My phone rang disturbingly several times. As I rushed to pick it up some meters away, many thoughts crossed my mind. First I was like, “I hope it does not disconnect before I pick it”… “I hope the kids did not leave a game running”, which would mean low battery charge thus the phone could go off, and agggggrrrrr; I would have to call back. A different thought which made me grin was, “Radhiya, you need a new phone; how many times are you going to keep calling people back just because you missed a call? You need a new cellphone!” Luckily, I managed to get to my phone just in good time, a great achievement, and applause to me!

My caller was calm and direct; …”Good evening Radhiya, I hope it is a good time to talk?” My face immediately lit up with a smile and my mind awoke from illusions but before I could imagine anything, Boom! He went, “I have been given the assignment to start reaching out to our clients through email; … this new way, using photos and videos. Where do I start, kindly? I have seen you conduct training on email marketing”. I was stunned by his aggressiveness. He wanted detailed information and immediately. He wanted to know where to start and right then. Yes, he knew I offered Email Marketing classes and I, therefore, assumed that he would enroll but alas, the information was needed now and then.

What is email marketing? Email marketing is a way of promoting products or services through sending of emails to prospects and customers. Email marketing is a digital marketing channel, and it is important for customer acquisition and retention.

To be precise, email marketing is a life skill tool, an asset necessary for everyone and not exclusively for business people.

Are you also wondering where to begin?

First things first, you will need an email marketing strategy. I like to call it a plan. Your email marketing strategy will help you to; reach your audience, continue to nurture a relationship with them, and have conversations that help you and your customers grow. Whether you are a company of one or 1,000 people, your email marketing strategy needs to be clearly defined to enable you to achieve your goals. Well, your email strategy may look a little different from mine or another person’s, but when it comes to implementing it, there are three things that all email strategies should have in common. These are;
1. Implementing software.
2. Understanding your full-funnel conversations.
3. Clearly defined goals.
These aspects are what will help you implement a viable strategy that yields growth and success for your endeavor.

Implementing Software:
One requires an Email Service Provider (ESP) company that offers email marketing software for sending one or many emails. An ESP should enable you to be connected to a contact database that not only houses the contacts but also tracks both the quality and the behaviors of your contacts. Your software should be able to analyze the emails you sent, giving you insights on what went well, and what can be optimized. The software you use should be able to track deliverability and send automated emails based on user activity to help you send the right email to the right person and at the right time. Your software should make your day-to-day activities easier, helping you to implement all aspects of your email strategy in one place. Great software should be able to drive and sustain your email marketing strategy and help you collect the right information to continually optimize your strategy.

Understanding your full-funnel conversation:  This is another important element in developing a successful email marketing strategy. Your contacts are not interacting with your content in a fizzle. They are most likely also reading your blogs, engaging with you on social media, and are even interacting with you via a chat box. Understanding all the ways you are having conversations with your contacts will guide your email strategy. From the emails you send to the messages over live chats, delivering the right information at the right time, and on the right channel, is where you are providing the most helpful experience and in turn, creating the most value for your prospects.

Set Goals: Set clearly defined goals for your email marketing strategy and also for each individual email that you send. This will help you understand how successful your emails are. If you do not know the goal of your email, how do you expect the people on the other end to understand why they are getting the email? Do not let readers start wondering; … “What am I looking at”? This could lead to unsubscribes. Setting goals in all parts of your email strategy is important; define why you are doing something.

While your email marketing strategy will look a little different from mine, or anyone else’s, applying these three parts will help you come up with a perfect email marketing strategy. Thus, in summary, put into consideration software to implement and track your emails, an understanding of your full- funnel conversations, and clearly defined goals.

What do you think makes a successful email marketing strategy?

Let me know by leaving a quick comment below.