Email marketing has been around for a long time. It’s evolved and changed, but it’s managed to remain effective and even grow in popularity over the years. Email marketing is more popular than ever (although some misinformed communicators would argue that it’s dead). It is estimated that 64% of small businesses use email marketing to reach and persuade customers. Whether you are using email marketing for lead generation, sales, lead nurturing or customer retention, if you’re a marketer for a small or developing business, you should learn how email can help you. Email marketing is cost-effective and precise, but what type of email marketing should you be using?
Here are 4 types of effective email marketing you can utilize
Email Newsletters
One of the most common and popular email marketing campaigns is Email Newsletters. As a small business, you can use an email newsletter to provide subscribers with helpful knowledge and tools. It is important to add value to your subscribers’ inboxes; to do so create engaging content, including thought leadership, how-tos, and announcements about new services/ products. To measure the effectiveness of your newsletter ask yourself if the content helps build a relationship with subscribers, increases retention and engagement, and strengthens subscriber loyalty. Remember Your email newsletter is only as successful as your content is compelling.
Example: Simple Living & Country Skills from Mother Earth News
Probably one of my favorite newsletters out there, Mother Earth News does email newsletters the right way. Short, concise newsletters that can be read in 5 minutes or less. Nobody wants to be stuck reading a newsletter for more than 10 minutes, the hustle recognized this and decided to provide their audience with convenient news on the go.
Transactional Email
Probably one of the least glamorous but most effective forms of email marketing; transactional emails are sent to facilitate an expected transaction between a sender and a recipient. The context of the transaction varies; it could be a welcome email, a confirmation email, or even a cart abandonment email. A transactional email is meant to inform the customer about the action they have just taken.
Example: Qantas
One of the most important parts of a transactional email is to clarify exactly what the customer will be getting into and Qantas does exactly that. The email is not just welcoming the client to their list but also outlines all the perks of their subscription and what they can expect in the future.
Promotional Emails
Promotional Emails are a great way to drive sales, signups, and new product offerings for your small business. The main goal is to convince customers to make a purchase. Promotional emails include offers that entice and encourage your target to buy a new product or service. To get the formula right you need to use promotional emails to reward engaged subscribers with exclusive offers, drive new products or services to subscribers, and cross-sell products to your customer base. Unlike transactional emails that inform customers about their order or account information, promotional emails typically serve the purpose of converting subscribers into customers, and customers into brand advocates.
Example: Costco Australia
One of the most effective leverage points communicators have is exclusivity. The feeling of being part of a small group of privileged people has a strong appeal to human psychology. Costco Australia utilizes exclusivity very well by ensuring its promotion is only accessible to members and newsletter subscribers.
Retention Emails
A retention email is a targeted and triggered message sent to an existing customer to increase engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction. It helps bring customers back again and again. If you have some experience in email marketing campaigns, consider Retention Emails for your small business. By sending a message requesting feedback or an offer to subscribers who haven’t interacted with your business or emails campaigns lately, your small business can keep the lines of communication open. Retention Emails are a very useful email campaign strategy that can help you keep your hard-won customers.
Example: Everyday Rewards Woolworths
Everyday Rewards Woolworths is probably one of the most prominent brands properly utilizing retention emails. In this email; not only did Everyday Rewards Woolworths present a new product but they attracted their clients to buy with extra reward points.
Email marketing gives organizations a new pathway to get creative with their communication and evolve their customer retention efforts. Using these different types of email marketing allows you to have multiple options when it comes to communicating with stakeholders and how you do it can vary. With the growing rate of the email marketing market, marketers cannot afford to ignore email marketing any longer, even the big brands are using it, which says a lot about the importance of email marketing.
