{"id":20997,"date":"2023-12-19T13:37:50","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T13:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/?p=20997"},"modified":"2024-10-15T09:34:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T09:34:58","slug":"how-email-marketing-services-can-revolutionize-your-digital-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/how-email-marketing-services-can-revolutionize-your-digital-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"How Email Marketing Services Can Revolutionize Your Digital Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Email marketing<\/span> isn\u2019t the cool new kid on the block \u2013 it\u2019s been around since 1978. But it\u2019s an incredibly effective form of marketing<\/span> with several unique benefits. It\u2019s not something your business<\/span> can afford to ignore. But once you\u2019ve grown your business<\/span> from a small startup with a handful of customers<\/span> to a larger enterprise, you just can\u2019t grow your business<\/span> by sending emails yourself. That\u2019s where email marketing services<\/span> come in \u2013 helping you scale your email marketing<\/span> to grow your business<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What is an Email Marketing Service?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span>An email marketing<\/span><\/a> \u00a0service<\/span> is a provider that helps your business<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>create, target, and deliver emails to your audience<\/span>. They\u2019re critical for growing businesses<\/span> because your individual email<\/span> account<\/span> lacks any way to measure results, segment<\/span> lists, and create sophisticated emails. There are a huge variety of email marketing platforms<\/span> on the market and they all offer something a little different. But they usually have the following offerings:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A way to build emails and landing pages\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

If you\u2019re not a web<\/span> developer, you don\u2019t want<\/span> to be dealing with creating emails from scratch in HTML<\/span>. Email service providers<\/span> (ESPs) offer email<\/span> builders that help you create functional and eye-catching emails for your audience<\/span> without deep technical<\/span> knowledge<\/span>. Many will<\/span> allow you to do the same for landing pages<\/span> where your readers will<\/span> arrive after clicking through your email<\/span> too.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A way to organize and segment email lists<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

As your email list<\/span> grows, you\u2019ll want<\/span> to begin organizing your users into groups, by interest, demographic<\/span> data, or other qualities. That way, you can easily send them emails that are targeted to what they want<\/span> or need<\/span> to know. If you own an athletic supply company<\/span>, for example, you could segment<\/span> your lists to target yoga enthusiasts, running fans, and avid hikers. Then you could send yoga mat offers to one group while offering running shoe promos to another.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A way to automate your email sends<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

You want<\/span> to be able to schedule email<\/span> sends ahead of time \u2013 no hovering over the keyboard at an exact hour needed. Emails are most effective when sent at certain hours. A good email marketing<\/span> service<\/span> will<\/span> make scheduling those emails ahead of time simple and fool-proof so you can work on your own schedule.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Good standing with Internet Service Providers (ISPs)<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

Your emails are only effective if they get to your audience<\/span> smoothly. Your email service provider<\/span> should help you comply easily with anti-spam<\/span> regulations and avoid getting shunted automatically to spam<\/span> folders.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Access to analytics and data<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

Once you\u2019ve started sending out email campaigns<\/span>, it\u2019s important to be able to measure what\u2019s working well and what could be improved. A good email marketing<\/span> service<\/span> should allow you access to analytics on each of your emails, campaigns<\/span>, and users. You will<\/span> want<\/span> to see how many people are opening your email<\/span> (your open rate<\/span>) and clicking onto your content<\/span> (your click-through rate<\/span>). Many email marketing platforms<\/span> also offer you the ability to conduct A\/B testing<\/span>, trying two similar but slightly tweaked versions of an email<\/span> to see which performs better.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>How to Select an Email Marketing Service<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Every business<\/span> is unique \u2013 there\u2019s no solution that will<\/span> fit every company<\/span>. That\u2019s true in almost every aspect of\u00a0digital marketing<\/a>\u00a0including the selection of an email marketing platform<\/span>. But don\u2019t worry \u2013 there\u2019s an option that will<\/span> fit your needs<\/span>. Since email marketing<\/span> is so effective, it\u2019s widely used.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>That means there are dozens of email service providers<\/span> who all offer a slightly different service<\/span>. Just think through your needs<\/span> and budget<\/span> first and then you can start making a decision.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What Does Your Business Need?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A small local t-shirt company<\/span> sells the same product<\/span> as a big national retailer. But they have different email marketing<\/span> needs<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The first thing to think about is how many emails you would like to send per month. If you don\u2019t already know this number, do some calculations. How many email subscribers<\/span> do you have on your email list<\/span> now? And how frequently would you ideally email<\/span> them? Multiply those numbers and you have a ballpark figure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Now, think about what kinds of content<\/span> you typically send out. Are you an ecommerce business<\/span> that sends a lot<\/span> of shopping<\/span>-related emails? You will<\/span> need<\/span> an email service provider<\/span> that allows an elegant use of images<\/span> and possibly ecommerce integration too. Are you a blogger or professional who mostly sends informative newsletters<\/span> or subscriber<\/span>-only content<\/span>? You will<\/span> benefit from an ESP that makes those integrations simple.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>How technical<\/span> do you want<\/span> to get in building<\/span> emails? If you\u2019re comfortable with a bit of HTML<\/span>, then the user interface for creating emails isn\u2019t as important for you. But if you\u2019re just starting out in email<\/span> creation and don\u2019t want<\/span> to mess around with the complicated technical<\/span> details, you\u2019ll want<\/span> an email marketing platform<\/span> that offers an easy drag-and-drop<\/span> format<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>What Can Your Business Afford?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Now that you have your basic requirements, it\u2019s time to figure out what you can afford or want<\/span> to spend on email marketing<\/span>. Email service providers<\/span> range from free options to the very pricey, but those price increases usually come with benefits. If you\u2019re a small business<\/span> just starting out in email marketing<\/span>, you might not have any budget<\/span> at all to spare. You\u2019ll want<\/span> to stick to looking at free options in that case.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But if you\u2019re looking to significantly grow your email marketing<\/span> capabilities or send tens of thousands of emails per month, you\u2019ll be looking at paid options only. That extra<\/span> cost does come with extra<\/span> support, in many cases. Since there are so many different paid options though, be very clear on what you really need<\/span> to avoid wasting money on features you don\u2019t use.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Our Top\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Three<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Email Marketing Services<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span>As we noted above, there are dozens of email marketing tools<\/span> on the market. This is not a comprehensive list, just a few of the most popular<\/span> tools that we prefer. If none of them seem to fit your needs<\/span> or budget<\/span> then it\u2019s time to do some more research to find what works for you. But most businesses<\/span> we work with choose one of the following providers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>MailChimp<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This is the most popular<\/span> email marketing<\/span> service<\/span> for one very compelling reason \u2013 they offer a forever free plan. That means if your business<\/span> is small and your email list<\/span> is too, you can use MailChimp<\/span> forever and never pay a dime.\u00a0<\/span>They allow you to send up to<\/span> 12,000 emails to up to<\/span> 2,000 providers for free<\/span><\/span>, and paid plans start with an additional 500 subscribers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But this free service<\/span> comes at a cost \u2013 they don\u2019t offer many advanced features like marketing automation<\/span> at all.\u00a0<\/span>Their analytics are limited and their customer support for free<\/span> users is limited as well. And their user interface is good, but not the easiest to use if you don\u2019t have any technical<\/span> knowledge<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Constant Contact\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Next to MailChimp<\/span>, Constant Contact<\/span> is the second most popular<\/span> email marketing<\/span> service<\/span>. They offer a very beginner-friendly product<\/span> (no HTML<\/span> knowledge<\/span> needed<\/span>\u00a0and plenty of email<\/span> templates included)<\/span>\u00a0along with\u00a0<\/span>excellent customer support and a large library of training<\/span> resources and live webinars to get you started.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The ecommerce integration, good analytics and tracking, and segmentation<\/span> abilities don\u2019t come for free<\/span> though. But Constant Contact<\/span> is one of the less expensive options for the services they offer \u2013 starting at $20 per month after a free trial.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>ConvertKit<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>This is a more powerful option for anyone looking for a<\/span>\u00a0full-service<\/span>\u00a0email marketing platforms<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0<\/span>works well for content creators<\/span>, bloggers, authors, and marketers. It allows you to easily create\u00a0<\/span>content upgrades and offer incentives to people who sign up for your email list<\/span> on your website<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>ConvertKit also makes it simple to create drip\u00a0<\/span>campaigns<\/span> from their\u00a0<\/span>automated emails<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>If your marketing campaign<\/span> needs<\/span> to get more leads<\/span> into your sales funnel<\/span> or nurture<\/span> those leads<\/span><\/a> to a sale<\/span> with a drip email<\/span> series, this is a good option.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Making the Most of Your Email Marketing Service<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Engaging an email marketing<\/span> service<\/span> is a big investment of time and money if you\u2019re doing it for the first time. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to make the most of your email service provider<\/span> \u2013 getting the full value it offers to fuel your business<\/span> growth. Maximizing your email marketing<\/span> service<\/span> means creating a thoughtful and strategic<\/span> email marketing strategy<\/span> and adhering to industry<\/span> best practices<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Find the Right Audiences\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When you begin your email marketing strategy<\/span>, your audience<\/span> might be small \u2013 too small to divide into segments yet. But as you focus\u00a0<\/span>on\u00a0<\/span>growing your leads<\/span> and your email list<\/span>, you will<\/span> want<\/span> to have a plan for targeting<\/span> your different audiences. These might align with your Buyer Personas \u2013 aligned by interests or common features. Be sure you\u2019re sending your email campaigns<\/span> to them in a way that speaks to their interests and needs<\/span>, not just what you want<\/span> to tell them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Write the Right Content<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>You can hire the fanciest email marketing<\/span> service<\/span> with all the bells and whistles and waste every penny you\u2019ve spent with them. How could that happen? If your content strategy<\/span> isn\u2019t as top-notch as your email service<\/span>. You need<\/span> to have engaging subject lines<\/span>, well-written and professional\u00a0content in your newsletters<\/span>, and offer writing your audiences want<\/span> to read. Make sure you\u2019re not just sending them promotional emails<\/span> all the time either \u2013 email marketing<\/span> is also about building<\/span> relationships.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Follow the Right Practices\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>An unglamorous but very critical part of an email marketing strategy<\/span> is making sure your emails are deliverable and go to your audience\u2019s inbox. A good email marketing<\/span> provider will<\/span> offer a lot<\/span> of help in this area, making sure it\u2019s easy to set up the legally required opt-outs and disclaimers in every email<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>You will<\/span> also want<\/span> to brush up on anti-spam<\/span> laws that apply to you and be sure to adhere to the marketing<\/span> rules of your platform too. Always send emails from a professional email<\/span> address that reflects your business<\/span> well to avoid being sent to spam<\/span> folders. And check spelling and grammar<\/span> before hitting send \u2013 don\u2019t tarnish your credibility<\/span> with a poorly-edited email<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Enhance Your Email Marketing Campaign<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Finding the email marketing<\/span> service<\/span> that works for your business<\/span> is just the first step. Your whole email marketing strategy<\/span> requires using some or all of the email marketing strategies<\/span> that make sense for your company<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Email Campaign\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The first step to a successful email marketing campaign<\/span> is deciding what kind of campaign<\/span> you want<\/span> to run. There are many types of marketing campaigns<\/span>, and they all have different goals.\u00a0<\/span>From an email<\/span> promoting a seasonal sale<\/span> to a custom<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>birthday offer to\u00a0<\/span>a monthly newsletter<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>you should find the email campaigns<\/span> that work best for your business<\/span>. Get all the details on\u00a0<\/span>creating a\u00a0successful email campaign<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Email Automation\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Once you know what kind of email campaigns<\/span> you want<\/span> to run, you can begin setting your email automation<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Automated emails can be set up through some email marketing platforms<\/span>\u00a0or through an additional service<\/span> like\u00a0<\/span>Zapier<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When a prospect joins your email list<\/span>, you can automatically send out\u00a0<\/span>a welcome email<\/span>. Or when a website<\/span> user fills up their online<\/span> shopping<\/span> cart but doesn\u2019t make a purchase, you can automatically send them a reminder email<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>about the items they\u2019re missing out on.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Email automation<\/span> offers a way to send customized, targeted, timely emails to your prospects<\/span> and customers<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0It can help increase your conversion rate<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>build customer relationship<\/span>s with a one-time set up of an action that triggers an email<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Email Newsletter<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>An email<\/span> newsletter<\/span> is a great way for most businesses<\/span> to connect with their customers<\/span> and prospects<\/span>. They should be informative, not sales-focused \u2013 you\u2019re providing valuable and interesting content<\/span>\u00a0instead of pushing for a sale<\/span>. This works great for non-ecommerce businesses<\/span> that send fewer marketing emails<\/span> and so don\u2019t have that opportunity to connect and build their brand<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But it can also be\u00a0<\/span>useful for building<\/span> relationships with customers<\/span> when you sell a product<\/span> or service<\/span> online<\/span>. It can break up a series of marketing emails<\/span> nicely \u2013 you\u2019re\u00a0<\/span>providing a service<\/span> to your audience<\/span> in place of asking them for something.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Email newsletters<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>can also help power your content marketing strategy<\/span>. You can\u00a0<\/span>get additional views and shares on those blog posts<\/span>, articles, and case studies<\/span> you\u2019ve worked\u00a0<\/span>hard to produce.\u00a0<\/span>Your email<\/span> audience<\/span> is already engaged, so they\u2019re more likely to read and share your content<\/span> too. And all those extra<\/span> shares can bring in extra<\/span> viewers and readers, generating additional leads<\/span>. To learn more, r<\/span>ead about\u00a0email newsletters here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Referral Program\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A referral program<\/span> can reward your loyal customers<\/span> for recommending your brand<\/span> to their friends and family. It\u2019s low-cost<\/span> and highly rewarding. And with\u00a0<\/span>email marketing<\/span>, it\u2019s easy too.\u00a0<\/span>Just set up an email campaign<\/span> to\u00a0<\/span>introduce your program and set the terms and you\u2019re off.\u00a0<\/span>Learn all about referral program<\/span>\u00a0[link to referral program]\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0details\u00a0<\/span>and how to get started.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Testimonials<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When your customers<\/span> are delighted with your company<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>you want<\/span> them to share the news. Send them\u00a0<\/span>automated emails after they make a purchase asking about their experience and how satisfied they are.\u00a0<\/span>Ask them to post reviews on your site or for a testimonial\u00a0<\/span>to include on your home page<\/span>. Get\u00a0<\/a><\/span>all the details about testimonials.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Partner with C1M for Your Email Marketing Services\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span>As a business<\/span> owner with a lot<\/span> on your plate, you probably don\u2019t have time to set up, write, send, and analyze\u00a0<\/span>multiple email campaigns<\/span>. But you don\u2019t want<\/span> to miss out on the benefits\u00a0<\/span>of email marketing<\/span> for your business<\/span> either.\u00a0<\/span>That\u2019s why you need<\/span> a partner like C1M on your team. We\u2019ll provide a detailed digital marketing strategy<\/span>, develop a\u00a0<\/span>data-driven and well-written email marketing plan<\/span>, and analyze your results for you. Schedule your free business<\/span> review today to find out how we can work together to\u00a0<\/span>get you measurable results.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Email marketing isn\u2019t the cool new kid on the block \u2013 it\u2019s been around since 1978. But it\u2019s an incredibly effective form of marketing with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[27,727,1173],"class_list":["post-20997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing","tag-email-marketing","tag-email-marketing-campaigns","tag-email-marketing-service"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20997"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24410,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20997\/revisions\/24410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}