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ADvocate Jan 18, 2022
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As a new business owner, you might be wondering if email marketing is the right choice for your digital promotions. No matter your field, the short answer is: yes. Email marketing is one of the most lucrative tools available to business owners today. With the highest-grossing ROI (return on investment) in the market, you’re going to want to add this notch to your metaphorical marketing belt. The four primary types of email marketing campaigns are newsletters, acquisition emails, retention emails, and promotional emails. We’ll get into the logistics of each campaign here, as well as the necessary steps for structuring your email funnel.
Before Your First Email Campaign
One of the reasons that email marketing is effective is because it generates targeted content to existing customers. Unlike brand awareness and marketing ads, which target a broader, untapped demographic, email marketing tailors content to individuals who have interacted with your brand before. Email marketing software allows you to segment these customer email addresses within specified lists, such as recent purchasers, geolocation, content interest, and browsing behavior. Before you launch your first email marketing campaign, take the time to gather and analyze this data to better understand the audience you are speaking to.
Once you compile your designated audience, you will want to establish your goal for each email campaign. The most commonly used email marketing campaigns are newsletters, acquisition emails, retention emails, and promotional emails. Each of these initiatives serves a specified purpose and is geared to a designated audience. Below we have expanded on each email marketing campaign type to help you better determine which, if not all, options are right for you.
Newsletters
If your family is the holiday newsletter type, you are likely already familiar with this method of email marketing. While a business newsletter might not contain information as intimate as Grandpa Joe’s gambling hobby (he’s managing it), it does serve as a company update for consumers. Newsletters are the most popular streams of email marketing because of their versatile nature. Here you can offer valuable how-to’s, link to your latest blog, and announce new products.
Acquisition Emails
Acquisition emails are the push geared towards potential customers. These campaigns target individuals who have opted to receive company messages but have not made a purchase quite yet. Acquisition emails consist of a series of emails sent over a designated period of time. Each one is purposed to generate greater customer interest, with the final send resulting in a purchase.
Retention Emails
Retention emails target existing customers to encourage engagement and brand loyalty. Considering that costs up to 7x more to gain a new customer, investing in your existing clientele is a priority. These campaigns are most effective when presented to a specifically tailored audience. Retention emails apply to your frequent customers (regular purchasers) and casual customers (sporadic purchasers). Include disengaged customers (once a long time ago purchasers) in this list if you are noticing less interaction with your content or an extended period of time between purchases. Create clear messaging and direct prompts to encourage customers to scroll through your offerings. Using phrases such as “we miss you” or “check out our new products” helps to generate the CTA (call to action) you desire.
Promotional Emails
Promotional emails serve as an excellent reward to brand loyalists. That catchy subject line promising a certain percentage off your next purchase is oftentimes just the push customers need to buy that product they’ve been eyeing. Promotional email marketing campaigns can be used to reward loyal customers or encourage a wider audience base to make a holiday purchase.
