Are you currently using email marketing to promote your business? If so, you’re among 93% of B2B marketers who use the email channel to distribute content. You could also be among the nonprofit organisations that sent an average of 59 email messages per subscriber in the year 2020.
There’s no gainsaying that a successful email marketing campaign begins with not just a strategy but a great one. Having the right email marketing strategy helps you achieve your business goals faster. However, how to create a winning strategy has remained a mystery for many B2B brands and nonprofit organisations.
So sit back as we walk you through some of the trade secrets that will help you create a strategy that builds real-life relationships with your audience.
How to Create a Killer Email Strategy
Effective email marketing strategies tend to have some similarities across industries. However, when it comes to their application, things frequently go in a different direction. This variance is due to the different audiences and overall objectives.
For example, the ultimate goal for B2B brands, whether service-based or product-based, is (in most cases) to increase profit, while nonprofits aim to educate, raise awareness, and collect donations. For this reason, the tone of messaging has to be different, and the optimal frequency of messaging may vary significantly.
That said, B2B and nonprofits organisations must both have clearly defined goals and objectives. This foundation will align their expectations and guide them to develop a strategy that truly works.
Capturing the correct information from the get-go also helps in creating personalised emails campaigns. Everyone can identify an email that feels unnatural when they see one. But, unfortunately, not everybody likes it. So it’s super important to be as authentic (and personal) as you can be with your email content. In addition, creating segments within your email lists also helps to deliver highly personalised emails to your subscribers.
These are some of the strategies for general email marketing campaigns. Next, let’s see how you can create specific strategies for B2Bs and NFPs.
B2B Email Marketing Strategy
Here are a few strategies to help you make the most out of your B2B email marketing campaigns.
1. Target decision-makers
In B2B marketing, the target audience often comprises business brands looking for products or services similar to yours. Therefore, it makes sense to target the decision-makers who can make the business happen. Thus, it would be best to employ b2b lead generation tactics that appeal to this category of people and communicate with them appropriately once they find their way into your funnel. Be aware of how much time they have (or don’t have), what information they need to make the decision and who they need to get buy-in from.
2. Use automation
Because you’re unlikely to have the time to manually send all your emails, automating your email campaign won’t be such a bad idea. Moreso, automated emails are effective in delivering tailored content at each stage of your customer lifecycle. Apart from having an automated workflow mechanism in place, it’s also crucial to create warm-up and retention email sequences that will help to nurture your leads till conversion.
3. Use images
Using eye-catching visuals in your emails is a sure way to bring your emails to life. People are more likely to click image-based call-to-actions because they arouse curiosity. Adding compelling images of products or services that would bring value to your email list is a simple and effective idea.
Email Strategy for NFPs
If you operate in the NFP space, the following tips will help you create a successful email marketing campaign.
1. Email autoresponders for nonprofits
When shopping for a suitable email marketing tool, it’s best to look for those most suited for nonprofits. One of the distinguishing features of such tools is that they have designs and templates tailored specifically for nonprofits, among other excellent functionalities.
2. Create personalised video messages
Personalised videos that capture real moments are the best for conversion, even more so in the NFP space when so much depends on evocative storytelling. Embedding such videos in your emails will increase both engagement and click-through rates. For the best experience, always make sure to use short, sweet videos that tell stories and help you connect with your subscribers on a deeper level.
Conclusion
Everything you’ve read so far points to the fact that email marketing isn’t dead! However, you need a solid strategy backed with excellent execution to make email marketing work for you.
Don’t just send emails for the fun of it. Instead, always double-check that every email passes a valuable message and don’t overlook the power of follow-up messages. The majority of subscribers are on your email list because they want to hear from you so don’t be afraid to reach out regularly.
Want to get the best out of your email marketing campaigns? Contact our team today – we’d be happy to walk you through the process step-by-step.