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Your Email Marketing Questions Answered

Your Email Marketing Questions Answered

by | Apr 18, 2020 | Blog, email marketing

I teach a lot of email marketing seminars. A LOT. Over the years, I’ve presented email marketing to 1000’s of small business owners, marketers, and organizations. Some of the students are familiar with email marketing, and some are brand-new to the concept. But without fail, I get asked the following questions in my sessions. Today, I’m sharing my answers with you!

What type of content do I send? 

The content should always be about them (the reader), rarely about us. Subscribers want to know WIIFM (what’s in it for me)? Sending relevant content to an interested audience is key. Make the content personalized, interest-based and value-laden. Always include a CTA (call to action) even if it’s just a read more link to your blog or video or website. Video content is some of the highest performing content at the moment, so leverage that opportunity to drive traffic to your YouTube channel!

email marketing questions answered

How often should I send an email? 

This will vary based on your industry and your subscribers expectations. If you’re a local deli with specials of the day, then daily, of course. If you’re a nonprofit organization, monthly might suffice. How much content do you have to share? So many factors affect this. For most businesses and organizations, 2-4 times a month is acceptable.

How do I grow my email list on a budget? 

There are numerous ways to grow your list without investing a fortune! Here’s several free or low-cost ideas. 

1. Add a SUBSCRIBE link or button to your email signature 

2. Create a QR code that links to your sign-up URL 

3. Add a signup form to your website. 

4. Use Text-to-Join, a feature included in some Email Service Providers and available as a 3rd party tool for others

 5. Create a landing page with a freebie download. 

email marketing questions answered

How often should I provide value versus sell? 

We provide value in every single email campaign we send. Again, it goes to knowing your audience, knowing their needs, their pain points, serving them. And dependent on the industry, selling in emails will vary. If you’ve got a product or service to sell, promote that. There’s no hard and fast rule, because it’s so industry specific. We help our clients identify the best strategies for their unique businesses.

Do I need to have a content plan for my email list?

Absolutely! A content calendar is a huge time saver. You know when we have events and sales and new products, etc., so those get added first. Then you fill in with additional content. A content calendar is really the best way to approach all content marketing strategies.

email marketing questions answered

Got more questions?

Got a burning email question not answered here? I’m happy to help you. Drop a comment below, or reach out to me on social media, or email your questions to hello@melaniediehl.com I’d love to hear from you.

Learn more about email marketing!

We offer both in-person and virtual training for individuals, organizations, private groups, and higher-education programs. Check out our offerings here, and our workshop calendar here. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, we can create it for you! Simply email us to discuss your specific needs, and we can make it happen!

May 2019 Content Themes & Holidays

May 2019 Content Themes & Holidays

by | Apr 28, 2019 | Blog, content marketing, email marketing, infographic

April’s showers are gone and now it’s time for your business to bloom. Whether you want to grow your list, your sales, or your visibility in the community, the content below can help you plant the seed for a great month in May!

Content Ideas for May

Mother’s Day Sale – Mother’s day is a can’t miss holiday. Make sure to email your audience when this day is approaching, and remind them of everything their mother has done for them. Help them make it special for her by offering sales or coupons for the things she’ll love, or discounts for mothers on the day just for them!

Teachers are the backbone of our education system and don’t get enough credit for all their hard work. Show them that you appreciate everything they do by offering them a discount on this day.

Support the Troops. With Armed Forces day and Memorial day occurring this month, it’s a perfect time to show your support for the troops. How: Start a fundraiser for veterans by adding a Donations block to your emails or offer a discount to anyone with a military ID for the month of May.

May Holidays

2 Brothers and Sisters Day

5 Cinco de Mayo

6 National Nurses Day

7 National Teachers Day

12 Mother’s Day

25 International Jazz Day

25 National Wine Day

27 Memorial Day

May Themes

• Teacher Appreciation Week (6th-10th)

• Nurses Week (first full week)

• National Bike Month

• National Hamburger Month

When it comes to purchases made as a result of receiving a marketing message, email has the highest conversion rate (66%), when compared to social, direct mail and more. [Source: DMA]


May 2019 Marketing & Holiday Planning
How often should I email my list?

How often should I email my list?

by | Apr 4, 2019 | Blog, email marketing

I teach lots of digital marketing classes and workshops, and Email Marketing is one of my most popular sessions. And without fail, this question is asked at every Email Marketing class I present. So today, I’m going to share with you my best advice on how often to email your subscribers! Keep in mind, this article is meant to address regular email communication, not sales funnels or sequences.

Consistency is key

There are several factors that can play into how often you send regular email campaigns to your subscribers. Let’s explore a few of those factors

  • What is your audience expecting from you? When you encourage subscribers, do you set the expectation up front about how often they’ll hear from you? Hopefully, you’re setting those expectations–it’s a good idea for both you and them. But it goes deeper than that: what information are you going to share with them? That will affect the frequency of your email campaigns too.
  • Let’s say, for example, you run a local cafe and coffee shop, and you have daily soup and drink specials. You could very likely be fine sending a daily email sharing the specials so your subscribers can make their lunch plans in advance.
  • On the other hand, if you’re a service-based business, like an insurance broker or a web designer, you probably won’t fare as well sending daily email updates. It can be difficult to craft relevant information that warrants a daily email campaign. Service-based businesses generally have greater success emailing their subscribers on a monthly or twice-monthly basis so they can provide relevant content that makes a real impact on their readers.
calendar
  • Then there’s organizations and associations like Chambers of Commerce and churches and nonprofits who fall somewhere between the daily and monthly email campaigns. Generally these organizations send a monthly “newsletter” supplemented with regular (often weekly) updates.

So, what’s the bottom line?

At a bare minimum, we recommend sending monthly email campaigns. A colleague of mine refers to it as a “pageant wave in the inbox” and I have to agree. Even if your subscriber doesn’t open and read the email, they see your business or organization name, and that visibility is super important! Being consistent with your email marketing, keeping top of mind, and being visible will benefit you when the time does arrive that your subscriber wants and needs exactly what you offer. And that’s a good thing.

Melanie & Co Marketing Collective has been creating highly converting email marketing campaigns since 2010, and is a 5-time All Star Award Winner with Constant Contact.

July 2018 Content Planner

July 2018 Content Planner

by | Jun 24, 2018 | Blog, Constant Contact, content marketing, email, email marketing, infographic

As we enter into the second half of the year, July is a perfect time to reflect and reinforce existing relationships, as well as think about how we can grow in the days to come. What’s your plan to prevent existing customer relationships from melting away in the summer sun? What about a strategy to bring the heat against your competition and gain more customers?

Whether your focus is to engage your existing audience, grow your list, or both, the July 2018 Marketing and Holiday Infographic below should help you keep your cool this July.

July-Infographic-2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

source: Constant Contact 

[Infographic] July 2017 Marketing and Holiday Planning

[Infographic] July 2017 Marketing and Holiday Planning

by | Jun 27, 2017 | Blog, Constant Contact, content marketing, email marketing, infographic

July-2017-holiday-and-marketing-planning-ft-image

Is your marketing heating up for the summer?

If the next few months are your business’s busy season, you’re probably already gearing up for a flood of new customers coming through your doors.

How can you get your new customers to stay loyal all year long?
Repeat customers are reported to spend 300 percent more than new customers.

Make it easier to retain new customers by encouraging them to join your email list and following up with a thoughtful and timely marketing email.

Tip: Use this script if you’re not sure how to ask for email addresses at your business.
Constant Contact’s email templates make it easy to create an eye-catching email in a matter of minutes.

Our Fourth of July template might be just what you need to drive sales this Independence Day:

Fourth-of-July-email-template

Customize the template with your own logo, text, and links to wish your subscribers a happy holiday and bring them back to your business.

Looking for more content ideas?
There are plenty more ideas to choose from in the infographic below. Take a look or download and print the infographic to stay on track all month long.

July-2017-Infographic

syndicated from the Constant Contact blog