HubSpot Academy Inbound Certification Notes 7 Email Marketing


You're reading Part 7 of my HubSpot Academy Inbound Certification notes guide focusing on Email Marketing Strategy. Hopefully your business is already utilizing email marketing but you need to make sure you're optimizing your campaigns so you end up getting the results you're looking for!




CONTENT + CONTEXT = SUCCESS


Email Marketing is still effective!


-4.3 Billion Email Addresses
-95% of online consumers use email
-91% report checking email at least once per day
-Longer lifespan than social media, stays in inbox
-Email is a channel you own unlike platforms such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Bing, Yahoo etc.
-1 To 1 relationship with person opening your emails
-77% of consumers prefer email to marketing communications
-Email lets you be highly personal. Create highly targeted, contextual message that's unique to each recipient
-ROI of 4300%
-Growing. 76% marketers use email more than 3 years ago.
-Used to close leads into customers and delight customers
-Nurturing Leads: Sending right email to right person 
-Provide leads with helpful relevant content, 
-Establish yourself as a consultant and help them with their challenges
-Inbound is a combination of content and context which will promote interaction with leads.

Best Practices:

-Simple check-ins, send helpful resources, customer-only extras
-Strengthen relationships, upsell new products, reduce churn
-Churn- customers that stop using your products and services



1) Determine who your audience is.

-Segment contacts into smaller groups based on similarities
-Allows you to use context to make content more engaging
-Segment by Buyer Personas and Buyer's Journey
-Segment via geography, country, time zone, etc
-Use data about company: size, nature of business, B2B, B2C, Non-Profit, and industry
-Segment leads by role, seniority, department, and function
-Use a CMS to track lead's behavior on website to gauge interest level and type of interest (use conversion events like downloading ebook, email opens, and page views.
-Marketing intelligence software incorporate information about lead into your segments including social media following. What search terms to find your website?
25% of your email lists decay per year each year. Refill the bucket.
-Spam actually decreases value of your company and services
-Supplement Emails with blog posts and other content

2) Segment your contacts databases to match that audience
3) Send the right content at the right time to that customer
4) Use it to nurture that lead into becoming a customer

a) Awareness Stage:
-Easily consumable content like videos, blog posts, slideshares, free tools, and high level guides. 
-Capture interest and educate to move down Buyer's Journey

b) Consideration Stage:
-Answer unasked questions they may be thinking of
-Webinars, case studies, FAQ's, whitepapers, 3rd party reviews

c) Decision Stage:
-Send free trials, ROI reports, product demos, consultations, and estimates or quotes depending on industry.

*Usually takes several emails to build trust and earn business
-Continue to nurture them with relevant emails while they are not sale-ready or early in the Buyer's Journey
-Email should add value not ask for it-Don't ask the lead, provide them with something of value

Mobile:
-Nearly half of emails read
-Use responsive designs, concise and larger text, clear CTA



Golden Rules of Email:

1) Define A Clear Goal
-Be specific and avoid goals that aren't actionable or quantifiable
-Focus on what drives value to your business not just email opens, clicks, etc.

2) Personalize your email where appropriate-Possibly send your email from a person not the generic company
-Personalize with data including names, company

3) Focus on Engagement
-Be brief, actionable (verbs), and accurate to email subject
-Link pictures to CTA's and add P.S. to end of email with CTA

Include Text-Only versions as well cleaned up from HTML

Metrics Worth Measuring:
-Open Rate- Tells you about effectiveness of email Subject only
-Click Rate- Tells about engagement, but clicks need to go somewhere meaningful
-URL link popularity (especially CTA)
-Unsubscribe link clicks
-Social Shares
-A/B Testing 






Need Assistance with your Email Marketing?

See how Schiemer Consulting can grow your marketing reach!

Best Of Luck In Business!



Michael J. Schiemer of Schiemer Consulting
Enthusiastic Entrepreneur & Owner of Bootstrap Business 
Digital Marketing, Social Media, & Entrepreneurship on a Budget
Mike Schiemer Builds Better Business

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