The first email marketing was sent in 1978, generated $13 million in sales and started what has become one of the most widely used marketing channels to this day.

Given its beginnings, email is not as brilliant as some newer channels such as messaging and social media, but it is an effective way to build an audience that gets results.

Benefits of email marketing

• There are over 4 billion email users worldwide, so if you are looking for a way to reach your customers, email is the perfect place to find them.
• From 2020, email generates $36 for every dollar spent.
• 79% of marketers list email marketing among their top 3 most effective marketing channels.
• Email visitors are the most likely to convert on forms.
• Perhaps the best reason to use email marketing is that you own the channel. Outside of compliance regulations, there is no outside entity that can affect how, when or why you communicate with your subscribers.

Create an email marketing strategy

You can learn how to create an effective email strategy and send emails that people actually want to read. All it takes is a plan.

Think of the following five steps as an outline for your email strategy.

1. Define your audience.

An effective email is a relevant email. Like everything else in marketing, start with your buyer, understand what they want and tailor your email campaign to their audience's needs.

2. Set your goals.

Before thinking about your campaign objectives, gather some context. You'll want to know the average email statistics for your industry and use them as benchmarks for your goals.

3. Create your mailing list.

You need people to send emails to, right? An email list is a group of users who have given you permission to send them relevant content.

To build that list, you need several ways for prospects to opt-in to receive your emails.

Don't be discouraged if you only have a few people on your list to start with. It may take some time to build. In the meantime, treat every subscriber and lead like gold, and you will start to see your email list grow organically.

4. Choose an email campaign type.

Email campaigns vary and trying to decide between them can be overwhelming. Do they send a weekly newsletter? Should I send new product announcements? Which blog posts are worth sharing?

These questions plague all marketers. The answer is subjective.

You can start by learning about the types of email campaigns that exist and then decide which one is best for your audience.

You should also set up different lists for different types of emails, so that customers and prospects can sign up only for emails that are relevant to them.

5. Make a timetable.

Decide how often you plan to contact your list and inform your audience in advance.

This way, they will know exactly what to expect ahead of time. Forgetting to do this can lead to high unsubscribe lists and may even send you to your junk mail.

Also, once you set a schedule, be consistent. It will build trust and ensure that you stay in the minds of your audience.

6. Measure your results.

This should come as no surprise. As marketers, we measure everything. Being meticulous with each key metric will help you make small changes to your emails that will generate big results.

We will touch on the exact KPIs to monitor in a moment (or you can move on).

Now that you understand the steps to creating an email marketing strategy, we will look at what is involved in building your email list.

Getting started with email marketing

While there are many rules for sending a marketing email, the most important one is this: treat your subscribers like humans.

You can achieve all your email marketing goals if you keep this golden rule as a priority in every autoresponder, lead magnet and subject line.

If in doubt or if you ever need inspiration, you can turn to our team. You can also take a look at our unlimited marketing and design plans.