E-mail marketing

Email marketing is a communication strategy in which emails are used as a tool to directly contact leads and customers (subscribers). They must give their express consent before being added to the contact database.

Despite the mass mailing capability of an email system, the level of personalization it allows is ideal for creating and strengthening the relationship between the recipients and the company. As well as keeping track of the entire experience.

It is an opportunity like few others to promote your products and services, and to create not only business-to-customer (B2C) but also business-to-business (B2B) relationships.

Create a contact list

Nowadays we receive a constant flow of promotional information from all kinds of businesses. It is normal to get irritated when we receive unsolicited commercial emails, i.e. Spam.

The most important thing when creating our contact list is that people consent to receive the type of information we are going to send them.

Don't automatically add them because they are collaborators, contacts who left you their business card, or even business clients. It is important that they know exactly what they are signing up for and the safest thing to do is to include an opt-in confirmation system. It can be single opt-in or double opt-in.

Single opt-in: through a form the user leaves his email address and is automatically added to the list without further verification.

Double opt-in: in addition to leaving his email address in the form, the user must confirm his decision when he receives his first email (it may or may not be the welcome email). If he accepts, he is added to the list. If he does not accept, his contact is rejected.

In the long run, double opt-in is a better option as it has the advantage of discouraging uninterested users and avoiding that someone includes false or third party addresses without their consent.

Subscription forms can be placed on your site, on social networks or on your blog (if you have one). Email marketing is a solid strategy, but it is not always easy to get people to subscribe. It should not be intrusive, you should place it strategically or have it go out at the right time. Something simple but visible, without asking for a lot of data and if possible, offer in return a content or resource that has a value for the reader.

Subscribers should also always have the ability to unsubscribe if they wish to do so. Unsubscribe instructions should be visible, as should the unsubscribe button or link.

Advantages of e-mail marketing

Among the most well-known advantages are:

• It is a tool that everyone has access to.

• The probability of conversion from lead to customer is much higher than in any other channel.

• It is a very profitable strategy, with a minimum expenditure of resources you can achieve great benefits.

• Opportunity to directly address each subscriber thanks to the information collected in your database.

• Familiarize the subscriber with everything the company does. This way they become more interested in the products/services we present to them, stimulating purchases.

• The effectiveness of your reach is total and immediate. It reaches all the people that were predetermined.

• Thanks to its campaigns, it keeps your brand in the subscriber's mind so that they are more likely to buy from you.

• It allows great flexibility when creating your mailings. It is a format in which you can include anything you want: text, images, links, attachments, etcetera. You can use templates or customize it to your liking, whichever is more effective.

E-mail campaigns

The purpose of the emails can vary according to the objectives we set and the point in which our relationship with the subscriber is. At the same time we can have leads that have just arrived, customers who have purchased once, repeat customers, other subscribers who are undecided but interested and some who may be losing interest.

It is a process that allows us to be aware of each stage of the conversion, sending the subscriber personalized information of value at the right time. It can be an educational material on a topic of interest, an offer, an invitation, the help of an advisor specialized in a topic that generates concern, or any other content that makes them advance in their purchase decision.

All this is based on a good segmentation of subscribers and a detailed study of their profile, their interests, the stage they are in, their behavior and the actions they perform, among many other possibilities.

There are different types of email marketing campaigns that can be used to approach each situation and they should be elaborated in advance and with a planned frequency.

Among the most popular campaigns are: Welcome and introduction: this is the opportunity to introduce yourself and create a good impression. The more personal it feels the better. You can take the opportunity to complete their profile, learn more about their interests, the topics they prefer or the types of emails they want to receive. It is important to try to make the process agile and entertaining.

Nurturing: this is a set of emails that offer the appropriate content according to the subscriber's stage of development. They are guided by specific calls to action. It can be an automatic nurturing flow created in advance taking into account the subscriber's possible responses, or a more personal proposal.

Informative: These are used to inform about changes, updates and company news. Also notifications (e.g. a new article in the blog), or an invitation to an event. They include calls to action or links to other pages to find more information.

Attraction: to try to reach those who have lost interest but may be able to recover with a more personalized attention or an attractive offer.

Automatic: these are emails that are sent based on an action taken by the subscriber. They save a lot of time and effort. For example, thank you, reservations, receipts, confirmations, sending a document and other automated responses.

Seasonal: for specific dates such as Christmas, vacations, vacations, etc. They can be just greetings or take advantage of the opportunity to link it to a special offer. The language and design should arouse the user's interest and emotions.

Farewell: it is a good practice to purge the mail database on a regular basis. If we have inactive customers or those who want to unsubscribe, we should say goodbye to them in good terms, with a personal message. Or we can give them the opportunity to choose another form of communication with the company through another channel.

Promotional: these should be done when you can really offer something of value to your subscribers. They should have that extra element that gives them priority over other users of your company and makes them feel special. They should include calls to action to leverage the momentum of the special offer.

Newsletter: reinforces the company's authority by addressing a topic of interest in depth, offering essential information. It is ideal for connecting with your subscribers, to build loyalty. Companies that manage to apply their knowledge and understanding of a topic to improve the daily lives of readers have an advantage over the competition when it comes to positioning their brand. Keep in mind that creating this type of publication is a long-term commitment and requires skill. It takes research and flawless, error-free execution.

Email marketing tools

There may come a time when you have to manage thousands of subscribers coming in, changing addresses or leaving. In addition to running campaigns and keeping track of everything that happens. It is highly recommended to have a professional tool that reduces your work, saves you time, increases effectiveness and avoids errors. Among the most popular are Mailchimp, Hubspot, Sendinblue, Mailify and Constant Contact.

Here are some aspects to take into account when selecting one:

• Technical advice and support. Availability, languages, assistance, training, etcetera.

• Number of subscribers and number of mailings it allows, as well as its delivery capacity.

• Ability to manage, monitor and measure email campaigns in real time.

• Capacity and reach of automated messages.

• Ability to connect with your products and services page to share important information.

• Segmentation options. Lists you can create from the information collected. Scope of filters.

• Scope of statistical reports.

• Design and content editing possibilities. Quantity and quality of the templates. If it has responsive design to adapt to mobile technology.