Marketing is arguably the most important element for any startup. So, you should definitely focus on it as well. Of course, there are numerous marketing mediums at your disposal, both online and offline. You need to cover all your bases, complete with thorough research and planning.
Email marketing is one of these bases. While emails may seem like an outdated form of communication, they are still very valuable in any company’s marketing arsenal. So, you need to get it right. It is one of the most direct and personalized ways you can communicate with your audience, so there’s a lot you can do with it. Here are a few tips you should follow to market your startup effectively.
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Make a comprehensive email marketing plan
The first thing you need to do is create a thorough and comprehensive email marketing plan. Figure out your audience’s pain points, draft up audience personas, and plan your campaigns accordingly. Ideally, you should sit and work out each quarter’s email campaigns at the beginning of the quarter, and set your goals as well.
In addition, you can even prepare initial email drafts for each campaign, and figure out what series to send as well. This will help you be all set in advance. Use the small business email templates on PosterMyWall to create email sequences for your campaigns. When the time comes around to launch the campaign, you’ll just have to hit send and you’ll get things done.
Use the right visuals
Emails are not supposed to be bland walls of text anymore. You need to get the visuals right to make an impact. Look up email templates and see how designers use images, interactive elements, and white spaces in their designs.
Emulate these designs according to the visual language of your startup, and make your emails fun and engaging. Use a mixture of text, images, videos, and links to get the balance right. This will keep people interested enough to scroll through your whole email.
Automate your email workflows
This is one of the best ways you can make things easy for your email workflows. Once you create your email campaigns, you can automate them. Many email tools let you do this through simple workflow tools. You can set triggers with each email to set up the next one in the sequence, complete with the time gaps you want between each email, and which email list category you want each email to go to.
This way, when you set up your email campaigns, you’ll just have to get them up and running instead of having to worry about sending out the next email in the series. Plan these workflows in the strategizing phase, so that you have everything set in time. Make sure you test these workflows, so that there are minimal errors.
Keep people updated about your business with monthly email newsletters. These let you establish your identity, and stay in people’s minds as well. Share messages, advice, and your products in these newsletters. If you have any deals or discounts coming up, announce them in your newsletters first. This will incentivize people to subscribe to these emails as well.
Make sure your email newsletter subject lines are appealing, so that people open them. This will help you increase your open rates. In addition, you need to offer an unsubscribe button as well, to meet legal requirements.
Track your email campaign performance
This is one of the most important aspects of email marketing for a startup. You’re just figuring out the ropes, so there will be a lot of trial and error involved. So, you need to analyze how your ongoing email campaigns are going on.
Most email tools let you track this performance, so you can get a clear picture of things. Then, you can simply change up what is not working and learn along the way. Track metrics like open rates, clickthrough rates, and time spent on the newsletter. Also implement A/B and multivariable testing for each campaign before you launch it. This will help you send out the best possible versions.
Add interactive elements
Readers don’t just want static emails in their inboxes. They’ll tune out if you just give them a simple mixture of text and images. You need to incorporate interactive elements in your emails to get their attention. Include call-to-action buttons after multiple sections, which take readers to your website or online store.
Also include polls and other such elements from time to time in your email newsletters. This will help you figure out what is working for your startup, and improve things along the way.
In conclusion, you need to get your email marketing strategies in place before you launch your startup. The above tips will help you do this, and also help your startup go to the next level.