Email Marketing 101

I’m new to this email marketing thing, help!

DON’T PANIC, we’ve put this section together to keep you company from setting up on our platform to sending your first email.

Here’s what you can expect to learn out of this guide:

• Why email marketing is important
• What you should know about ESPs
• What else do I need to set it up
• Writing that first email: how to prepare
• Read this section again before sending your first email

So, take a deep breath, and let’s go!

Why email marketing is important

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is sending out emails to your current or potential customers with the purpose of engaging them into purchasing your products or services.

What can email marketing do?

Can share videos and images easily Can set up for automatically-scheduled emails Can track and measure

Cool! I have a Gmail and a Yahoo! account, can I use those to send email marketing to my customers?

Technically, you can, but we wouldn’t recommend that. While your email accounts can trigger a send to many action, your marketing messages may go directly to your recipient’s Junk or SPAM folders, especially if you are an unknown sender.

In 2003, an email privacy law called the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 - Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (Obtained from the Federal Trade Commission on September 28, 2017 available on ftc.gov) became effective. This meant that consumers must be given a notification and an option whether or not to receive any type of email communication from organisations.

The law explained what SPAM is, what qualifies as SPAM, the penalty due if your organization is ever caught violating it, and what alternatives you can use instead of mass-mailling.

Read up on how your business can comply with the CAN-SPAM Act (Obtained from Federal Trade Commission on October 10, 2017 available on ftc.gov). The blog on CAN-SPAM FAQs (A blog by Corey Wainwright, obtained on October 10, 2017 available on blog.hubspot.com) is also a good place to start familiarizing yourself with the act’s limitations.

Got it! What can I use to send our marketing emails?

If your organisation has never used email as a marketing channel, then you will be needing an Email Sender Provider (ESP) service.

What you should know about ESPs

ESP?

Think of an ESP as your mailman. He collects all your mail, stores the addresses on his phonebook, and then goes off to deliver them; directly to your target recipient.

What are the ESP services I can use?

You can integrate Ematic with any of the following ESPs:

MailChimp Campaign Monitor Responsys

How do I integrate this ESP?

Your Customer Success Manager (CSM) will help you with this process. All you have to do is provide them access to your existing ESP. But if you don’t have an ESP, your CSMs can set it up for you.

What else do I need to set it up

How do I measure the effectiveness of my email marketing ?

Google Analytics can help us measure the effectivity of your email marketing strategies. We also have a tool called the Performance Dashboard which displays extensive data on how well your mailings do.

Grant your CSMs access to your Google Tag Manager (GTM) so they can set this up for you.

Have a read at Email Analytics: What should be measured? to learn about the key numbers to make you a successful marketer.

Great! I want to send my email now!

Hold that thought for a bit. We want you to be 100% prepared before you click that Send button. Here’s a mandatory read on Email Marketing 101:

Writing that first email: how to prepare

Think about your strategy.

• What is the purpose of your email? Most of customers want users to make a purchase, or read some content, or check out new updates. It’s important also then to provide a link or call-to-action so they can easily achieve the purpose What are you trying to achieve in this marketing campaigns. Are you creating awareness, consideration, conversion, loyalty or advocacy. Whichever it is that you want to achieve, it must be clear and aligned.
• Do you want to send a transactional email or a marketing email? Transactional email - Generated automatically by an action a user has taken with the application. Marketing email - Email about promotions, special offers and newsletters.
• Monitor your opens and clicks: A high number of opens and clicks indicate that you’re sending at the right time, to the right recipients.
  Opens - Your recipients opened your emails.
  Clicks - Your recipients clicked a link in your email
• Quality is always better than quantity. Remember that inboxes can get pretty packed, and sometimes, the only way to get noticed is by sending less. Send only emails that add value to your users. Your organization will be more appreciated by this simple gesture. This can potentially build better relationships and more chances of opens and clicks!
• Test, test, and test. From subject lines, to images and call to actions, testing will always improve your craft.

Think about the tone and impression you want to leave when you send that first email.

Sending a welcome email is just as important as your first marketing email. It introduces you as a company and sets your tone. It’s your chance to convince your customers they are in the right place, and a chance to leave a great and lasting impression. Think of the welcome email as an opening to any business conversation.

How will you talk to your customers?

First of all, what is your organisation’s culture? Is it casual friendly? Business formal? Do you want to project that culture to your customers? Deciding which tone to use will give your customers a preview of your personality as an organisation, which is something that could stick to them, and even engage them further.

What will your welcome email contain?

When you have established that connection with your customers, appreciating and thanking them for being on board with you is always a great gesture. You can then proceed to sharing tips on how to use your products or services. Share videos, links to your company knowledge center, and invitations to follow you on your different social media platforms can also help sustain that relationship.

Talk to your dedicated CSMs if you need any guidance on creating your content.

Read this section again before sending your first email

Do another round of review. Your email must include the following:

• From address - Never use “No-Reply”.
• Subject line
• Pre-header
• Header
• Body
• Call to action (CTA)
• Footer
• Balance images and text in your content for a smooth user experience.
• Brand your emails. Make sure your brand or company’s character still shines through. - link to email samples