Email marketing doesn’t get a lot of love these days. Even businesses with a solid inbound strategy in place often neglect this effective marketing strategy. Odds are, you checked your email at least once today. Probably more. So why do we assume our customers are not using email?
When implemented correctly, inbound email marketing increases retention, and engagement, and revenue.
Here’s how to integrate email into your inbound marketing strategy:
1. Get permission
What differentiates inbound email marketing from outbound email marketing? The invitation.
For example, sending an email blast to a list of random people who meet your target audience demographics (i.e. “women aged 20-30 with pets”) is outbound marketing.
Sending an email to a list of people who’ve checked a box that says “please send me more information about this product” is inbound marketing.
Your blogs, free download pages, and web pages are great spots to place opt-in forms. By opting in, your leads give you permission to reach out to them with valuable content via email.
The difference between email marketing and other forms of inbound marketing is that with inbound email marketing, you can make contact with your leads and customers when they aren’t on your website or social media pages.
2. Email list contact segmentation
Most emails will not be uniformly suitable for your entire email list.
For example, an email that explains the basics of your company’s service will probably just annoy a customer who’s been using it for a long time. Similarly, an email asking for feedback will baffle a lead who hasn’t even tried your product before.
The cure is careful email segmentation. The most obvious step is to separate leads from customers. But you can also use your opt-in form to ask some basic questions that will aid you in creating high-value email content.
An example, a bank might include fields to understand what kinds of product information their lead might need, such as investment information or debt relief. This helps the bank customize their inbound marketing strategy.
3. Point to your content
Think of email marketing content like a billboard. You have a very brief window of time to catch their attention and tell them what to do next. Don’t paste a blog post into it—you just need to link to your content.
A juicy headline and tantalizing snippet will drive qualified traffic to your website, where you can continue to guide them through the sales funnel.
4. Play the long game
Nurture, nurture, nurture. Maybe your lead isn’t ready to purchase at the 5th email, or even the 20th. But if you’re providing quality, helpful content and increasing brand awareness, your lead is likely to choose you when the time is right.
Inbound marketing doesn’t always bring immediate revenue, but patience and diligence build valuable relationships. Plus, email is a pretty inexpensive tool, so it won’t take much out of your bottom line to stay in touch with your leads.
This is a bit like inbound ping-pong...your leads will bounce from their inbox to your website and back again. With smart call-to-action placement on your website, the sales funnel should be no different than a lead that frequently arrives on your page via search engines or social media.
Need more information?
We love this stuff. Reach out to Tobe today for a free consult.
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