Are you making the most of your email marketing?

You may be doing a monthly mail-shot to your email database updating your customers on what’s new in your business. If so, you’re on the right track. However, email marketing can BE so much more than that, and DO so much more for your business.

Follow these simple steps to improve your B2B email marketing.

You’ll see the response rate of your emails increase while simultaneously growing the size of your database.

1. Use your database as a lead generation funnel

The aim here is to build your email list of prospects. Here’s what to do:

• Develop an incentive (this can be an eBook or white paper, any information-based document in PDF form that is readily downloadable and will appeal to your target audience). Hire a copywriter if you don’t have the skill/time/inclination to do this yourself and make sure the content is well-written and genuinely informative - no 'salesy' copy please!
• Next, build a landing page (either on your website or via a platform such as Leadpages). Your landing page should be set up to promote the value of the incentive and require visitors to provide their email address in order to download it).
• Finally, promote the landing page to your target audience, using your social media channels and through social (eg Facebook) advertising campaigns.

2. Set up an automated “welcome” email series

• Create and set up an automated email series that new list members receive automatically over a set period of time, for example, an email every second day for two weeks. This email series should be nurturing rather than overtly sales-oriented; showcasing your knowledge, adding value for the recipient and building their trust in your brand

3. Segment your list

Your email marketing campaigns should target different audiences, for example:

• Segment One: Customers
• Segment Two: Prospects
• Segment Three: Previous customers
• Segment Four: Location-based segments (a great way to promote events in your home city/state)
• Segment Five: Industry segments (eg. A campaign focused on your manufacturing or professional services prospects)

The messaging for each segment (in the above cases) might only be slightly different but it will demonstrate to the recipient that you know who they are.

4. Frequency of contact

A monthly email update promoting your business might be a good start but is just not going to cut it in the long-term. Remember that most people now receive a veritable avalanche of hundreds of emails every day. If yours is just one of them each month it’s likely to get completely lost in the crowd

For maximum effect, aim for a minimum of fortnightly updates that are content driven and full of value, plus marketing/sales campaigns to specific segments.

5. Review your statistics

This is an obvious point that all too often gets overlooked. So spend time looking at your results. There are often easy ways you can improve your response rate if it’s below par. For example:

• If you have a low open rate you know your emails are not being read. Generally, this means your subject line is not very enticing, so trial and split test new subject lines that will grab attention. Think about which emails you open and why. Are the subject lines intriguing? Do they spell out that the email contains something of value to you? Writing email subject lines has become something of an art form, so be sure you master it.
• If people are opening your emails but not taking any action then you need to look at testing the content and/or your calls to action.

6. Don’t neglect the importance of visual design

The design of the marketing emails you send is surprisingly important.

It’s something that is often left as a second thought or simply slapped together at the last moment. Take the time yourself, or hire a designer, to create a professional, contemporary and on-brand email template. Be sure it’s designed so you can easily update it yourself as needed.

7. Develop your content plan

Spend time developing a quarterly content plan for your email campaigns so you’re not left frantically trying to pull content together on the day you send your email out. Thinking ahead will ensure the consistency and continuity of your content and it will also help with yours (and your team's) time management.

Once you have your strategy clear and have written up a detailed plan, much of the work involved can be outsourced if needed. Once implemented, check your results on a regular basis and adjust your campaigns accordingly.

By using these strategies and tactics you’ll not only see your email database grow over time and your response rate increase, you’ll be making the most of this vital treasure trove of contacts to grow your business.