Email Marketing Tips & Tricks for Beginners

Marketers are always looking for new ways to engage with their customers. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways of building a list of interested, targeted leads—and it’s easy to set up and automate. Creating an email marketing strategy allows you to reach a large number of people in a short time, which can be crucial if you’re running ads or doing promotions. It can also be more personal than other forms of advertising and provide greater audience engagement.

What is Email Marketing

Email marketing is a form of online direct marketing that allows businesses to broadcast advertisements, promotions and other information through email. It is used by marketers as an alternative to traditional offline methods like direct mail, poster ads and magazine ads. With email, businesses can reach their customers in real-time, track results from every campaign and analyze statistics based on open rate, click-through rate and overall engagement levels.

Is Email Marketing Still Effective

Although digital marketing channels have grown in popularity over the years, email remains one of the most effective methods for communicating with customers. It’s also one of the most personal channels. By using different email marketing strategies to generate sales and build relationships with your customers, you can achieve better engagement and get a better return on investment from your marketing initiatives.

According to the latest stats from MarketingSherpa, email marketing drives an average of $44.25 in revenue for every dollar spent, making it one of the most effective ways to generate new business.

7 Most Common Uses of Creating Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing has been a staple of the digital marketing world for years, and is only growing in popularity.

While email marketing can be used for just about any type of business, there are some common uses that make it especially effective for certain industries.

Here are just a few ways you can use email marketing to achieve your goals:

Introducing New Products Or Services

Email allows you to directly connect with customers and introduce them to your newest offerings in a way that feels personal and relevant — which is key when trying to drive sales during launch periods.

Driving Traffic Back To Your Website

Email is an easy way to keep customers updated on promotions and upcoming events without having to rely on external platforms like Facebook or Twitter. This makes it easy for them to return once they’re ready to buy again!

Customer Service

Email can be used to respond quickly to customer inquiries and assist customers with problems they may have with purchases or other issues.

Promoting Special Events

Email is the easiest way to let your customers know about upcoming events like sales and promotions, or new product launches.

Sending Newsletters

This is an effective way to keep customers up-to-date on company news and promotions and build relationships with subscribers over time. It also allows you to create content based on what your audience wants most. You can use surveys or polls to find out what they are interested in most, then create content around those topics.

Building Loyalty Programs

If you have a loyalty program, email marketing can help you reach out to customers who might not otherwise be inclined to participate in it. This can help increase customer retention rates and improve overall brand recognition among customers who may not have heard of your company before signing up for the loyalty program.

Surveys

Surveys help you gather feedback from your audience and better understand what they like (or don’t like). They also help build trust among customers by demonstrating that you care about their opinions and experiences. You can use survey results to create better content, products or services, which ultimately leads to more conversions from customers who like what they see.

What are the Advantages of Email Marketing

The advantage of email marketing is that it’s an extremely low-cost option compared to other forms of advertising. In fact, if you have a large database of contacts then you can send them messages on a daily basis without any cost at all!

Email marketing also has many advantages over other forms of marketing:

Simple To Start

Email marketing does not necessarily require a large team or vast amounts of technological expertise. You can find an email marketing service provider to do everything for you, or you can set up your own system using email marketing software.

High Return On Investment (ROI)

The average ROI for email campaigns is around $46 for every $1 spent, according to The Direct Marketing Association (DMA). This makes it one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing available today.

Cost-effective

The affordability of email marketing is one of its biggest advantages. Email marketing campaigns can be highly targeted, allowing you to send personalized messages to each recipient. The cost per email sent can be many times less than the cost per click for online ads, direct mail or print publications. And unlike a traditional magazine ad or billboard, you can pay for each email opened so there are no wasted impressions — just clicks.

Easy To Measure

Most email marketing platforms provide analytics that allow you to track how many people opened your emails, clicked through them and even purchased items as a result of viewing them in their inboxes.

Targeted Audience

Email addresses are extremely valuable data points because they contain information about who owns them (age, gender, interests, occupation) and how they prefer to be contacted (phone number, mobile number). This enables you to send highly targeted messages that will resonate with recipients more effectively than mass emails sent to general recipients.

No Limits On Reach

Unlike social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, which limit the number of people who can see your posts, there are no limits on how many people receive your emails (as long as they’re opted in). You can also segment your audience so that you only send emails to those who are interested in what you have to say — rather than blasting everyone with generic content. This allows you to focus on quality over quantity when reaching out to potential customers.

Build Trust And Credibility With Prospects

Email is a private medium, so when someone receives an email from you it helps build trust between them and your company — especially if they don’t know much about your brand yet. A well-crafted email can help ease their concerns about placing an order or making a purchase by providing valuable insight into why they should choose your brand over others’ offerings in the marketplace.

Immediate Impact

Businesses can get immediate effects through email. They can send out newsletters and information about new products, services and offers to their customers. The customers will be able to read the emails when they are ready, which gives you more control over when your message is delivered.

Comprehensive Database

Email marketing also gives you access to a comprehensive database of information about your customers. You can use this database in order to create personalized messages that will appeal to each customer’s needs and preferences. This type of personalization is not possible with other types of marketing such as print or television advertising.

Personalization

Email allows marketers to personalize each message they send based on information they already know about their customers. You can add special offers or recommendations based on previous purchases and other actions taken by your subscribers (such as visiting a specific product page). This personalization makes your emails more relevant, which boosts your chances of conversion and improves customer satisfaction overall.

What are the Disadvantages of Email Marketing

Email marketing is a great way to get your message out there, but it’s not without its disadvantages. Here are some of the most common ones: 

Low Delivery Rate

This is the number of emails that are delivered to the inbox, not bounced, and not marked as spam. The average delivery rate is around 70%, but some providers can get much higher than that, while others struggle to even hit 50%.

Low Open Rate

This is the number of emails that are opened by recipients. Most marketers expect an open rate of 20% or more, but this is becoming increasingly difficult as people become savvier about how they treat their inboxes.

Low Click Rate

This is the number of times people actually click on links inside your email (or any other type of call-to-action, for that matter). A good target for click rates is 1% or 2%, but many marketers struggle to achieve even half of that goal.

High SPAM Complaints

Email marketing has a bad reputation for being spammy. This reputation makes it difficult for legitimate marketers to get their messages through to potential customers. It also leads to high SPAM complaints from recipients, which can lead to blacklisting by ISPs and other organizations that filter out unwanted emails.

High Unsubscribe Rate

This is one of the most common problems with email marketing, because it means you’re losing customers due to poor quality content or unsubscribe requests from recipients who don’t want to receive your messages anymore. You should try not to exceed 3% or 4% at most; if you have a higher percentage than this, then it’s time to reevaluate your strategy!

How to Become An Email Marketing Virtual Assistant

There are several steps involved in becoming an email marketing VA, including training courses or classes, certification requirements and experience with related tasks such as project management and administrative tasks. If you want to become an email marketing virtual assistant, you first need to understand the best practices for email marketing. The more research you do, the better prepared you’ll be for this type of work.

To start with, here are some things you’ll need:

Join Online Courses

Take online courses in email marketing and related topics. Once you’ve identified some companies and websites offering training, consider taking one or two courses at a time until you’ve completed all of your requirements. This will help prepare you for the next step.

Email Marketing Skills

This is your primary job as an email marketing virtual assistant. You’ll have to learn how to write effective emails and manage campaigns.

Writing

You’ll need strong writing skills for this role so that you can write effective emails that persuade people into buying products or services. You’ll also need to be able to write blog posts and other content related to your client’s industry. In some cases, you may have to create videos or presentations as well.

Marketing Knowledge

You’ll also need marketing skills so that you can help clients with their campaigns. You should know about branding, writing copy, promoting products or services, and other related topics.

Research

You’ll have access to a lot of information about your client’s industry when working as an email marketing virtual assistant but sometimes additional research may be needed in order for you to give them good advice about what type of content to send. If your client is a fitness instructor, for example, and wants to start an email marketing campaign, you would need to research different workout routines and what kinds of content they can send their customers.

Social Media Experience

You’ll also need social media expertise so that you can manage accounts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.

Analytical Skills

Email marketing is a numbers game, so being able to analyze results and make recommendations based on those results is essential for success.

Knowledge About Tools

To become an effective email marketing virtual assistant, you have to learn how to use the tools. It’s not just about sending emails and scheduling social media posts; there are many other things you can do with these online tools that will make both you and your client much more effective at reaching their goals.

Email Regulations You Need to Know

The world of email marketing is filled with legal regulations and guidelines to follow. These laws were created to protect the consumer, so you need to know how they affect your business and how you can best keep up with them. Here are the most important regulations to know about.

CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that regulates the sending of commercial email messages. The act was enacted by Congress in 2003 and went into effect on January 1, 2004. The law applies to all commercial emails and does not distinguish between business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) messages.

Don’t Use False or Misleading Headlines

The CAN-SPAM Act prohibits the use of false or misleading headings to induce someone to open an email message.

Don’t Use False Subject Lines

You must identify the individual recipient in the “From” line of an email message you send to someone at their personal email address. If you send multiple copies of the same message to a single recipient by using a computer program instead of through manual means (such as forwarding), each copy must include an identifier in its subject line that indicates there is more than one message being sent out from you.

Don’t Send Spam

The law also prohibits sending emails that advertise or promote any unlawful activity, practices, or products. This includes messages that violate copyrights, trademarks, patents, or other intellectual property rights. It also includes messages promoting pyramid schemes and fraudulent investment opportunities.

Mention That Your Message Is An Advertisement

You must include in your message a clear and conspicuous notice that your message is an advertisement or solicitation. The notice must be on the subject line or in the text of the message.

Include Your Business Address In All Messages

Always include your company address or phone number in every email message that you send so recipients can contact you directly if they have questions or concerns about your message. 

Don’t Misrepresent Yourself

The CAN-SPAM Act prohibits you from misrepresenting yourself in any way when sending commercial emails. You cannot use false names or addresses, nor can you falsify any information concerning your identity in order to conceal your identity or location when sending out commercial emails.

Allow Unsubscribing

You must have a clear “unsubscribe” mechanism in every message. Consumers have to be able to opt out at any time, free of charge.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a regulation that aims to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals within the European Union (EU). The GDPR is applicable in all EU member states, and directly impacts any company outside of the EU that holds personal data about EU citizens who are subjects of their processing.

The GDPR replaces the 1995 Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (DPD), which was created before cloud computing, social media and other technologies existed. The GDPR was developed by the European Parliament and Council of the European Union in 2016 and approved in April 2016. The GDPR became effective on May 25, 2018, though some provisions were effective immediately upon publication.

The GDPR’s rules are as follows:

Lawfulness, Fairness, And Transparency:

The GDPR will protect the personal data of EU citizens and make sure that it is processed lawfully. Personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully, transparently, and for a specific purpose.

Data Minimization

Data controllers should ensure the accuracy of personal data and only retain it for as long as necessary. Data controllers must be able to demonstrate that they have complied with this principle.

Purpose Limitation

Personal data can only be used for specified purposes and not be further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes without the consent of the individual concerned. Individuals will have an easier time understanding why their data is being collected and how it will be used by companies. This reduces the risk of abuse.

Accountability

The GDPR requires companies to implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with its regulations. Companies will also need to provide information about how they handle personal data when requested by individuals or authorities such as law enforcement agencies or regulators.

This requirement is intended to make it easier for people to understand what happens to their personal data when they use products or services from corporations and public institutions such as hospitals or schools.

Storage Limitation

Personal data should not be kept longer than necessary for its original purpose.

Conclusion

There are of course other ways to market your business than through email marketing.

However, if you don’t have too much time or money to use towards marketing, and if you can build a list of interested potential customers, then these email marketing tips might be something to consider. It may not give you immediate results when you start, but it can help establish your business for the long term.

Keep in mind those rules and regulations about email marketing, we discussed above, which may apply to your business, so make sure to follow those as well.