At Hughes & Co. we send out a lot of newsletters. Our clients have vibrant bases of existing contacts and they are always receiving new inquiries about their business. It is our job to engage those people with great content and in addition to well crafted blog posts, RSS subscriptions and active social media accounts, we turn to the email marketing side of the marketing trade to ensure that we are managing strong relationship building strategies. We thought that you might want some quick tips on how to maximize your business exposure through a well-crafted email campaign.
This sounds hard and challenging when we say things like "collect emails at your bricks and mortar location" or "add a subscribe button to your website, blog and social media' and the truth is that those methods work. But the other truth is that you probably already have quite a large list of contacts that you can tap into to get things rolling. If you have been in business for a while, you inevitably have existing customers, business associates, people that you are clients of, and other general contacts for your daily operations. That is your list! Get those names into a mailing program and let the magic begin!
There are a few out there, and we have broken them down for you so that you know how to get things moving quickly and efficiently with well-designed professional correspondence.
With more than 400 templates, beauty is simplified when it comes to using this popular (and free if you are under a certain threshold of emails) email marketing program. A drag and drop function lends to quick personalization and the emails are mobile optimized... who checks email on their computer anymore? On top of that the sending function is quick and easy, the importing of contacts is relatively fast and effective. The draw-back of this mailing system is that each campaign can only be sent to one list of contacts - so if you are sorting your contacts to keep things organized but your campaign applies to both, there is some legwork involved in getting an identical message to more than one list.
This message system is a favourite for businesses for its flexibility, ability to crack the SPAM filter and large library of easily customized templates. You can look like a slick operation with limited technical knowledge. On top of that Constant Contact offers robust analytics that give you a very clear picture of how your message is being received by your consumer. This service is not free, but pricing is super affordable, starting at just $15/month.
This is the system used by Hughes & Co., and we are HubSpot partner (full disclosure), and this system does a whole lot more than email marketing. This blog is part of the system that we use and the great thing about the encompassing element of this product is that the blog links to email marketing which links to the landing pages that are hooked up through your calls to action. That is incredibly confusing, read about our process here. The customization in this program is excellent, it boasts great analytic metrics and with certain levels of the software you can also enable a lead nurturing process. The real game-changer with this software is the lead aggregation element. When people interact with our content, we are able to automatically put them into our lead nurturing process and then follow-up with them to see if they are a good fit for our agency. Most of our clients are using this tool. The cost starts at $200 a month if you want to give it a shot and self manage, otherwise HubSpot partners are available to manage and create your online presence for you.
Another easy to customize option, Emma boasts the ability to have a custom template designed just for your business at very reasonable prices. It lends to a very seamless integration with your existing branding and can be a huge benefit to those that are in the market. The downside is that the free template selection is small and the cost is a bit higher than other comparable services, starting at $30/month.
Be unexpected and give them something to sink their teeth into. We know that thinking of remarkably interesting things to say can be challenging, but the truth is that you know your business so much better than anyone else. What may seem mundane and boring to you has the potential to be fascinating for your reader. In a business where the mechanics are important, get their gears turning (pun!) with a write-up that turns the process into a narrative. Do you have happy customer stories that will warm hearts or instigate a belly laugh? Have at it, people will want to hear those anecdotes, it makes your business relatable!
Just say no to bad stock photography. Take great images on your own, with smartphones there is no excuse for no good visual content related to your business. Still thinking that you need the professional touch? Check out Stocksy, it is "real looking" stock imagery that will fool your audience into thinking you've got mad photography skills.
Your subject line has to say "OPEN THIS EMAIL ASAP" without coming out and saying just that. There are a few ways to make sure that your email gets opened by relevant consumers who are looking for your product or service.
With that you are well on your way to creating the email campaign that will dazzle, engage, excite and convert your readers from prospects to leads (and hopefully to clients!) Check back to our blog often to find more tips and feel free to reach out to learn how to maximize social media to make your content work even harder for you!