It’s a way of communicating that most of us use on a daily basis without much thought, but in the brand and marketing world sending an email isn’t quite so straightforward.
From no-reply email addresses to a string of repetitive emails that look like clickbait - there are plenty of mistakes that could sadly see your email end up straight into the dreaded junk or spam inboxes.
According to Statista, in 2020 there were approximately 306 billion emails sent and received each day across the world - that’s a lot of emails!
To stand out from the crowd in the hustle and bustle of a customer’s crowded email inbox where brands are competing for attention, crafting the perfect email marketing strategy is key.
The email marketing campaigns that shine are those that engage, educate and entertain - but knowing what works takes practice and experience.
Building those campaigns and making sure your customers keep coming back to your brand takes time - and if you’re not entirely sure what you’re doing it could cost you results too.
We chatted to a duo of agencies offering email marketing as a service on the importance of selecting the right email marketing agency.
Building and cementing your brand
Email marketing is one of the most effective and immediate ways to engage with customers where you can build brand lovers and of course, showcase your existing services.
Selecting the right agency can save time, build your brand and gain quicker results.
Ola Tambor, Head of Digital at Fishtank Agency, explains the importance of choosing an agency is to ensure they understand the “concept behind your brand, tone of voice and brand personality” to help you “create the most effective email marketing campaign".
Ola Tambor at Fishtank Agency.
To grow and retain your existing subscriber list, you need to ensure the agency you select knows what your end goal is as a brand to be able to pique the interest of readers.
Kirsty Moody, Marketing Specialist at Bigfoot Digital, also explains how emails should be more than a “tick box exercise” and should be a key part of overall marketing strategy.
“They are a core element of growth strategies for major global brands and to make a success, your agency needs to be ingrained in your goals and values and understand where you want to go!”
She believes agencies should embrace a flexible and bespoke approach to work with a brand towards achieving their goals.
“Rather than a strict package of campaign newsletters and automated emails, you should have the opportunity to sit down with the agency and discuss your goals. A flexible approach allows them to tailor an email marketing strategy that works for your business!”
Engaged users and targeted campaigns
Engaged subscribers are at the heart of successful email marketing campaigns. An email marketing agency will have the tools to delve into why a subscriber might not have opened an email or clicked on the links within the email.
“Creativity and testing is key to email marketing success!” explains Kirsty at Bigfoot Digital.
“A subject line is the only difference between emails being opened and deleted. Have they got the creativity to help you stand out?”
From click rate, open rate, subscribers even down to the time of day the email is opened - it is important to look ata number of metrics to figure out how to boost user engagement.
Are you sending emails too frequently or not frequently enough? Testing what works and what doesn’t by taking a deep dive into those analytics is what can transform results.
“Email marketing is more than one campaign a week,” says Kirsty (pictured below) at Bigfoot Digital.
“There are flows, segmentations, and lots of other data to consider when creating campaigns. Your customer list is so much more than that! It’s several segments of individuals that may all have their own quirks. Utilising this data effectively could really see your conversions increase. Data analysis should always be ongoing!”
Pointing to a recent case study, Fishtank Agency built an email campaign for not-for-profit scheme The Tubex Collection and Recycling Programme to address the issue of plastic waste with an integrated marketing campaign.
The agency created a bespoke email marketing strategy, which included an interactive newsletter guiding traffic to a landing page that encouraged users to request more information.
Engaging content and strategy
The portfolio of previous work can offer a real glimpse into how an agency creates compelling email marketing campaigns and the results they can achieve.
Using targeted content and knowing how to deliver your message to achieve results is vital - and sometimes it might be best to call in the experts if you’re not entirely sure what you're doing.
Ola at Fishtank Agency believes engaging content should be at the forefront of an email marketing campaign. “With a diverse marketing agency and a range of different skills, you can create goal conversions through engaging content such as lead generation forms, videos, quizzes and links to social media whilst being at the forefront of modern design.”
She says adding “interesting on-brand visuals in multiple formats (such as gifs and videos) and creating engaging content that aids in the user experience increases open and click-through rates to your business’ website, setting you apart from the competition.”
How an agency plans to achieve your goals and objectives should be one of the first things you consider before choosing an agency, explains Kirsty at Bigfoot Digital.
“Your emails can help you achieve any number of goals including generating purchases, building brand awareness, or generating leads. Agencies should be able to help you achieve these goals using data, creativity, and a strong industry knowledge of key metrics.
“As well as this, is your agency confident in changing things up if they see that a strategy isn’t working? Agencies should feel confident in pivoting to keep emails exciting.”
But is eye-catching content enough to grab attention?
“Once the subject line is nailed and the email is open, is the content going to resonate with your audience? Different segments of your audience will want to see different elements whether that’s an image or a graphic,” says Kirsty.
Brands & Agencies has an insightful section where you can find the right email marketing agency and look at some real-life case studies too.