Are you really just going to sit here and pretend
that email marketing isn't one of the most important parts
of your business?
We are?
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OK.
For everyone else though, the data
tells us that there are 4.3 billion, with a B,
email users worldwide.
With certainly more than half of the planet using email,
your business can't afford to not have an email marketing
strategy.
And unlike those social media platforms
with their confusing features and constantly changing
algorithm and no one liking your posts for whatever reason,
email marketing is relatively straightforward.
What's up?
I'm Jamal from HubSpot.
In this video, I'm going to teach you
the basics of email marketing, setting you up
with a foundation for success that can last for years.
If you find this useful, be sure to like this video
and subscribe to the HubSpot YouTube channel.
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So, how do you become a master email marketer?
Put simply, it's divided into three steps.
One, build your list.
Two, maintain the health of that list.
And three, email that list with valuable content every time.
Let's start by building your list.
When building your email list, there's really
one rule and one rule only.
And that's, never buy or rent a list.
And actually there are more rules,
but let's just focus on that one for now.
Buying or renting an email list can
lead to low open-rates, bad brand appearance,
and even hefty fines from privacy protection agencies.
So what should you do to build up a quality email list?
Well, here at HubSpot, we built our email list
by producing free ebooks that users discovered when searching
for topics like introduction to data visualization
or how to become an influencer.
Maybe you can offer free trial of your service
or an online seminar or other experience.
Whatever you offer, it needs to be something valuable enough
to convince users to part with their personal email
information.
In addition to the landing page, most websites
will let you place a pop-up to collect email.
Set one to appear after the user has
spent some time on your site which indicates that they're
receiving value and might be open to more information.
And if your business involves online ordering,
make sure customers are prompted to opt into your email list
when making a purchase.
Why is it important that users opt in?
Well, having users opt in means they want to hear from you.
It also keeps you compliant with the ever-stricter antispam
policies being implemented by governments as well
as email services themselves.
A double opt in is even more effective
since it requires the user to open and click
an automated email they receive when signing up.
This not only prevents users from giving fake emails,
but it also trains their email app
to recognize quality messages from you.
And with that, we just got to the spam folder.
Way to go.
How you go about building your email lists,
will set the stage for future success.
But just as important is how you maintain your list.
This means periodically scrubbing your email list
to remove emails that bounce or addresses that never
open your emails.
A good rule of thumb is to scrub your list
every six to 12 months.
You might be wondering, what's the harm in emailing people
who don't open them?
Right?
Why can't I just--
I should be able to do that, right?
Well, another metric that email algorithms
use to determine if something is spam, is the engagement ratio.
The more you send emails that never get opened,
the more likely the email services
will eventually categorize your emails as spam.
Makes sense?
The good news is that despite these increasing obstacles
to email deliverability, the overall value
of email marketing is actually on the rise.
In 2010, Digital Marketing Association
put the return on email marketing
at $40 for every dollar spent.
By 2019, that return increased to $42 for every dollar spent.
Why has the ROI gone up?
Because I'm opening everyone's emails for them.
No.
But actually though, a major reason
is an increased use of segmentation
in email marketing.
Segmentation means dividing your email list into smaller groups
so you can send each segment content
specific to their interests.
You can segment your list by demographic data,
like location, company size, or anything else that's
important for your business.
But the real email managers use what's
called behavioral segmentation which
is grouping based on how the user previously
interacted with your brand.
Things like previous purchases, lifecycle stages,
and customer loyalty.
Creating triggered email flows for specific behaviors
allow you to be responsive to your user's needs.
So it's no wonder that 77% of email marketing ROI
comes from these sorts of segmented, targeted trigger
campaigns.
It's the best tool for getting your audience
the valuable content they'll want
to open because they know it's tailored to their interests.
And that-- that's inbound, baby.
Which brings us to our final step
in mastering email marketing.
Send valuable emails.
The average office worker receives around 120 emails
per day.
That is many.
Out of that 120, 40 are important business emails
that require a response.
That leaves 80 other emails vying for attention.
The only way to stand out is by having a super click bait
title for the subject line.
That's a real tip.
You should do that.
No.
The only actual ways to stand out by offering something
your subscribers want to click on because it somehow
improves their lives.
Think about a company like OpenTable
who uses subscriber's past behavior to offer
useful discounts or recommend new restaurants.
Or Spotify who send regular emails notifying
users of new music by artists they follow.
These are great examples of valuable emails
that subscribers want to receive and are happy to open.
One more useful tip.
Whenever you're recommending something to your subscriber,
be sure to remind them of the activity that
triggered the recommendation.
That way they associate the good feeling
of the previous experience with the new one you're offering.
Now, when it comes to emails, conveying value
starts with the subject line.
This can mean literally telling the recipient what they'll
get from opening the email.
And try to do it in 50 characters or less.
Use those 50 characters to peak the customer's interest.
Don't give everything away up front.
Like me with Bobby Jenkins in the fourth grade.
I gave him my Goku action figure.
And then he just--
he didn't talk to me anymore after that.
Leave a bit of mystery so they'll feel compelled
to open the email to no more.
Just be sure that whatever you tease in the subject line
is actually delivered in the body of the email.
No one likes deceptive click-baity subject lines.
I was kidding before.
And 69% of spam reports come from subject lines alone.
So watch out.
Now, you can also use the preheader.
That is the first few words in the body of your email
that get previewed in your inbox to support the subject line.
Most email marketing systems will
allow you to set the preheader when you enter the subject
line, so you don't have to worry about altering the actual body
copy of your email.
And always A/B test your subject line
so that each email you send, teaches
you something for the next one.
So all the messages from your email list have been delivered.
And thanks to your brilliant subject line and preheader,
good job.
Folks are itching to read what you sent them.
So what are you going to say?
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Crafting killer email copy could be its own video.
Until that time, here's some tips.
Tip number one.
Keep text neat and simple with the main point upfront.
Use short sentences with lots of paragraph breaks.
Save those verbose-think pieces for your blog.
This is an email.
Tip number two.
Write for your audience.
Remember those list segments we made?
This is why they're so important.
And tip number three.
Write in a friendly one-to-one style.
This isn't just a good way to treat your customers,
it also helps for your email from getting tagged as spam.
And speaking of spam, HubSpot keeps an extensive list
of spam trigger words that you should
avoid when writing email copy.
There will be a link in the video description below.
And if you don't click on it, I'll
be sent to the spam folder.
You should also run your email through a spam test
before sending it, to make sure your formatting punctuation
and fonts all pass through the filters.
There are plenty of free spam checkers online you can use.
You'd be amazed how a few tiny tweaks can
make a huge difference.
So, when it comes to email marketing,
sending valuable content in a compliant format
to users who you know want to receive it,
will allow you to execute successful campaigns for years
to come.
Happy email.
I'm off to the spam folder.
I don't know why that's like my "I messed up sound."
But it is, and we're rolling with it.
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