketing is the ability to personalise your messages. By communicating with your clients in a personal way that is tailored to their wants and needs, you’ll capture their attention more easily and motivate them to take action.

• Send birthday wishes with an exclusive discount code
• Remind customers who recently bought a printer of promotions on ink or printer paper
• Do a satisfaction survey a few days after their purchase

Privacy and Email Marketing

In recent years, a lot of rules have been put in place to guarantee the privacy of your target group. This is no different for Email marketing. In 2018, GDPR (or General Data Protection Regulation) entered into force, a European legislation to ensure the privacy of private individuals. GDPR stipulates the use of personal data, such as Email addresses and other personal data.

• Recipients of E-mail must give their explicit consent
• Recipients of E-mail must be able to unsubscribe at any time

Existing customers are considered to be consenting individuals. When you want to establish a relationship with new prospects, you should not address them personally. So start your email with something like “Dear General Manager” rather than “Dear Dimitri”.

Tips for a successful Email Campaigns

• Use an email platform:
  If you start sending newsletters randomly with your personal email address, you will soon be considered as junk mail. Therefore, always use a professional platform for sending newsletters. MailChimp is one of the best-known platforms and offers many advantages and useful analysis tools that allow you to estimate the effectiveness of your campaigns.
• Give your campaigns a clear name:
  This way you can easily compare the success of different campaigns later on. Provide a link to Google Analytics, for example, for additional information.
• Personalize your emails :
  Address the recipient of your e-mail with a personal message. Think about your target audience and make sure you have an attractive title and content for your message. This will increase the chances that the recipient will act.
• Activate your readers:
  Make sure the intent of your email is clear to the recipient. Provide attractive buttons with a clear action. “Get 10% off our new collection” will appeal to your readers more than a standard “Click here” message.
• Don’t overdo it:
  Both the frequency and the number of actions in your newsletter can have a negative impact. Use the analysis tools available to determine the format and frequency that appeal most to your target audience.
• Make sure your reader can find you:
  By adding extensive contact information, you give your reader the possibility to reach you in different ways. In addition to a phone number and a website URL, links to your various social media channels can be very effective.
• Respect the privacy of your reader:
  As stipulated by the European GDPR legislation, you must offer your reader the possibility to unsubscribe from your mailing. Always include an unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email. If you use a mailing program like MailChimp, this button will be added automatically.
• Mobile devices:
  Today, almost half of your readers will view your email on a mobile device. Make sure your newsletter looks good on any device.
• Quality control:
  To make sure everything is readable, always send the email to yourself or a colleague. Also check that all the links in your email are working properly.

INTERESTING STATISTICS

The image above clearly shows how effective our email campaigns are compared to the industry standard. It’s obvious that your campaigns will perform better when you bring in an expert. Our average open rate (the number of people who open your email) is 49.9%, with a peak of 61.9%, while the industry average open rate is only 31.5%.