If you’ve ever wished that there was a tool that could help you to manage and send your email marketing then you’re in luck. Marketing automation is a fantastic solution. Although it can only do some of the work for you, it can help to make your processes more efficient and messages more effective.
Marketing automation is the software that automates the work needed to distribute your digital marketing. In the case of email marketing, the software is designed to help you prioritise, manage and distribute your email marketing messages in the most streamlined and powerful way.
Businesses of any size can benefit from email marketing automation as it ensures you’re maintaining regular contact with your customers and following up on any opportunities to convert. You can free up time to react to key insights and work on other marketing activities in the knowledge that the automation software is carrying out regular email marketing activities.
If you’re just getting started with automating your email marketing, you may be confused about how to get started. Read on to discover our 7 top tips to help you start making the most of automation to boost your email marketing activities:
Don’t automate everything in one go
Although tempting, it’s important that you don’t go ahead and automate all of your existing processes without taking the time to review them. Now is the time to evaluate the current situation of your email marketing and see what needs refreshing.
Send targeted and specific messages to segments
It’s important that you’re not just using your automation software to blast out generic messages to your entire database. You have the capability to send targeted, specific messages to different segments of your database. Gather insights into your customer groups and the types of products, discounts and messages that resonate with them so you can target your marketing specifically.
Personalised emails
If you’re not already personalising your emails then now is the perfect time to get started. Email marketing automation will make it easier than ever to start addressing your subscribers and customers by name. This is not only a great use of your existing data but will make great strides towards improving your customer relationships.
Trigger emails by specific action
The great thing about automated emails is the ability to respond to specific customer or visitor actions without needing to personally monitor their every move. Emails could be triggered by specific actions such as: abandoning a basket, completing a purchase, downloading an e-book, subscribing to your email… the list goes on. Consider the specific actions that your visitors might take when they’re on your website and the corresponding emails you could send, such as a ‘thank you’ email or a specific discount code.
Re-engagement emails
Similarly to the way that emails can be triggered after a specific action, they could also be triggered after a lack of activity. If a previous customer hasn’t interacted with your business in over 90 days, you could choose to send them a gentle reminder email about your business with information about new products or features, or a special discount code.
Keep in touch with a regular e-newsletter
An easy way to make the most of your email marketing is to publish a regular e-newsletter. Whether you decide to distribute on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis, an e-newsletter gives you the opportunity to share news, information, discounts and new launches with your existing customer base and potential customers alike. Promoting your e-newsletter also gives you a simple way to build your existing email list and generate awareness of your products and services. You marketing automation software will ensure your e-newsletter is distributed efficiently and consistently.
A/B test your email marketing
You should be regularly testing your email marketing by comparing subject lines, images, headlines, copy text, discounts and call to action buttons. A/B testing allows you to test two different elements of your email with a select segment of the email list and then the automation software will send the winning version of the email to the rest of the data set. Testing is a great way to refine your emails with limited work.