Alright — in my last post we discussed how you can stand out from the competition with great infographics. Now let's branch out to another personal form of engagement: email marketing. Yes, I am suggesting contacting potential clients in their personal inboxes. Is that spam? Well, if it was done wrong, it would be. But what we're doing here is much different--it's helpful, it's informative, and it's incredibly effective.
Honing In On Your Customers Interests
Email marketing, which runs from the occasional message all the way to highly sophisticated communication plans, is an excellent tool to nurture a group of interested customers into becoming loyal followers. Notice the emphasis on the word "interested"--it's key that you're only contacting those who have shown interest in your company, product or service, and have consented to receiving your emails, otherwise your emails will simply be spam (and you don't want to waste your time and effort on messaging clients who won't appreciate it!).
Believe it or not, it's not that hard to build a list of interested email followers. People will absolutely sign up to hear more from you if you're offering helpful information. Build your list by including a field in your information request form; offering special information to those who join the mailing list; or even through competitions or giveaways.
Target Customers By Knowing Their Interests
Once you have your audience, start an email campaign by utilizing the social media storytelling you've already been working so hard on. Content for your campaign should be relevant, informative and engaging.
A great weekly email might be a Best Of list that features your top social posts, and goes more into depth on why these posts are relevant, with top comments from your social followers. Use your infographics as a link to your website to learn more.
Keep customers in the know with industry news, adding your opinion of projects that have been nominated for awards, or what you think of new products that hit the market. Send out news releases as your company expands with new products or into new markets.
If the information you’re sending is informative, your customers will recognize the value in signing up for a weekly message. If your content is insightful, they’ll begin to recognize your company as a leader in the industry.
Finding Balance
While finding content for your email newsletters will be easier than you may think, it’s imperative to limit the number of emails you send. Send too many and you run the risk of ending up in the spam folder. Overexposed clients learn to ignore your company name each time they see it—and that’s the beginning of a slippery slope.
In the beginning, aim to send one email per week. If you notice your readers are opening your emails and clicking the appropriate links to your website or for other information, and you have more useful content to share, consider adding another message to the mix.
There are plenty of good email marketing software services and companies that can help you manage your email campaigns. Start by curating content that your readers will find valuable and create your campaigns. In a world full of spam, email marketing is understandably a bit taboo, but trust me--if you do it right, you can make an impact in no time flat.
Due to popular demand, we're going to keep this series going. Keep an eye open for my next post: Building Social Media Connections That Last. While you wait, you can check out our other content and browse our extensive free resource library.
