Digital Marketing

Email Marketing
The use of email within your marketing efforts to promote a business’s
products and services, as well as incentivize customer loyalty. Email
marketing is a form of marketing that can make the customers on your
email list aware of new products, discounts, and other services. It can also
be a softer sell to educate your audience on the value of your brand or keep
them engaged between purchases. It can also be anything in between.

When you want to grow your brand or sell your stuff, email marketing is one
of the most popular and effective tools around for marketing campaigns. In
this article we’ll discuss how email marketing and the usage of promotional
emails can help you to grow your business, and we’ll give you a few tips to
help you get started with a successful email marketing campaign.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is a powerful marketing channel, a form of direct
marketing as well as digital marketing, that uses email to promote your
business’s products or services. It can help make your customers aware of
your latest items or offers by integrating it into your marketing automation
efforts. It can also play a pivotal role in your marketing strategy with lead
generation, brand awareness, building relationships or keeping customers
engaged between purchases through different types of marketing emails.

A brief history of email

The very first email was sent in 1971 by a computer engineer named Ray
Tomlinson. The message he sent was just a string of numbers and letters,
but it was the beginning of a new era of communication. Tomlinson was also
the person who introduced the usage of the “@” symbol in email addresses.
In 1978, a marketing manager at Digital Equipment Corp named Gary
Thuerk used this new method of direct communication to send out the first
commercial email to let people know about a new product. His email list
only had 400 addresses, but the emails he sent resulted in about $13 million
in sales.
By the ‘90s, the internet had become commercially available to the masses.
The way people communicated with one another began to change
dramatically, and marketers discovered that email could be an effective way
to advertise. The emergence of marketing emails also ushered in the need
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for regulatory updates; the U.K.'s Data Protection Act, for example, was
adjusted to require an "opt out" option for all marketing emails.

Advantages of email marketing

Email has become such a popular marketing tool for businesses partly
because it forces the user to take some kind of action; an email will sit in
the inbox until it’s read, deleted, or archived. But email is also one of the
most cost-effective tools available, too. In fact, a 2015 study by the U.K.-
based Direct Marketing Association (DMA) found that for every $1 spent,
email has an average return on investment (ROI) of $38. For more on the
power of email marketing, check out our email marketing statistics by
industry.
Email marketing can help you build a relationship with your audience while
also driving traffic to your blog, social media, or anywhere else you’d like
folks to visit. You can even segment your emails and target users by
demographic so you’re only sending people the messages they want to see
most. Here are some email marketing campaign tips to get started.
Email marketing also allows you to run A/B tests of a subject line or call to
action to identify the best performing message by using email marketing
software that can also be configured to easily send out emails. Check out
Mailchimp's email templates to see more of what you can do with email
marketing.
Tips for building your email marketing list
But how do you build an audience of people to send email to as part of your
internet marketing efforts in the first place? There are a few ways, and all of
them have to do with treating your customers right, taking into
consideration marketing best practices.
Don’t buy email lists. Many email marketing companies have a strict,
permission-based policy when it comes to email addresses, which means
that sending to purchased lists is prohibited. Instead, concentrate on
encouraging folks to opt into receiving messages from you by using lead
magnets. You could offer a discount on your customers' first orders when
they sign up for your email list via a custom signup form. Or maybe you can
offer new subscribers free shipping on their next order or give them a
chance to win a prize when they join your list. Here are some more tips to
help you build an email list.
Be aware of national (and international) email regulations. Make sure you
adhere to any legal requirements and applicable laws in your area when
sending automated emails, like the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States,
the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL), or the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union for the treatment of personal
information. The regulations are based on both your location and the
location of your subscribers, and it’s your responsibility to know which laws
apply to you. Here's more advice on avoiding email spam filters.

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Use email to have a conversation with your customers. Email is a great
marketing tool, but it can help your business in other ways, too. Consider
taking the occasional break from your regular marketing content to send
out surveys, tell you customers how much you appreciate them after buying
from you, following up after an abandoned cart, or just say hello. Not only
does it give your audience a chance to provide you with valuable feedback,
but it also allows them to get more insight into the person behind the
business.
Only send when you really need to. Once someone has trusted you with
their email address, don’t abuse that trust. Flooding your audience’s inbox
with superfluous emails will cause them to lose interest or unsubscribe
entirely. Focus on sending them relevant, engaging messages about the
stuff they like, and they'll be loyal for a long time to come.

Does email marketing work?

When you want to communicate something about your brand or sell your
stuff, email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to do so.
In fact, a 2015 study by the DMA found that for every $1 spent, email has
an average $38 return on investment (ROI). When shoppers are ready to
buy something, they often look for emails from their favorite stores.
Still, people receive more and more email all the time, and it can be
challenging to stand out in full inboxes. That’s why Mailchimp gives you the
tools you need to shine (plus, we’ve got a lot of tried-and-true tips
on sending outstanding emails) and develop effective email marketing
campaigns. Check out our email marketing statistics by industry for more
on why email marketing works.

How do I get an email list?

You’ll see the highest ROI when you build and maintain an engaged
subscriber list, made up of people who want to receive your messages (and
who opted in on purpose). Although building a clean list can take more work
at the outset of your email marketing strategy, Mailchimp lists have built-in
tools to help you along the way.

There are lots of ways to find people who’ll look forward to getting your
emails, but we’ve rounded up a few that work best.

To build an email list:

 Create a signup form on your website. When people come to your website
for the first time and like what they see, they’ll want a way to stay in-the-
know about your brand. Create a form for newsletter signups and install a
pop-up to collect customer data from your visitors.

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  Use a good old-fashioned signup sheet. Whether it’s at your brick-and-
mortar store, or an event that you’re hosting or attending, when you’re
surrounded by people who are into what you do, provide a place for them to
sign up and learn more.
 Drive signups through social media. If you don’t have a substantial email list
(or you’d just like to see it grow), but you’ve got an engaged social media
following, tap into that resource. Share your signup form on your social
channels.

To add more subscribers to an existing list:

 Host a contest or offer a discount. We’re big fans of giving people an

incentive to sign up for your email list and we know that contests work. Try
offering a prize for some lucky new subscriber or a discount code for a first
purchase.
 Make your emails easy to share. When you create beautiful, compelling
emails, with a lot of valuable information people will want to share them.
Mailchimp gives you features (like share buttons and social media post
builders) that let the word about your emails spread quickly.
 Build a landing page through Mailchimp. Landing pages offer one more way
to grow your email list. Using your best imagery and content, landing pages
give people a clear call to action and drive email signups way, way up.

Can I buy an email list?

No. You should not buy an email list (and if you’re using Mailchimp, you
can’t use an email list you purchased).
Purchased lists are ineffective, and they impact everyone else who uses
Mailchimp, too. If you send emails to a list of people whose contact info you
bought, many of the emails will get identified as spam and you'll also get
high unsubscribe rates. Some email spam filters will flag a email campaign
if anyone with the same IP has sent spam in the past. When you use
Mailchimp, your email is delivered through our servers, so if one person
sends spam, it could prevent other users’ emails from reaching inboxes. But
by forbidding Mailchimp users from using purchased lists, we increase
deliverability for everyone.

 That’s why we work vigilantly to keep our sending reputation intact,

and it’s important that all users abide by our Terms of Use, which
enforce anti-spam laws. There are 3 primary rules you should follow
to comply with our Terms of Use.
 Don’t use third-party lists. This includes purchased or rented mailing
lists, and lists scraped from third-party sources, including public
websites.
 Get permission. Everyone on your list should have opted in to receive
emails from you, and their permission should be express and

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 verifiable. If you use one of our signup form options, we track this
permission for you.
 Include an unsubscribe link. Federal anti-spam laws require you to give
people a way to unsubscribe from your list in every campaign you send. We
require you to use our unsubscribe link.

I'm ready for email marketing, but which platform

should I use?

Whether you’re starting your first email marketing campaign or you’re a

seasoned email pro, Mailchimp has the tools and support you need. With a
wide array of features that do everything from marketing
automation to tracking tools to optimizing your emails through split testing,
we’ve got you covered from start to finish.

OK, but how much does it cost?

When you create a Mailchimp account, you have the option to select a Free
or paid plan. This option allows you to experiment with our user-friendly
tools and figure out how to best use our all-in-one Marketing Platform. So if
you’re just getting off the ground, you can learn to market smarter so you
can grow faster. You can remain on the Free plan as long as you have 2,000
or fewer contacts in your audience.

As your audience continues to grow, our pricing plans also scale alongside
your needs, for advance business needs we are also offering a Premium
Plan.

Plus, we empower you with lots of good recommendations (and fun email
marketing tips!) about how to act on data from your contacts so you can
send emails that people actually read. We will help you to create successful
email marketing campaigns.

I'm new to email marketing, and I might need a

little help.
We’re here when you need us. During your first 30 days with Mailchimp, we
offer access to 24/7 world-class support for free so that you get the most out
of your account.

If you’d like to keep in touch with our support team through online chat or
email, upgrade to our Essentials plan starting at $11 a month. Whether
you’re hitting a roadblock with an email you’re writing or want more

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information about how something works, help is available around the clock.
And when you’re ready to take your email marketing to the next level, we
have plans for that, too.

Even if you don’t upgrade to a paid account, you can always check out our
step-by-step tutorials and in-depth information about how our features work
(as well as tips and troubleshooting guides).

Email Marketing Field Guide

Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your
business, whether your goal is to build your brand or sell more stuff.
Our field marketing guide provides effective email marketing strategies and
anything else you need to know to make the most of this platform. Learn
how to create an email marketing plan, design effective emails all along
your sales funnel, test them and improve your deliverability rates. Then
discover the power of marketing automation and how to measure the
success of your emails.

Email Design Guide

Presentation is everything, or so they say. With this old adage in mind,
we’ve compiled our best tips for anyone who wants to send emails that
subscribers click into a handy email design guide. We cover each facet of
design: content, templates, identity, color, images, layout, fonts, and calls to
action. Design is as much science as it is art, and we take the guesswork out
of what can seem like the most challenging part of sending good emails.

Email Design Reference

If you want to code your own emails, you have the freedom to do so. But this
is an advanced skill that requires a good bit of technical know-how. Here’s
what you need to take the coding leap—whether you’re just getting started,
wondering about the basics of HTML emails, or looking for a guide to
coding them. We’ve also rounded up a few more resources you might need
as you become a certifiable email pro. If you're considering another
platform, check out our comparison guide before you make any decisions.

Can I test my emails?

Of course you can! With A/B testing tools, like those offered by Mailchimp,
you can do split testing and test as many as three variations for campaigns.

You can also test subject lines, content, from names, and send times. You
can test your reach too; that's how many people get your emails. Always
optimize your emails for better results.

How to test your emails?

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First, choose the factor that defines success for you. It could be clicks,
opens, or money earned. We’ll collect the results, and show you the winner.
And you can automate it too. Just tell Mailchimp to automatically send out
the winning campaign. It's really pretty easy.

Email marketing tips to get you started

1. Create an email marketing plan.
To make the planning part easier, we’ve highlighted some best practices
you’ll want to consider when devising a strategy for your email marketing.

Define your audience

No matter what you sell, you need to have a clear idea of who your audience
is in order to effectively communicate with them. Mailchimp lets you dig a
little deeper to segment users within your audience so you can send
them personalized and targeted emails that help increase engagement,
build trustful relationships and generate greater ROI.
Signup sources
Some of the most valuable data your signup form has to offer is how and
where subscribers sign up for your list. If you’re an e-commerce business
with your store connected to Mailchimp, knowing where your customers
joined your list can give you a better idea of how to communicate with them
and where you might want to focus your marketing efforts going forward.

Segments and groups

Once you’ve identified smaller collections of people within your larger

audience, you’ll be able to create groups and segments to send more
relevant and personalized emails to your recipients—and the more relevant
the campaign, the better the results. There are times when you’ll want to
send to your entire list, but by segmenting users and taking advantage of
Mailchimp’s segmentation tools can significantly increase the click-through
rates and e-commerce orders your campaigns generate.

Decide what to write

Now that you know who you’re writing to, it’s time to think about your
content. What do you want to say to your audience? What is your content
marketing strategy? You’ll want to send emails with purpose, that really
speak to your subscribers, so always keep in mind what they signed up for.

Establish your sending frequency and goals

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There’s nothing set in stone about how often you should email your
customers, but if you send too often, your subscribers are likely to tune out
what you have to say or unsubscribe altogether. Some users that run
a blog or news website might choose to send daily updates to their
subscribers, while other users only send twice a month so subscribers stay
excited about their emails. Choose to send your email campaign at your own
pace, and check the unsubscribe rates and the click through rates to adjust
the frequency if needed.

Make a schedule

One way to make sure you’re staying on track is to create a content

calendar to schedule your campaigns, blog posts, social media posts, and
more.

Your email marketing schedule will depend on your industry, the types of
content you send (content marketing strategy), and your sending frequency.

2. Design your emails

Design tips
When designing email campaigns, focus on your message and keep your
design straightforward. We suggest laying out all the elements for your
campaign in a hierarchy, putting your most important information or the
main takeaway toward the top so people can quickly scan your email if
they’re short on time.

Code your own templates

Looking to have more control over your email design? You have the option
to code your own HTML template and import it to Mailchimp.

3. Test your emails

Test in different email clients and ISPs

All email clients are created differently, which means that the campaign you
designed in Mailchimp might look slightly different in your subscribers’
inboxes. Be sure to check the emails on mobile devices as well as they can
look different in responsive designs.

Send test emails to friends and coworkers

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If you have any friends or coworkers who can check your email for typos
and give you some feedback on the layout, you can send them a test email
so they can preview the campaign directly in their inbox.

Find the best version with A/B Testing campaigns

Not sure which subject line will get the most opens and clicks? Think there
might be a certain time of day your customers are most likely to make a
purchase through your campaign? Running an A/B test lets you experiment
with different versions of your emails to see how the changes you make
impact your results.
4. What you can do with marketing automation

Unlike regular campaigns, an automation is a targeted email or series of

emails that you can set and forget. From a welcome email series to follow
up emails after a purchase to rewarding your customers with a special
incentive, automation helps you streamline your communications with
customers so you have more time to focus on creating content and
increasing return on investment (ROI). Plus, you can design, send, and
track order notifications to update customers on purchases they made from
your store.

5. Measure your performance

The marketing analytics data collected in your Mailchimp reports will help
you refine your marketing strategy going forward.

Opens and clicks

These are the most obvious statistics for measuring campaign engagement,
as they indicate how well your subject lines and campaign content
resonates with a particular list. But it’s important to consider how your
open and click through rates compare to other companies in your industry—
otherwise you’re looking at your statistics in a vacuum.

E-commerce data

If you’ve connected your store to Mailchimp and turned-on e-commerce link

tracking for your campaigns, you can view purchase data for your
subscribers in campaign reports, subscriber profiles, and on the account
dashboard.

Website traffic

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The campaigns you send can help you direct more traffic to your website or
online store. And there are a few integrations you can sync with Mailchimp
so you can track any trends in website traffic or e-commerce activity after
you send a campaign.

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