Don’t get “Unsubscribed.” Grow your mid-sized business with these four email marketing tips.

Posted by Anya Sleezer << back to blog

Last Updated on August 2, 2022

Machine learning, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and chatbots. No, we’re not describing a sci-fi film’s predictions about the future. In fact, we’re not describing the future at all. This is marketing as it exists today.

With all the tech straight out of Star Trek, you may think email marketing is a thing of the past. Sorta like fax machines were when email came around, right?

Not so fast. Email marketing is a mainstay, especially for mid-sized businesses looking to grow into bigger enterprises – or simply stay engaged with loyal customers while attracting new ones.

True story: Email marketing is the most effective marketing channel. Not SEO, social, or affiliate marketing. According to a recent survey, 72% of respondents said they would rather receive marketing materials through email. That’s a big number, and it’s not going away anytime soon.

But not all email marketing is created equal. Bad email marketing can actually leave you in a worse position (we’ve all been on the dreaded “Email Chains of Doom”).

Don’t be left unread-or worse, unsubscribed.

Here’s how to drive growth of your mid-sized business using email marketing.

1. Craft A Plan

Bad marketers don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan. So don’t just type up an email and hit “SEND.” Strategize first.

Who’s your audience?

Identify your customers based on demographics, psychographics, behavior, and favorite Avengers character (okay, we made up that last one). Survey customers to learn their preferences and interests, and develop personas. This will help you develop value-rich content.

What do they want from you?

Like the cute girl who gave you her phone number, if someone subscribes to your email, chances are they kinda like you. But don’t put a ring on it just yet – you still have to demonstrate value.

You can include discounts, sales, or new products, but don’t go crazy. According to a survey, 39% of respondents wanted emails that were rich in content and information, not promos.

What’s good content look like?

Start by understanding your services and products. Not just what they’re for, but how they’re being used. Tie your messaging into how your products and services make peoples’ lives easier. Also, know what your audience is into, and how it can tie into your brand. But don’t push it. You and your audience may love Fantasy Football, but posting your Week 7 picks for your oil and gas firm’s investor e-blast is a bit of a stretch.

2. Create Personalized/Custom Content

After a while, you’ll start to see what your customers are responding to, and not responding to. Even better? You’ll see who is responding to what. Some customers may like promos, while others just want tips and tricks.

So create customer segments, develop custom content for each, and set up automated campaigns based on customer behavior. Personalize the content based on customer tastes and develop different lists: Guys Who Like BBQ Tips; Girls Who Like Family Meal Planning.

Remember when we talked about “sci-fi marketing” at the beginning? Good news, it has come to email marketing too. With predictive modeling software, you can actually predict the customer’s next purchase based on prior purchases and the content they’re responding to.

3. Practice Good Housekeeping

Customers may prefer email marketing as a general rule – but they hate it when you don’t follow the rules.

So follow Best Practices. Send an opt-in or activation email inviting people to subscribe, don’t just start spamming them. Once they do opt in, send them a welcome email. After that, follow “the 80/20 Rule” and make 80% of your emails valuable, information-rich content, and 20% promotional. Also, if your business has an e-commerce function, send customers a receipt after every purchase, as well as shipping updates.

Brace yourself for bad news: No matter how good your emails are, some customers just aren’t into you. That’s okay. But don’t be an “overly obsessed ex” and keep bombarding them. If customers aren’t engaging, send an email to see if they still want to subscribe. And remember to regularly scrub your list for duplicate emails, bogus emails, and hard bounces. A clean list is a happy list.

4. The More You Learn, The More You Earn

It’s not a good idea to just send an email out, move on with your life, and never learn from your mistakes-or celebrate your successes.

Most email marketing services include reporting. So check for open rates, click rates, unsubscribe rates, and bounce rates. What types of subject lines are people opening? Do more of those. What links are they clicking? Do more links like that. Did a bunch of people unsubscribe after one particularly awful email? Don’t do that type of email ever again!

Use reporting to identify patterns. After a few weeks or months you’ll begin to see what your customers like and dislike, and adjust your content accordingly (see Tips #1 & 2).

Also, don’t beat yourself up if your metrics seem low. A “good” metric depends on your company’s size, industry, and how often you send emails. A popular influencer who sends weekly advice emails to millions of subscribers is probably going to get more engagement than a local dealership selling luxury cars.

Most email marketing services will let you know how your emails perform versus others in your segment, but if you want to know ahead of time, here’s a list of email benchmarks by industry.

You’re a guest in your prospects’ Inbox. Respect that. You may think your email is special (and it may be) but that doesn’t mean a busy reader won’t skip it just the same.

Email Marketing is here to stay. Want to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities it offers for your mid-sized business?

Say “Hello” to set up a free touchbase and see how we can take your email marketing – and your marketing in general — to the next level.

Anya Sleezer

Anya Sleezer is the owner of Levo, a full–service marketing agency, focused on helping companies from all industries who are concerned with their marketing results, traffic, branding, advertising, or websites.

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