No dumb questions: Email marketing Q&A

Welcome to a space where your most burning yet basic email marketing questions are not just answered but elaborated upon. 

At It's Personal - we're email-obsessed experts to whom email marketing is our bread and butter. But of course, it hasn't always been that way. 

So today, we wanted to dive into some #nodumbquestions, and answer some of the fundamental Q&A’s about email marketing.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or just stepping into the world of email marketing, let's dive in!

Q: Should I buy a list to kick off my email marketing?

A: No. Purchasing lists, even if the recipients opted in, poses significant risks. It can lead to lower open and click-through rates, potential spam marking, and harm your long-term email deliverability and reputation.

Buying email lists can seem like a shortcut, but it often results in sending emails to people who are not genuinely interested in your content. Now, don't you want to be talking to people who actually want to listen? 

Instead, invest time in building a quality, organic list by creating targeted and valuable content that attracts your ideal audience. For example, consider offering exclusive content, webinars, or discounts in exchange for email sign-ups.

Q: So, how do I grow my email marketing list organically?

A: To grow your email list organically, focus on providing value to your audience. Develop content offers such as ebooks, whitepapers or guides that address the pain points or interests of your target audience. Place these offers behind a sign-up form on your website or through social media channels. 

For instance, if you're in the fitness industry, you might offer a free workout guide in exchange for email sign-ups.

Q: Where does an email newsletter fit into email marketing?

A: While newsletters are popular, consider sending specific content tailored to your marketing funnel for more effective results.

While newsletters are a common practice, consider diversifying your email content based on your audience's position in the marketing funnel. For example, create targeted emails for leads, prospects, and customers. This ensures that your messages are more relevant, increasing the chances of engagement and conversions.

Q: How often should I be sending emails?

A: It depends on your audience. The frequency of your emails should align with your audience's expectations. Test different sending frequencies and analyse the response rates. If you have a daily news-oriented audience, daily updates might work, but for a product-focused audience, a weekly or monthly digest could be more suitable. Regularly monitor engagement metrics to refine your sending frequency.

Q: How do I make sure I don't land in the spam folder?

A: Spam filters are sensitive to certain behaviours. Always ensure you have permission from recipients (opt-in) before sending emails. Follow best practices such as using a clear sender name and avoiding excessive use of all caps or exclamation marks. Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or bounced addresses, and segment your audience to send targeted content, reducing the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.

Q: How do I make sure my emails will look great when delivered?

A: Email clients can display emails differently, so testing is crucial. Use the testing features provided by your email marketing platform to preview how your emails will appear on various devices and clients. Ensure that your design is responsive and that important information is visible even if images are disabled. Consistency in design helps in building brand recognition, so once you find a layout that works well across platforms, stick with it.

Q: What do open rates and clickthrough rates mean? Are there other metrics to track?

A: Open rates indicate how many recipients opened your email, while clickthrough rates show the percentage of people who clicked on a link within your email. However, depending on your objectives, other metrics may be crucial. 

For instance, if your goal is lead generation, track the conversion rate of sign-up forms within the email. If you're promoting products, monitor sales generated directly from the email. Align your metrics with your campaign goals to gain a comprehensive understanding of your email marketing performance.

Q: How do I know if one subject line will perform better than another?

A: Subject lines play a significant role in email open rates. Test different types of subject lines, such as urgency, curiosity, or personalisation to see what resonates with your audience. 

A/B testing involves sending two versions of an email with different subject lines to a small sample of your audience and then sending the better-performing version to the remaining recipients. Analyse the results to understand which types of subject lines work best for your audience.

Q: How do I prevent people from unsubscribing from my emails?

A: Legally, you can't prevent unsubscribes. Unsubscribes are part of email marketing, and it's essential to comply with regulations. Provide a clear and easy-to-find unsubscribe link in your emails, following CAN-SPAM laws. 

Instead of preventing unsubscribes, focus on retaining engaged subscribers through segmentation and personalised content. Understanding your audience's preferences allows you to tailor your emails, reducing the likelihood of them unsubscribing.

In email marketing, the greatest lessons we've learnt is that continual learning and adaptation are key. Stay curious, test often and refine your strategies based on the insights gained from your campaigns. Watch your email campaigns flourish as you incorporate these best practices into your approach.

And of course, if you'd like any assistance in your email marketing, we'd love to help! Get in touch to explore our services and chat to our friendly team.