We'll come right out and say it: email marketing is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing out there. There's no reason for beating around the bush; it's simply a must in any marketing campaign.

You might not think so, based on how outdated the medium seems, but you'd be wrong.

It seems counterintuitive.

Well, until you read the stats: by 2025, there will be four and a half billion people who use email.

That's a pretty big market. One ripe for branding opportunities and marketing campaigns.

But why is email marketing such a sound marketing strategy for businesses? Let's find out.

What Is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is the use of emails to inform potential and existing customers about aspects of your business.

And the more, the better. This is an email blast or mail blast; you may have heard of it already if you work with an in-house team.

While email marketing has an extensively broad definition, in that nearly every online correspondence is email marketing, let's narrow it down for our purposes.

Email Marketing Advantages

Okay, so now that we know what email marketing is, what sets it apart, from say, influencer marketing on your social media?

Global Reach

There are no two ways about it; email marketing has a massive reach. There are billions of email addresses, many of which could be new subscribers and people interested in your product or service.

No Algorithm Switch

SEO experts are well aware of how finicky Google can get with its mysterious algorithm. Well, for those trying to launch an email to nurture a customer base, there's no need to fret about ever-changing metrics.

You have an unchanging, consistent (and growing) audience whom you can market towards. Expanding your reach is more about your communication skills rather than your mastery of the latest and greatest keywords.

Automation

When things are automated, we can (usually) breathe a sigh of relief knowing that something's taken care of. With email marketing, automation is the name of the game. Automation tied to specific aspects of your website is an excellent way of getting the users' attention.

Things To Consider With Email Marketing

These benefits don't automatically mean you'll have a free and straightforward path to customers' time and attention.

Just think: how many promotional emails are lying 'marked as read' in your online inbox? Ignored emails from stores you've purchased from in the past?

You see what we mean. An email marketing campaign doesn't guarantee success.

While email marketing is easily one of the best forms of marketing, the one caveat is that you need to write good emails. That way, you can differentiate yourself from just another lifeless social promotion.

How do you make an email or email blast captivating? Well, write a good email, of course. Okay, that's easier said than done, but let's look at the fundamentals you'll need to write an effective marketing email.

What You Need For A Successful Email Marketing Campaign

Now that you know why email marketing is something you should consider in your next campaign, let's go further. Specifically, what you and your team will need in building a successful email campaign.

You Need An Email List

Email marketing is nothing without a good list. That is, a growing list of potential customers who will engage with your content.

Wait, How Do You Build An Email List?

It can be a grueling task to compile a comprehensive list of email addresses of future customers, and it'll take you some maneuvering. But overall, it's pretty painless.

• Calls To Action (CTAs): A good call to action, compelling the would-be customer to engage with a particular facet of your business, is a fantastic marketing method. Try putting a personalized CTA at the bottom of your blog pages. When someone visits your site and considers your solution to their problem, it's always better to make your messaging helpful and relatable. A good call to action will do just that: call subscribers to act.
• Pop-Up Surveys: Sometimes, you want to gauge an audience's reception towards specific content. Maybe it's an in-depth blog you just launched or a new product page. Either way, having a small survey pop up on the side of the page is an excellent way to build an email list. For example, if a user is constantly engaging with an article on paid advertising, maybe ask them something like: 

You're showing interest in paid advertising. Do you want to contact us for a digital marketing consultation? 

You can give browsers a choice to opt-in to your company's emails.

• Get Creative With Messaging: Sometimes, marketing can seem dry and lifeless. In keeping with pop-up surveys and CTAs, would-be subscribers may appreciate a little humor in your content. For example, we could give a visitor to the site a 'yes' or 'no' option to subscribe. However, let's make it a bit more interesting. Instead of 'yes,' let's go with 'yes, I want the best SEO help' and 'no, I want to have no organic traffic for my e-commerce business.' Sometimes the little touches can help build a brand's awareness and endear yourself toward subscribers.

Establish Goals For Your Campaign

First and foremost, what's the end goal for an email campaign?

Is it more conversions? More subscribers? Simply more organic traffic from your audience? Whether short or long-term, strong goals are essential for any marketing push.

Concrete goals make planning a good campaign much more manageable and allow you and your team to allocate proper resources. In short, you need them to have any hope of success, whatever that may look like to you and your business.

Once you nail these crucial aspects of your campaign, it's always important to see what you need to write a good marketing email.

How To Write A Good Email

Writing a good email is an art form, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise!

To affect potential and existing customers, an excellent email has to have a few criteria.

A Good Subject Line

Subject lines are the first thing a would-be subscriber will see. As you can imagine, that's kind of a big deal in sending emails. Without a captivating subject line in your email, the chances are that your campaign may be D.O.A.

Therefore, it's time to brush up on your openings.

For a subject line, you're going to want to focus on a customer's pain point. Very generally, a pain point is a constant problem the customer has. So, for example, a customer may not be able to get help building a custom website.

In this case, address that pain point directly in the subject line.

"Want to ditch Canva's website templates?"

Or

"We make designing custom websites a breeze."

Whichever you choose, it's essential to work on personalized email subject lines. As you'll see, personalized communication is vital for any successful email marketing campaign.

Work On Personalization

When crafting an email for a campaign, it's not an intelligent move to outline the benefits of your product in a lifeless, bloated message. While, sure, you're laying out the best parts of your company, it's just so salesly for a lot of people.

What you need is the right personalization. Make sure that you use the right words, sentence structure, and perhaps most important, the right brand voice and tone.

Starbucks: Brand Voice and Tone

Are you a small business with a casual attitude? Maybe you're a no-nonsense, centuries-old brand that appeals to new subscribers through name recognition alone. These multifaceted aspects of your brand play a key role in good email marketing.

Overall, what does your brand stand for? Additionally, how do you want your customers to see specific sides of your business?

For example, check out Starbucks's brand voice guideline. It outlines a functional voice, helping customers find solutions to their issues. Then Starbucks employs an expressive tone, making these helpful solutions relatable and positive. It helps personalize the customer's experience.

And Starbucks's work on its voice and tone is successful. Quick, when you think of the mood of a Starbucks, what do you envision? Probably a laid-back, down-to-earth vibe, right?

Try to hone your brand's voice and tone for your users. Both should be an ever-present aspect of your business, emails included.

Nurture Your Customer Base

In a recent piece on digital marketing funnels, we emphasized that you should always be nurturing.

And it's something we believe in and hold to in our business model.

Likewise, an email should always build loyalty and positive feelings between you and your customers.

In short, build trust. We promise it helps a ton in marketing and building goodwill with people.

The Final Word On Email Marketing

See, email is a resource ripe for effective marketing. Just be sure to build a comprehensive email list, including great personalization efforts, clear goals, and a few creative touches.

We promise, when you put it all together, something special happens.

But you likely won't nail it on your first go around, and that's fine! It's a labor of love, but one that can pay off big time.

Try these email marketing tips to launch a campaign directed towards your audience, and let us know how your efforts panned out. And maybe shoot us a line if you have the chance.