We all have a lot of options in our daily lives these days and email marketing helps you reach out to customers in the way they prefer to be contacted. But what are the benefits of staying connected with your customers through emails? Here are five reasons why you should consider it: (1) email marketing keeps your brand at the top of the mind of your customers, (2) it helps you retain loyal and long-term customers, (3) it’s cheap, (4) it’s easy to do and maintain, and (5) it can be powerful enough to launch new products or services!


Why use email for your business?

Email is one of the most effective forms of communication in today's society and it has a high engagement rate, which means that people are more likely to open an email than they are to browse through social media or other websites. Not only that, but email has a higher conversion rate than any other form of advertising. Why? Because it's personal. The sender knows your name and what you like, which makes them more likely to engage with your product or service. There's no better way to communicate and market yourself. 

What do I need?: First things first, make sure you have permission from your customers to contact them via email (opt-in) Next, find a reliable tool that integrates seamlessly into your business such as Mailchimp or Aweber. You'll also want to create a compelling subject line so that recipients will at least read the rest of the message! Be careful not to spam your list with too many emails, instead try sending once every few days if possible. It takes time for people to forget about who you are and unsubscribe from your list, so be smart about how often you send out messages. If someone opens one of your emails and clicks on something, take the opportunity to continue engaging by creating another email that's relevant to their interests. For example if they clicked on shoes, send them information about where they can purchase their favorite style!


Why does it matter which service you use?

Choosing the right email service provider will help you maximize the potential of your business. When it comes to managing your email marketing, there are three main providers that offer services for every type of user.

-MailChimp is an affordable and easy-to-use service for beginners. It offers features like autoresponder and subscriber segmentation tools, so it can be a great choice for small businesses looking to keep costs down. -AWeber has been around since 1998, so they have experience with many types of campaigns. 

-Constant Contact is perfect for marketers who need advanced automation features. They also have some basic design templates available to make your emails look professional and polished. Choosing the best email service provider for your business will depend on what kind of budget you have as well as what features you need. As long as you do your research and ask questions about their services before signing up, there should not be any reason why one company won't suit all of your needs! You can use Mailchimp if you want something cheaper and easier or Constant Contact if you want more customized features.

Now that I've explained the benefits of using an email service provider, I hope you'll sign up for one today and reap the rewards!


Tips for creating a killer subject line

A good subject line can be the difference between an open and a click. It needs to capture the reader's attention and make them excited about what is to come. With that in mind, here are some tips on how to write an effective email subject line. 

1) Keep it short. Your subject line should be concise enough that someone can read it in one sentence or scan it quickly without having to go back and re-read it again. If your subject line takes up more than half of your email, you’re asking for people to miss out on your message entirely.

2) Be clear and direct. Don't overcomplicate things with cute words or phrases. Instead, get right to the point and tell readers exactly what they'll find inside your email. 3) Be straightforward with expectations. Your subject line should provide readers with an accurate idea of what will happen if they open the email so there are no surprises inside. 4) Don't give too much away! Reveal only as much as you want people to know before clicking through to your email. Giving too many details may discourage those who don't want to know any spoilers from opening it. 5) Make it catchy! At the end of the day, you need readers' eyes to land on your subject line first before reading anything else - because if they don't see your subject line, then they won't see any other part of the email either. 6) Stick with tried and true words. Simple words like free or today tend to do well. 7) Avoid all caps. They're tough on the eyes and have been shown to diminish readership rates by up to 20%. 8) Keep it positive. People are turned off by negativity even when they agree with it - so instead of saying something negative, try coming at it from another angle (i.e., 'You DON'T want this!' vs 'Stop doing this NOW'). 9) Mix it up!


3 tips for writing great emails

1) Provide value. Your goal as a marketer is to provide value by offering content that will make people's lives easier, more productive or happier. By providing content that is valuable, you are creating an emotional connection with your audience and they will be more likely to take the next step with you. 2) Be human. In your email communications, it's important to remember who you're talking to-your customers. Write in a way that feels natural and conversational so they feel like they're getting an email from a friend instead of getting another impersonal message from some company. 3) Keep it brief. It's easy to get carried away when sending an email, but try not to go too long without giving your reader a break. Limit your emails to just two or three paragraphs (or one if possible). Make sure to include a call to action at the end. These could include buttons for social media shares or links back to your website. Follow these tips and you'll find writing great emails doesn't have to be difficult! There's still plenty of time to get your business ready for the new year. Check out our blog post on how to boost productivity in 2018 here.


When to send and how often

Stay in touch with your customers and prospects with email marketing. Send a newsletter out once a month to stay top-of-mind. Be sure to include useful information, such as new products or webinars, and make it easy for them to unsubscribe if they don't want to receive future emails from you. Remember that the average person receives over 300 promotional emails every day so be selective about what you send. To make your messages more relevant and personal, use subscriber's first names when appropriate; this is also an important way to encourage engagement since people are more likely to respond when their name is used rather than an anonymous Dear Reader or Hello. You can also use your customer list to create hyper-targeted content by asking readers how often they read blog posts or newsletters on certain topics, how much time they spend reading them, and other questions. Ask targeted questions that will help you determine the best content for readers who want news about specific topics like health insurance or tax credits. It’s never too early to think about what you'll say next year!


How to measure success

The metrics that measure the success of an email campaign are open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. All three metrics should be tracked to see how your campaign is performing. 

Open rate is how many people opened your email. If you have a 20% open rate, then that means one in five people who received the email opened it. Click-through rate is how often people clicked on links or images inside your email. Conversion rate refers to what percentage of people who clicked on something inside your email ended up taking some sort of action, like subscribing to your newsletter or purchasing a product from you. It’s also possible for someone to read your entire email without clicking on anything, which would make them a viewer instead of a converter. Viewers can still be valuable because they may come back later and become subscribers or purchasers after reading more emails. But if you want to grow your list as quickly as possible, it’s important to focus on getting high open rates and high conversion rates rather than just increasing viewership. That way, even when someone doesn't take any actions with your email campaign right away, there's still a chance they'll eventually convert down the line!