- Email marketing is a useful tool for business looking trying to increase engagement with their customer base.
- Your welcome email is the first step toward getting customers interested in your message and brand.
- To increase engagement, businesses should focus on personalizing the messages they send to each subscriber
- Since 82% of consumers stop using a brand after a poor experience, it is critical to follow up to make sure the customer is happy.
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to generate sales and expose your content to potential customers. While most are familiar with the benefits of marketing to your target audience through email, the key is understanding why it's such a useful tool.
Consumer engagement is equally important for brands, both large and small. Your goal is to convince new prospects to subscribe to your email list, then engage with them until they become familiar with your website, and, ultimately, buy your product or service. The question is, how do you get people excited for your emails and encourage them to communicate with you through their text or actions?
1. Create an engaging welcome email.
There's a good chance that your welcome email will determine whether a consumer continues to engage with your brand. Statistically, welcome messages have the highest open and click-through rate compared to other email types. Due to the importance of your introduction, you must do everything in your power to get it right.
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Consumers generally sign up for an email list because they are looking for resources available from that website, such as an e-book or a checklist. If you want to start on the right foot, send consumers the resource you promised them when they signed up.
But here's the thing – that's the least you can do to promote future engagement. There are various aspects you should consider adding to your welcome email to build rapport with your audience.
A simple "thank you" goes a long way towards building a relationship with consumers who subscribe to your mailing list. Always try to include a list of things that they can expect to receive from you in the future. For example, you could say something simple like:
"Thanks for subscribing! We have plenty of great content coming your way. Over the next couple of weeks, you'll get some of our best blog posts, in-depth FAQs and some extra surprises! Stay tuned for our email early next week. In the meantime, here's your e-book, as promised!"
Using the right language and setting expectations for consumers can forge a connection early, which improves the odds that they will engage with your brand when you send them a followup message.
2. Make personalization a priority.
Personalization is commonly used by marketers when creating email campaigns. Generally speaking, personalization is when you create a product, email, or offer for someone in a way that creates value in a personal way. According to Google, 90% of marketers say that personalization plays a significant impact on profitability.
Segmenting your lead lists can help you create personalized marketing for consumers based on their interests. For example, if you sell pet products online with a weekly email newsletter, knowing the types of pets your subscribers own can increase your engagement.
Do you think a dog owner would open an article about the best cat toys? Probably not. However, if you sent that article to people who state that they are cat owners or have purchased feline products in the past, it's a safe bet that they will show interest in your content.
Creating valuable content requires you to dig deep into your customer personas and find out what kind of consumers frequent your business. If we look at the previous examples again, the pet store business owner should find out what type of pet owners frequent their website and create content that matches those personas.
Beyond creating articles that cater to your audience, you have to provide tangible value within your content. When creating blog posts, look for stories and perspectives that will inspire and educate. Subscribers want to read personalized content that teaches them something or changes their point of view. Plus, websites that create content typically have double the email traffic compared to those that don't.
Personalization is not just limited to the blog content you create; it also applies to your email copy and special offers. If you wanted to engage with customers who haven't opened your emails in a while, you could send out custom campaigns explaining that you miss them and then offer a promotion if they come back to your website. Segmented lead lists with personalized messaging is a sure-fire way to skyrocket consumer engagement.
3. Nurture connections by following up.
Following up with consumers is one of the best ways to boost engagement and improve your brand. There are various points during the sales funnel where you'll want to follow up with your audience. Beyond the previously mentioned welcome email, you'll want to connect with subscribers after they make a purchase from your website.
A stunning 82% of consumers will stop engaging with a brand if they have a poor experience. Checking with every customer who buys something with your website will help you catch consumer issues before they lose trust in your business. Think of it as a second chance. You get one more shot to make things right.
Software as a service (SaaS) companies may want to consider following up with their consumers every week through email summaries. Summaries allow you to explain to customers how they have used your product and if there were any benefits. In addition, it identifies areas of opportunity for customers and business owners.
Regardless of your niche or product type, building connections with your audience is essential for improving engagement. People are far more likely to work with companies that they relate to, and that treat them well. You have to make sure subscribers understand how you can improve their lives.
New subscribers want to know more about you, and your long-time followers are eager to engage with your company. Think about the buying process consumers go through when they come to your website. What kind of questions would you have if you were in their shoes? Would you openly ask, or not acknowledge the company if the answers were unavailable? Email marketing is an excellent tool for bridging the gap between layers of your sales funnel.
There are countless ways to engage with your audience through email. You can send out weekly blog updates, run a contest, send out promotions and much more. All of these different methods work well with audiences based on their interest in your product or service.
Building brand awareness and using that platform to engage with your audience is an excellent way to keep people interested in what you have to offer. As you create your email marketing campaign, think about how you can improve consumer experiences from the moment they see your brand name for the first time. Before long, you'll have an engaged audience eagerly awaiting your emails.