E-mail marketing definition: where to start?

Whether you want to win new prospects, retain them or implement an automated marketing strategy, we offer a step-by-step guide to introduce you to this world. We will start with a definition of e-mail marketing and get to a good guide and some tips for buying software.

E-mailing appears to be an essential part of your digital communication. 4.1 billion: this is the estimated number of email accounts worldwide in 2021 (Radicati Group study, 2017). Emailing is today the most efficient digital marketing tool for establishing a lasting relationship with your customers. Manage your emailing with professional software for a successful campaign.

Follow our advice to be accompanied in your choice.

See all software Email

Definition of e-mail marketing

E-mail marketing refers to a marketing communication action based on sending mass e-mails to a specific list of recipients. It creates a relationship between the company and its customers. E-mailing can be used in a variety of cases, such as promoting a product or service to customers or prospects, inviting them to an event or sending a promotional offer in order to build customer loyalty. Increasingly regulated by GDPR restrictions, this approach is based on an opt-in approach of permission marketing that requires users' authorisation before advertising content can be sent. Even though this could be perceived as a threat, it is still a valuable qualification tool, as users who have deliberately requested to be placed on a mailing list will have a higher open rate.

Email marketing does not only mean Newsletters, but includes other types of communication:

• Direct Email Marketing (DEM) This is the mass sending of advertising promotions to its users. It often happens that to maximise conversions, companies turn to third parties to supplement their mailing list.
• Newsletter: This is a less 'aggressive' and advertising type of e-mail. In fact, it connects the company and the customer by building a relationship based on interesting content that brings value.
• Survey mail: A way to collect opinions about one's own service
• Welcome mail: The email to make the customer part of a community.
• Transactional emails: Different types of emails that try to facilitate transactions

Trigger marketing

A customer performs an action on your website (filled in a contact form, requested support, sent a message, etc.) that triggers the automatic sending of an email. Example: The customer has placed an order, receives a confirmation e-mail, then automatically receives an invoice by e-mail once payment has been received, then an e-mail to tell him that his order has been shipped, etc.

Image from an infographic by email monks

Call-to-action emails

They are created in relation to the customer's profile, i.e. according to the pages visited, products consulted and/or purchased, etc. An email can be sent to the customer for a promotional operation, a private sale or for their birthday, for example.

Email for reviews and loyalty

A customer has recently tested your service or purchased your product, invite them to share their opinion by e-mail! This helps build loyalty by showing that you recognise his value.

Why use e-mail marketing in your company?

86% of professionals prefer to use e-mail to communicate in B2B or B2C.

(Source: Hubspot, 2016)

E-mail is an essential tool for your communication strategy. Especially considering that 72% of Internet users prefer to receive promotional content via e-mail. In the age of social networking, you might think that it is better for your company to invest in a social networking campaign? Don't be fooled! Email marketing is the second largest source of customer acquisition, after organic search. It is 40 per cent more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined.

Build trust with customers

Emailing is a tool to win new customers, but also to retain existing ones. Offer them new, high-quality content, exclusive offers that reward their loyalty or, in short, show them that they value you! The added value of your e-mails will lead to new orders on your website, more trust on the part of your customers, a stronger brand image, etc.

Improve your commercial offer

The frequency of your e-mails will force you to rethink and renew your commercial offer. The idea is to offer your recipients new, relevant and customised content. The sales, marketing and communication teams will be spurred on by a common objective: to win and retain customers.

Interact directly and quickly with your customers

Marketing e-mails are usually opened within an hour of receipt. This is even truer as 53% of e-mails are opened on mobile phones (Campaign Monitor study). The immediacy of communication between you and your customers creates a closeness that you should exploit commercially. Adapt your commercial messages to your target audience and be more attractive!

Professionalise your e-mailing campaign by choosing the software best suited to your needs:

• Category 1: sending newsletters
• Category 2: list enrichment with forms and landing pages
• Category 3: sending of scenario-based marketing emails (autoresponders)
• Category 4: automatic segmentation, data intelligence, behaviour analysis

Best practices in your e-mail marketing campaign

Where to start? To make the most of these emailing automation tools, follow these tips to maximise your results!

• Target your audience to send relevant content to your customer base.
• Personalise your messages: a personalised message improves click-through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10% (Aberdeen study).
• Write several e-mail items to finally choose the best one. Think about the message you would like to convey
• Take care of the sender's name: according to a study by Campaign Monitor, 68% of Internet users choose to open an e-mail or not depending on the name of the person who sent the e-mail.
• Work on the form: a readable and pleasing email with a harmonious design has a better click rate.
• Test your e-mails before sending them! If you notice an error after sending, it will be too late.
• Don't forget the unsubscribe link: your readers should be able to unsubscribe at any time.

What are the email marketing KPIs to consider?

Knowing how to choose good metrics to analyse is always important because it gives you the right information to determine the right strategy. Here is a list of KPIs that you should check no matter what:

• Open Rate : also known as the open rate, it detects the interest your brand arouses in users even before they open an email
• Click rate: focuses more on internal aspects of the content, to see how the user reacts to the proposed content
• Conversion rate: how many users buy, subscribe, upgrade. In short, how many realise the action you are interested in.

Professional e-mailing software, the essential ally of your e-mail marketing strategy

Marketing automation

Plan the automatic sending of e-mails with marketing automation. The behaviour, interests and profile of a target group are taken into account to select the content that matches them. In fact, 77% of the return on investment on this type of activity comes from segmented and well-targeted campaigns at the beginning (Direct Marketing Association study). The objective is not to drown your customers or prospects under avalanches of e-mails, which would make them flee, but to offer them information that they will find relevant to make them want to be interested in your products or services.

Controlling the deliverability of your emails

To gain visibility over your campaigns, you can at any time analyse your emailing campaign statistics. Check the open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate and other indicators to adapt your strategy. With the help of this data, you will gain in performance during your future emailing campaigns.

Responsive design

When designing the design of an email, keep in mind that there is an approximately 50 per cent chance that it will be opened from a mobile device. It is essential to create responsive emails so that any device is comfortable for the reader and encourages reading. Only emailing software allows you to do this in a professional and systematic way.

Our software proposals

The emailing software market is incredibly broad and offers several extremely good solutions. Today, we would like to show you three that have particularly impressed us:

Newsletter2Go

Email marketing software created in Germany, Newsletter2Go adapts easily to companies of different sizes. Create your own newsletters, launch special offers and accurately monitor your campaign statistics. It is suitable for all users, regardless of technical level. Newsletter2Go is:

• Pleasant user experience
• An e-mail editor with drag & drop technology to facilitate the creation of your e-mails
• Connectivity with tools such as Salesforce, Wordpress, SugarCRM, etc.
• Advanced contact segmentation
• A heat map: to visualise where users click most to optimise the design of your e-mails

Sendblaster

Sendblaster, on the other hand, is a local product that has made its way globally. Remarkable about this product is that looking at its customers we can find small companies as well as large ones, how? it will not have limited functions for a large company or excessive for a smaller one? it is available in 2 versions: free and professional, so it will work on any customer base. Among its main functionalities

• Newsletter layout editor
• Ability to write in HTML mode
• Image filters
• Mail templates
• Customisation
• Calendar function within the message

Mailup

Mailup is also a 'made in Italy' tool that has spread globally. In contrast to Sendblaster, here we are talking about an increasingly popular cloud solution. Another strong point is that it does not stop at the management of email marketing campaigns in the strict sense, but also extends to the sending of mass SMS. Let's take a look at its functionalities:

• Configurations to improve deliverability
• No limit on the number of emails sent
• A/B Testing
• Reporting and analysis of sent emails
• Contact segmentation

See all software Email

Expand your audience with your low-cost marketing campaigns

Email marketing is a valuable tool for your marketing strategy, do not neglect it under any circumstances. It allows you to win new customers and retain existing ones in a professional, targeted and cost-effective way. As 83 % of B2B marketers (study by the Content Marketing Institute), use tools to optimise the
The emailing software on the market offers easy-to-use online platforms, so that you can send your newsletters in record time, with a well-targeted message to the right target group. All you have to do is choose a tool!