| Caseno Data

Email has been a part of our daily lives for so long that it’s sometimes hard to see it as the great marketing resource it is. That’s why we weren’t surprised to discover, months ago , that a new client, desperate to increase sales, wasn’t using email marketing campaigns as part of their strategy. A serious mistake: if certain tricks become old hat, it’s not for nothing.

Mailing campaigns are certainly one of the most effective ways to boost a company’s sales , communicate news , and promote products . Want to know why? Then keep reading.

Let’s work together.

CONTACTANOS

What is mailing or email marketing and what is it used for?

Mailing, or email marketing, is the communication via email between a business or company and its target audience. In a good email marketing campaign , the customers to whom the emails will be sent voluntarily provide their email addresses. They can do so when creating a user account on a website, when registering with a business to obtain benefits, or through web forms on landing pages .

In this sense, if you’re thinking about developing an email marketing campaign, it’s important that your entire presence on social media and the web be geared toward gathering information from your customers. Primarily their email addresses , but also information such as interests , gender , age , and location . All of this will help you build a solid database , which you can use to develop more effective marketing strategies .

Our client, for example, had a good landing page , which they only used to show their product catalog : all contact with their customers was through WhatsApp… Which is not bad in itself, as long as you don’t have too many expectations regarding the number of sales .

In any case, email marketing is a highly productive digital marketing strategy . Not only does the advertising reach each user directly , but they will also be interested in what the emails offer. They are, more precisely, subscribers.

Most email marketing emails sent today present the bulk of their information in a long flyer . These typically contain images and CTA (call to action) buttons that enable you to take specific actions . Some of these actions might include making a discounted purchase, visiting a company’s website, downloading a file, and more.

But let’s take it one step at a time.

Example of a mailing campaign as an elongated flyer – Source:A Beautiful Mess

From the very beginning, email campaigns have made their productivity clear . Take the case of Digital Equipment Corp. marketing manager Gary Thuerk . In the late 1970s , his practices gave rise to the term “spam,” but they also generated millions of dollars in sales for his company. 13 million , to be precise, with just 400 emails .

Towards the 1990s , with the widespread use of the internet, direct mail campaigns began to take their place in any good marketing campaign. Consequently, the first regulations on digital messaging began to be developed.

A decade later, receiving email marketing was anything but a novelty. As a result, the need to implement personalization strategies in email marketing became evident. On a technical level, between 2004 and 2005 , the first email authentication methods designed to prevent spam appeared: DKIM and SPF . Furthermore, with the introduction of smartphones , it became necessary to develop emails with responsive designs that would convey their messages regardless of screen size. And the rest is history.

The unique thing about email marketing campaigns is that you don’t write a separate email for each person . After all, that would be a huge waste of time and resources . Instead, you share a single message with a list of subscribers.

As we mentioned, these contacts are, ideally, users interested in your offer . That is, potential or actual customers. However, for a mailing campaign to be successful, it’s not enough to send the same message to all your contacts: you need to personalize them a little. And this is where audience segmentation comes into play .

This consists of nothing more and nothing less than creating lists based on specific criteria . These can be lists by gender and age; lists based on whether the contact arrived through a landing page or another medium; lists that divide users by interests or their behavior on a page… In short, the possibilities are endless. The important thing is that you can use them to personalize the emails you send in a mailing campaign, based on your subscribers.

At first glance, this seems counterintuitive. After all, wasn’t the whole point of email marketing campaigns to sit down and write email after email ? However, when we talk about “personalization,” we don’t necessarily mean one email for each client, but rather one for each segment of your database . A real estate agency, for example, won’t send the same offers to clients in a certain city as it will to clients in a certain area.

Now, this doesn’t mean you should neglect the option of personalizing your emails as much as possible . Many email marketing platforms offer the option to automate things like the recipient’s name appearing in the subject line or the body of the message… and that’s not to mention companies that send empty cart emails (if you use Mercado Libre, you know what I’m talking about)! However, the level of personalization required ultimately depends on the type of campaign outlined and, above all, what you’re trying to achieve.

Let’s work together.

CONTACTANOS

For now, personalization is crucial for a successful email campaign. Why? Because a personalized email directly addresses your customers’ interests, which leads to better open rates (50% higher, according to HubSpot ) and conversion rates . Already in 2022, 95% of marketing professionals described personalization strategies as ” successful ,” according to Statista . The data doesn’t lie: personalizing your emails is key .

The effort that goes into a good email marketing campaign is considerable . But, as we told our client, it has an advantage: it recycles. Having a well-segmented database and developing personalization strategies allows you to implement different email campaigns with diverse objectives . Some of these objectives are:

Convert new customers and retain existing ones.

Improve your brand presence and increase customer trust .

Communicate news about your business or company, such as product launches or the opening of a branch.

Disseminate promotions and special offers , as well as free resources .

Offer support to your customers through frequently asked questions or satisfaction surveys.

Drive traffic to your website (which is functional for all of the above).

Benefits of mailing campaigns

The reasons to use email campaigns in your marketing strategies don’t end with their versatility. Investing in a good email marketing campaign is, in fact, one of the best ways to boost your business or company. Not for nothing, in 2020 , 84 % of companies in Latin America and the Caribbean used this medium to interact with their customers, according to Statista . This strategy allows you to reach a LARGE number of users interested in your proposal. And the capital letters are not an exaggeration. Statista estimates that, by 2026 , there will be 4.73 billion email users worldwide.

Of course, this, in itself, doesn’t say much: we all receive dozens of emails a day that we never open. Of course, we’ll undoubtedly open one that piques our curiosity; after all, Mailchimp estimates the average open rate for email campaigns is 35.63% of users. Of that 35.63%, an average of 2.62% generate leads . It may not seem like much, but it’s more than enough when you consider that email marketing campaigns typically target thousands of potential customers … Not to mention that the average unsubscribe rate is more than ten times lower … And that, either way, you’ll be reminding 33.01% of your users of your existence.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that email marketing campaigns generally have an estimated ROI of 4400% . That’s 44 times each unit invested. Thus, email marketing is positioned as one of the lowest-cost advertising strategies in the digital age. Precisely for this reason, investment in it shouldn’t be skimped on. Email marketing is highly effective, but it can’t camouflage a poorly designed campaign .

And it’s not that not knowing how to develop an effective email marketing campaign from start to finish is a crime. In any case, it’s a shame to let such an effective resource go untapped or untapped. That’s why our client is the example to follow : no one is dying to turn to a professional. Or a team of professionals, in his case… But we’ll get into that later.

Types of email marketing campaigns

You already know what email marketing is, what it can be used for, and why you should implement it. Now it’s time to name the different types of email campaigns , some of which you’re undoubtedly familiar with from having received them. Let’s get started.

Promotional campaigns . These types of emails are used to advertise and launch events, products, or services. They aim to achieve short-term conversions . Therefore, they often include limited-time offers, free trials, and other resources that encourage purchases.

Seasonal email . Email marketing campaigns of this type are created for specific dates or times of the year . They typically feature exclusive promotions and products, such as discounts on school supplies for the start of the school year or green beer for St. Patrick’s Day.

Seasonal Email Marketing Campaign Example – Generic Flyer

Newsletter . This type of email appears in 99.9% of email marketing campaigns. As the name suggests, its main function is to communicate news about your business, although it can also be used to give users advice, preview new products, and so on. In short, they’re extremely versatile. Furthermore, since they’re sent periodically, they tend to increase customer engagement and brand recognition.

For inactive customers . If a customer stops interacting with your site, a good way to win them back is to send emails reminding them of your existence. These can contain offers targeted to their interests, questions, or surveys. You may even ask them to confirm that they want to continue receiving your emails. At worst, your database will be a little cleaner. At best, you’ll have a customer who will return to your services.

Example of a mailing campaign for inactive customers – Source:Duolingo

Empty carts or lead nurturing emails . These emails are specifically for e-commerce website users who filled their shopping carts (or searched for a certain product) but didn’t make a purchase. Like seasonal or promotional email campaigns, they are geared toward achieving short-term conversions. These emails specifically seek to close the transaction by reinforcing the user’s interest in the offer or by presenting temporary promotions.

Opinion, testimonials, and surveys . If you need to gather information about your customers’ experience with your business, this type of email is ideal. To segment our client’s database , for example, we sent emails containing surveys to existing customers. This gave us data to use in developing marketing campaigns. Our client, in turn, used the information to improve certain aspects of their project. Seeing that their concerns and interests were being taken seriously also contributed to increased customer engagement and, consequently, boosted sales.

How to make a successful mailing campaign?

Creating a good email marketing campaign is an extensive process that can vary greatly depending on the type of business or company you have and the tools you use. However, there are three general principles that apply to both multinationals and single-person ventures. These are:

Define objectives and audience

When developing a mailing campaign for our client, the first thing we did was define a clear and achievable goal . While this was generally intended to generate more sales, we also determined other, more specific objectives. The strategy to be developed would largely depend on these objectives . These are:

The type of email to send.

The frequency of diffusion.

The content and tone of the message.

Database segmentation .

With our client, the “micro” objectives were to collect up-to-date customer data that would help organize their database. Other objectives could have been to increase brand awareness or promote certain products . However, at the time, what their business needed (in our opinion) wasn’t that.

To determine the objective of your email campaign, it’s often helpful to ask yourself what your business needs, something you can achieve by sending emails. Within a certain timeframe , of course. When establishing these questions, you should also establish a range of results that indicate whether the campaign was successful or not. That is, to what extent it met its objective.

The second step that every email marketing campaign designed from scratch must take into account is audience segmentation . As you already know, this is done based on the data that users voluntarily provide. This data varies depending on the desired objective and the proposal offered in the email. The only piece of information that must be included is the email address .

In our client’s case, we first sought information on user interaction with their website and social media. We also collected feedback on their satisfaction with the products offered. Second, we focused on collecting demographic data , which gave us a better picture of their customers. Based on this, we were able to segment the contact list and move forward with designing a more personalized email marketing strategy.

Let’s recap: once you have the data and defined the variables by which you’ll differentiate them (always based on your objectives), it’s time to segment your contact lists . For this, the most effective option, in terms of time, results, and effort, is to turn to technology . The vast majority of email marketing platforms (such as Mailchimp, Brevo, and E-Goi) include data segmentation features that simplify the process. A tip: be sure to look for segmentation tools with dynamic lists , which are automatically updated every time a user generates a lead. This way, you’ll save yourself from having to update your databases every few minutes.

Create the email content

After defining their goal and who their target audience was, our team of professionals dedicated themselves to writing and designing the emails our client would send.

The content of an email depends greatly on the type of mailing campaign being developed. However, it’s essential to have a thorough understanding of the target audience : knowing what attracts them and how to convince them to take a certain action.

Keep in mind, in any case, that an email consists of the following parts:

Subject line . This is the gateway to your email. Therefore, it should grab your customers’ attention enough to make them want to open it and see what’s inside. Ideally, it should be short, transparent, and direct : it shouldn’t make false promises about the email’s content. To make it more attractive, a couple of surefire tricks are to use the most important words at the beginning and, whenever possible, add emojis . According to Campaign Monitor , the latter can increase open rates by more than 50%.

Body of the message . It’s of little use to get all your messages opened if they don’t generate conversions . It’s the body text’s job to get them. Of course, the content depends greatly on the offer. However, it should always provide some relevant information for the user, clear, concise, and as personalized as possible. Additionally, the centerpiece of your marketing strategy (for example, a discount coupon with a call to action) should appear at the top of the email. This is in case readers don’t scroll down.

Images and design . The use of images is highly recommended. However, they should not exceed 60% of the content . Keep in mind that email managers can block images or slow down email downloads, especially on mobile devices, if they are too large. Regarding design , it’s important that it be responsive and reflect your brand identity . Content layout is also important: use capital letters, bold, and underlining to highlight the elements most relevant to your message.

Call to action . All email marketing campaigns should have at least one call to action ( CTA ) that aligns with the stated objective. The CTA should prompt the recipient to take the desired action, so it should be easy to identify . A good strategy, therefore, is to include it in the form of a button. This practice can increase your conversions by up to 28% , according to Campaign Monitor . Furthermore, it’s also recommended that, whenever possible, your customers have several options to choose from. By not feeling pressured, they’ll be more likely to maintain a favorable disposition toward your proposal.

Example of a call to action in email marketing – Source:Nike

Footer and header . These sections are typically used to include information about the company or business’s social media accounts , or unsubscribe buttons . Both are extremely important. Social media accounts provide you with new channels to reach your customers and maintain your brand’s presence . The “unsubscribe” button is a valuable contact base because every good email marketing campaign is built on a quality database . A valuable contact base includes users who are genuinely interested in the offer.

Choosing the right mailing platform

A third general issue in developing an email marketing campaign (which shouldn’t necessarily be left out of the question) is selecting a mailing platform . This isn’t something to be taken lightly: given the success of this advertising channel, there are almost too many platforms… And not all of them offer a quality service or one that meets your needs . Therefore, there are three points to consider when evaluating an email marketing platform:

Their market reputation . This influences the quality of their support and the reputation of their IP address, which will be reflected in the bounce rate of your emails. Another way to check this is to check their deliverability rate , provided they provide that information.

Its integration with external lead capture channels (primarily landing pages). A well-integrated platform will allow you to make the most of the data you obtain without losing information. The best option, however, is to use all-in-one software that can be used to carry out a marketing campaign on multiple fronts.

The automation features and services it includes. The more features a platform has, the better campaigns you can develop. Ideally, it should offer tools for segmentation and data analysis, as well as various templates. It’s a good idea to review how the plans offered adjust to changes in your subscriber count.

Of course, there are other considerations to consider when selecting an email marketing platform. Your budget , whether you’ll be using additional tools , your level of email marketing expertise … General advice only goes so far in this regard. After all, an email marketing platform isn’t one-size-fits-all for every business or company. So what should you do? Turn to a consulting service . This will help you make an informed decision and, above all, one tailored to your needs.

Examples of successful email marketing campaigns

Let’s now look at how all of the above comes into play when creating emails for a mailing campaign, with three different examples .

Newsletters: novelty as a strategy

First, we have a newsletter . This type of email typically contains more text than the vast majority of messages found in an email marketing campaign. In this particular case, the body of the email describes the new videos and broadcasts available on Medici TV .

This classical music streaming service has a few open-access files and many that require a paid subscription . In this sense, the newsletter not only communicates news, but also gives reasons to purchase a paid plan for those who don’t yet have one.

Of course, just reading about the new videos may not be enough. That’s why clicking the play button takes you to a snippet of the content, leaving the listener eager to hear more . The rather simple design puts the focus on the video , directing the user to it. Moreover, since the announcement is a live presentation, the sense of urgency emanating from the call to action (“watch live today”) is justified.

Email marketing newsletter example – Source:Medici TV

Coschedule
Moosend
Omnisend
Mail Meteor
Capitalize My Title
Subject Line