While it has become easier than ever to find success through e-commerce, the fact remains that you must put in the effort necessary to grow your online business. Building a slick website based on WordPress is only the first of many things you must do.
Most of what you’ll have to do revolves around building brand recognition and market share. You must reach out to your audience and let them know you exist in the first place. Once they’re aware of you, you’ll also need to keep your business at the forefront of their minds. Email marketing is a great way to do that, but it can be challenging to accomplish it in the right way.
If you’re struggling with email marketing, or haven’t yet started, we’ll run through some of the most important tips to help maximize your success.
Table of Contents
1. Build an Opt-in List
First and foremost, make sure that you’re emailing only those people who’ve given you permission to message them. Unsolicited mail, or spam, is a great way to build a negative reputation. That’s not something you can afford. Instead, use an opt-in form on your website that encourages visitors to sign up for your email list.
You can do this in any number of ways, from offering lead magnets like ebooks or reports to providing incentives like coupons. There are plenty of opt-in plugins available that will work on your WordPress website, and once you have permission, you can begin marketing to your list members.
2. Use Subject Lines Correctly
When your email lands in an inbox, the subject line is the first thing that your recipient will see. That means it is one of the most critical considerations.
Constructed properly, the reader will click and open the message. However, a single misstep and they could delete it unread. There are many ways to create compelling subject lines, but it is also important that you avoid a few key mistakes. Here are some of the things you’ll want to avoid if you want your readers actually to open your email:
- Avoid click-bait style subject lines.
- Avoid bland, boring subject lines.
- Avoid overpromising or creating subject lines that sound too good to be true.
3. Avoid Image-Based Email
Sure, a picture is worth a thousand words, except when it’s not. This is particularly true when it comes to email. More people prefer to receive text-only emails than image-based emails. Also, if you rely on images to get your message across, you’ll likely miss out on a major percentage of your audience who live in areas where the Internet connection is so slow that it takes forever to download the message.
Actually, it might be best to let your recipients choose for themselves. Ask them during the signup process and then create two versions so you can reach all members.
4. Segment Your List
Unless your niche is incredibly narrow, you should not be sending the same email to everyone on your list. List segmentation allows you to target audience members wherever they might be within the sales funnel or the overall buying process. It also allows you to address different pain points, various demographics, and more.
Understand who it is that you’re sending emails to, and you’ll find greater success. Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all email message that ensures 100% success. Segment your list and customize your messages.
5. Get Personal
Impersonal, generic emails were once the only option, but that has changed. Today, consumers expect the businesses they patronize to go the distance and to customize their communications. You can personalize the content of your emails in any number of ways, from using the recipient’s name in the introduction to touching on things specific to their unique situation.
You can even tie in product recommendations based on their personal information, such as their education, income level, geographic location, hobbies, or lifestyle choices. Personalizing your emails provides a higher chance that your recipients will actually open the message and then take action.
6. Clear CTAs
One of the most common reasons for email marketing to fail is a lack of direction. If you do not provide a clear call to action (CTA), then your recipients have no idea what you want them to do. You might think that the point of a message is self-evident, but that’s often not the case. What we see as clear and obvious, our customers often fail to realize. Don’t take that chance.
Come right out and tell your readers what you want them to do, whether that’s visiting your website, connecting with you on social media, check out your latest product offering, or something else. Clear, highly visible CTAs help encourage your readers to take the action that you want, whatever that might be.
7. Don’t Overdo It
Sure, you want to make the most of every opportunity, but that can lead to crowded, rambling, unsuccessful email marketing efforts. Instead, keep your message clear, simple, and succinct. Unless you’re sending out a monthly roundup, or newsletter-style message, it’s best to offer one thing and one thing only in each email.
8. Image Linking
If you are using images in your email, make sure that they’re linked appropriately. Each image should link to a relevant landing page or other destination, making it easier for your readers to take action.
9. Take a Break from Selling
Sure, your email marketing is about selling products or services. However, if all you do is sell, your audience is going to grow tired of it. Take a break now and then and send messages that deliver value without asking for anything in return.
10. Track Performance
Finally, make sure you’re using UTM codes attached to every link within your emails so you can track performance and make adjustments over time. UTM codes will be picked up by Google Analytics, which makes it easy for you to measure which emails are performing best, learning more about your newsletter subscribers.
Email marketing success doesn’t have to be challenging to achieve. Follow these essential tips, and you’ll boost traffic to your WordPress site and build your profitability.
Are you looking for a good and affordable place to manage all your newsletter subscribers and automated features?
Take a look at Mailerlite, we use it here on wpsecurityninja.com for all our email marketing or take a look at the big list of Email Marketing services from our friends at FormGet.
