How to design effective email marketing?

Email marketing is one of the most effective and profitable digital marketing strategies that exist.

It consists of sending emails to a previously segmented and authorized contact list, in order to communicate a message, offer a product or service, build customer loyalty or generate an action.

But how do you do effective email marketing? What steps must be followed to create a successful campaign? In this article we explain it to you step by step.

What is email marketing and what is it for?

Email marketing is a form of direct and personalized communication with users, which allows you to create a relationship of trust and closeness with them. Email marketing has multiple benefits, among which are:

- It is economical : it does not require large investments or technical resources for its implementation.
- It is measurable : the performance of each campaign can be analyzed and optimized based on the results.
- It is segmentable : the message and offer can be adapted to the characteristics and preferences of each group of contacts.
- It is interactive : you can generate a dialogue with users and obtain their feedback.
- It is flexible : it can be used for different objectives and at different stages of the sales funnel.

How to make a contact list for email marketing?

The first step to doing effective email marketing is to have a list of quality contacts, that is, people who have given their express consent to receive your emails and who are interested in your value proposition.

To create a contact list for email marketing, there are different methods, such as:

- Offer a lead magnet : this is about offering free and valuable content (such as an ebook, a webinar, a course, etc.) in exchange for the user's email.

- Create a subscription form : this involves including a form on your website or blog, where users can enter their email to receive your news, offers or advice.

- Use social networks : it is about taking advantage of the reach and virality of social networks to promote your contact list and drive traffic to your website or subscription form.

- Co-register : this is about associating with other companies or media related to your sector, to offer the possibility of subscribing to your contact list at the same time as theirs.

It is important that when creating your contact list for email marketing, you comply with current regulations on the protection of personal data and sending commercial communications.

To do this, you must:

- Request the user's express and verifiable consent to send them your emails.
- Inform the user about the person responsible for processing their data, the purpose thereof, the rights they have and how to exercise them.
- Include a link to unsubscribe or modify your preferences in each email you send.
- Respect the frequency and shipping schedule that you have established with the user.

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How to design effective email marketing?

The second step to effective email marketing is to design an email that captures the user's attention, conveys your message and generates an action.

To do this, you must take into account the following elements:

- The subject : it is the first thing the user sees when receiving your email and what determines whether they open it or not. It should be short, clear, attractive and include the main keyword.
- The sender : it is the second thing the user sees when receiving your email and what determines whether or not they trust you. It should be recognizable, professional and personalized.
- The preheader : it is the text that appears below the subject in some email clients and that complements its information. It must be coherent, relevant and generate curiosity.
- The body : it is the main content of the email, where you develop your message and offer your value proposition. It must be brief, clear, structured and adapted to the user's profile and objective.
- The call to action : it is the button or link that invites the user to perform a specific action, such as purchasing, registering, downloading, etc. It must be visible, attractive and urgent.
- The footer : it is the space where you include legal and contact information, as well as links to your social networks or your website. It must be simple, complete and up-to-date.

How to optimize email marketing for SEO?

The third step to doing effective email marketing is to optimize your email for SEO, that is, to improve its positioning in search engines and increase its visibility and traffic.

To optimize email marketing for SEO, you must follow these recommendations:

- Use relevant keywords related to your topic in the subject, preheader, body and call to action.
- Include internal and external links that add value to the user and are related to your topic. External links must be nofollow, to prevent search engines from following them and penalizing your website for having low quality links.
- Use images that illustrate your message and that have an appropriate size, a descriptive name and an alt attribute with the main keyword.
- Use lists, subtitles, bold and other formatting elements that make it easier for the user to read and understand.
- Use clean and valid HTML code that complies with web standards and is compatible with different email clients.

How to measure the success of email marketing

The fourth and final step to do effective email marketing is to measure the success of your campaign, that is, analyze the results you have obtained and compare them with the objectives you had set for yourself.

To measure the success of email marketing, you must use web analytics and email marketing tools, which allow you to obtain data and indicators on the performance of your campaign.

Some of the most important are:

- The opening rate : it is the percentage of users who have opened your email out of the total number of users to whom you have sent it. Indicates the level of interest and attraction that your subject and sender have generated.

- The click rate : it is the percentage of users who have clicked on a link or button in your email out of the total number of users who have opened it. Indicates the level of engagement and conversion that your body and your call to action have generated.

- The bounce rate : it is the percentage of users who have left your website without taking any action out of the total number of users who have reached it from your email. Indicates the level of satisfaction and loyalty that your value proposition has generated.

- The conversion rate : it is the percentage of users who have performed the desired action out of the total number of users who have reached your website from your email. Indicates the level of success and profitability that your campaign has generated.

These data and indicators will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your email marketing and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your strategy. This way you can make evidence-based decisions and optimize your future campaigns.

I hope this article has been useful to you in learning how to do effective email marketing step by step. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can leave them in the comments. Thanks for reading me!

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After leading several digital businesses and advising several other businesses; I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and enhancing digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.