With the right planning, you can implement an effective email marketing strategy with a low investment cost.

Steps to build your email marketing strategy

Email marketing is often cited as the most profitable form of digital marketing, with an ROI of 4,400%. And the good news is that this massive ROI is not just reserved for big companies. Even entrepreneurs with lean budgets can profit substantially from this strategy.

– 8 digital marketing tips to sell more

So if you are interested in growing your business, we have listed three simple steps for you to start putting together your own:

1. Build your contact list

Before you start sending emails, you need to have a mailing, that is, contacts for whom to send that content.

To do this, the first step is to create a registration form and place it on your website, social media and any other relationship channel with your audience. 

Make sure to include compelling text that explains what users are signing up for and what the benefits are. Remember that they are exchanging their data for the promise of something of value, which, in this case, is exclusive interest content.

2. Define a content agenda

Now that you have started to grow your contact list, it is time to define a content agenda that your emails will address.

Some examples of topics can be:

• Promotional emails, with special offers or discount coupons;
• Seasonal messages (for holidays or special events);
• Loyalty programs to reward your most dedicated customers;
• Content of interest to your audience, such as industry news or new product launches.

3. Create a layout 

No hype. You want the content of your message to be clear, along with the action you want subscribers to take.

When thinking about your design, be sure to add an attractive call-to-action (CTA) button that matches the topic covered in the email and shows readers what you want them to do.

CTA is usually a button that directs a subscriber to your website to:

• Read an article on your blog
• Get to know a new product
• Buy the product advertised in the email

Whatever you are promoting, make sure you have a flashy CTA, and avoid using more than one. This can be confusing to readers. 

Your emails should also be instantly recognizable and associated with your company. This means applying your visual identity to the layout.

You can (and should) use elements similar to your website design, like the navigation bar, to make your emails even more friendly and consistent with your brand.

– Copywriting Tips

6 email marketing tips for small businesses 

When creating email marketing campaigns, routine is the enemy. You must always be aware of trends and news that can promote more engagement by the public.

Your contacts are receiving more and more emails from other companies and competitors. So you will have to fight for attention.

Here are 6 email marketing tips to help you beat the inbox competition.

1. Quality over quantity

One of the keys to engagement is the quality of your email content. Forget the number of emails you send. Nobody likes to be bombarded with constant promotional messages.

Instead, focus on writing something that your subscribers really want to read. This is certainly the best way to not end up in the trash and end up being listed as spam.

2. Use a built-in signup form instead of a link in your menu

Many websites still use a link when asking people to sign up for their email list. But, why use a link when you can simply insert a form directly on your page?

Simply replacing a link with a direct registration form can increase your subscription fee by 20 to 50%! The reason is that you save your visitors the click and extra effort. Moral of the story: make your application process as easy and fast as possible.

3. Make your emails compatible with mobile devices 

More than 50% of online users are reading emails on their smartphones, so make sure they are responsive to mobile devices. What does that mean? That the design of your email must adapt to the type of screen (desktop, tablet, smartphone) that your reader is using and render accordingly, to provide the best experience.

The last thing you want is for your subscribers to have a hard time reading your emails. Nowadays, a negative experience is enough for a consumer to lose confidence in a brand. What’s more, people are not only reading emails on their phones – they are also shopping. Make sure that all of your web pages are also responsive so you don’t lose business.

– How to create a sales page

4. Segment your contact list

The best way to write assertive content that moves your lead into the sales funnel is to segment your contacts into smaller lists.

The ideal is to group people with similar needs or interests. You can separate them in the following ways:

• Demographic data (gender preference, age group, geography)
• Previous purchase behavior 
• Brand loyalty (new leads, old customers, VIPs)
• Email engagement (customers who click on all of your emails vs. those who never opened one)

After dividing your contacts into small groups like this, it’s much easier to create a message that resonates with your audience and generates more engagement.

If you have repeat customers or subscribers who are already interacting with your emails, for example, this is a fantastic opportunity to increase sales. These subscribers have shown a deeper level of interest in your business and these relationships must be cultivated.

A great way to do this is to create a specific email list for them, making sure those are with valid email addresses. Thus, you can send special offers to encourage them to make new purchases.

– Understand How the Sales Funnel Works

5. Send automated emails

Once your email marketing flow has been created, it’s time to schedule your sending. Automated emails save a lot of time and do wonders for growing customer relationships. You can use email sequence software for an effective email campaign.

To get started, you can set up an automated welcome email for new subscribers. This will start your relationship on the right foot and build trust between your brand and your new contacts.

You can also set up automated emails based on a contact’s past behavior. For example, if the person has completed a purchase, send an email thanking them and suggesting another complementary item. Or, if a subscriber viewed a product on your site but didn’t take it, send an automatic email the next day, reminding them of their purchase wish.

6. Convince new subscribers to add you to their contact list

Want a way to increase your chances of appearing in the subscriber’s inbox? Convince him to put it in his address book!

When sending a welcome email to new contacts, include a text asking them to add your address to the contact list. This email marketing tip will improve your deliverability, because contacts are essentially telling the email service they want to receive news from you.

Another tip to increase your open rates for subscribers using Gmail: ask them to move your email from the ‘Promotions’ tab to the ‘Main’ tab.

However, be careful not to ask too much and deliver too little. People are much more cautious about what they subscribe to, and don’t think twice about canceling their subscription if the content becomes irrelevant.

To retain your subscribers keep your promise about content and frequency of delivery. If you promise a monthly email about news from the programming world, send this content religiously on a certain day every month.

Use email marketing to sell more online courses 

Now you already know how to launch your email marketing strategy, even if you are a beginner entrepreneur.  

Our next advice is to look for email software to create, manage and send your campaigns, like MailChimp.

– How to create email campaigns with MailChimp

An excellent resource to advertise business online, MailChimp is an extremely attractive option for those who are starting an email marketing strategy.  

Developed to make it possible to send emails to thousands of addresses at the same time, the tool allows free sending to up to 2000 subscribers.

Simple to use, MailChimp makes it very easy to start building an email list and execute marketing campaigns without prior knowledge. You can create email templates in HTML without any coding. And, to improve, the service integrates very well with various platforms, such as WordPress.

The entire user interface is intuitive and well-documented, designed so that anyone can send professional looking emails.

Complete eLearning platform optimized for SEO, Coursify.me is the ideal solution for those who want to create, sell and advertise courses on the internet.

Serving businesses and professionals in more than 60 countries, the platform is a dynamic and customizable Learning Management System.

– Learning Management System: What is it?

To learn more, visit our website, test the platform and understand why we are the best option for your online course.

The post Email marketing: strategies and tips for small business appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

Favorite among many companies, know a little more about this service and understand how it can help leverage your business.

What is MailChimp?

MailChimp is a web-based email marketing service. Its main function is to help companies and professionals create and send newsletters, share them on social networks and track their results.

Even with all the new online communication channels that come up every day, email continues to be one of the most effective marketing tools.

– How to Create a Successful Email Marketing Campaign

There are 4 billion email users today and this number is expected to grow to 4.5 billion by 2024, which represents more than half of the world’s population. Impressive, isn’t it?

Source: Statista

In addition, the ROI of email marketing is one of the highest among advertising channels.

According to 2019 data from Litmus, for every $ 1 invested in email marketing, companies get $ 42 in return on average. Depending on the industry, this return may be even greater.

Two factors help to explain these excellent results: the investment required is low and the conversion rates are high.

To start an email marketing strategy, you need only 3 ingredients: a domain, a sending tool and a person to execute the strategy.

Why use MailChimp?

Technically, you can send a newsletter through your personal email.

– How to create a Newsletter

There are also email providers like Gmail, Hotmail and Outlook that you may be more familiar with. So, why use MailChimp?

Well, first of all, know that these services are designed for a person to send an email to only a few people at the same time – not a complete list of users.

MailChimp is designed to send emails to thousands of addresses at the same time.

Ranked 8th in Best Software 2020 and used by more than thirteen million small businesses, the tool allows free sending for up to 2000 subscribers.

Easy to use, you can create HTML email templates without any coding. And to improve, the service integrates nicely with various platforms such as WordPress.

If you are still not convinced, take a look on other features and benefits that MailChimp offers:

• Unlimited number of recipients: most e-mail services and Internet service providers (ISPs) limit the number of emails you can send at once. With MailChimp you can send an email to an unlimited number of recipients at the same time.
• Higher deliverability: the service works with ISPs and corporate domains to ensure that your emails are recognized as secure and approved. If there is a problem with delivery, MailChimp will try to resend the email and will tell you what the problem might be.
• Privacy laws: senders are required by law to include an unsubscribe link in all emails. MailChimp automatically includes this and asks recipients why they are leaving your list.
• Professional layout: the tool offers a wide variety of customizable templates to create your email layout. You can also create a template from scratch.
• Compatible with multiple readers and devices: MailChimp gives your recipients the option to read your emails only in HTML or in fully stylized text. In addition, it also provides tools to see how your email campaign is displayed on mobile devices.
• Integration: MailChimp enables perfect integration with other applications and services. Works well with CRM software, WordPress in general, registration forms for e-commerce, social networks, among others.
• Analysis of results: unlike what happens in the case of sending an email through your personal email, the provider give you all sorts of analytics on successful deliveries and open rates.

Want more? Here are some cool things you can do with MailChimp:

• Divide your lists into groups: dividing your subscriber base into subgroups based on engagement, location, social statistics, and more, lets you customize your message and organize your sales funnel.
• Install a registration form on your site: customize the required fields and embed the HTML in your site. MailChimp also helps you submit your application form via URL, Twitter, Facebook and QR code.
• Schedule: you can prepare your emails in advance and schedule them to be sent on specific days and times.

How much does MailChimp cost?

MailChimp offers a variety of different plans. See a summary below.

• Free: As long as you have up to 2,000 subscribers in all your account listings, you can send up to 12,000 emails per month without paying a cent.
• Monthly plans: You can upgrade to a paid plan if you do not want to limit the number of emails sent per month. Unlimited email plans start at $ 10 for 500 subscribers and go up from there.
• Pay as you go: If you are not a frequent sender, you can purchase credits that act as e-mail seals. Buy them when you need them starting at $ 0.03 per email. The price decreases as the volume increases.

Remembering that these values ​​can be updated, so it is best to check directly on the company page: http://mailchimp.com/pricing/.

6 ways to use MailChimp for your business

MailChimp offers highly effective ways to create email marketing campaigns for your business.

Here are six tips on how to make the tool work for you.

Create an email ad

Create a killer email and send it to everyone on your list. Once you have all your contacts imported into MailChimp, on the recipient screen, select the “send to whole list” option.

Send emails to a specific audience

Ideal for those who use the sales funnel strategy, MailChimp easily targets your lists. Simply use the “send to a segment” option on the recipient’s screen and choose the group to which you want to send.

Reactivate subscribers

Someone is not opening your email? Send another asking if the person is still interested in your product or service. Offer a discount coupon or special offer for the first purchase.  

– How to use a Discount Coupon on your business

Bet on content marketing

Provide valuable information about your industry or product by setting up a four-week education campaign. The process is easy. Set the campaign start date and set emails to be sent 1 week apart. You just need to schedule once.

Create campaigns for special occasions

One of the most open email campaigns is the one focused on birthdays. Keep your customer base updated and send a happy birthday message along with a discount coupon for the next visit.

Optimize results

Send an email to the customer with more information when a specific link is clicked. You can do this automatically in the Automation area of ​​MailChimp by using workflows.

MailChimp is a powerful and effective feature to help your company get closer and connect with customers, increasing your conversion rate.

With a robust, free version and low-cost updates, it’s a solid email marketing tool.

How to use MailChimp

Setting up an account in MailChimp is very simple. Just go to the company website, click the “Sign up free” button and follow the steps indicated.

Once you’ve made this registration, you’ll land on a dashboard page each time you log in that gives you an overview of your account.

This will keep you update on everything from your most recent campaign stats to how many people have signed up for your mailing list.

Manage a list

MailChimp allows you to easily organize your subscribers through lists, which are the basis of every email marketing campaign.

You can add new subscribers, access and manage your list on the “Lists” tab on the main navigation page.

Each time you create a new list – whether it’s for your customers, subscribers, students, etc. – you are prompted to enter some default information such as who the emails are, how subscribers have entered your list, and how you would like to receive notifications about changes to the list.

Once you complete these settings, you can add new clients by entering each name and email address manually or by importing them from a worksheet, site, or database.

If you do not have any subscribers when you make the list, MailChimp will automatically create a subscription form for your list and allow you to customize it to post on your social networks and website.

Create a campaign

Once you’ve set up your list, it’s time to prepare the email.

MailChimp provides a variety of basic templates to get you started (which means you do not need any prior knowledge of HTML).

You can easily edit layouts by dragging and dropping the different content blocks, and you can save your layouts for future campaigns.

Set up a new campaign by clicking the “Campaigns” tab in the top navigation bar and selecting the “Create Campaign” button in the upper left corner.

After completing the setup of your campaign, MailChimp checks and advises you if you skipped any important steps in the process. Then, just click “Publish”.

Analyze a report

Once a campaign has been successfully submitted to your list, you can check its performance under “Reports”.

Doing this analysis is critical to checking your email engagement, finding out which links are most appealing to your readers, and doing some testing with the user.

The reports are detailed and show how many people have opened your message, how often they opened it and what links they clicked on.

MailChimp also syncs with Google Analytics to provide even more detailed reports.

– How to use Google Analytics

Why use MailChimp to promote and sell online courses

Excellent resource for promoting online business, MailChimp is an extremely attractive option for anyone who is starting their email marketing strategy.  

In addition to being quite affordable and simple to use, the tool also makes it very easy to start building an email list and running marketing campaigns without prior knowledge.

The entire user interface is intuitive and well documented, designed so that anyone can send professional looking emails without the need for a marketing degree.

Those who create online courses and do not understand anything about design do not have to worry, just choose a template and then define the layout and text using the drag-and-drop resource.

That way you can get in touch and develop a relationship with your students by maintaining a professional look and a sending schedule, which strengthens your Inbound strategy.

With a well-planned and aligned strategy, you will soon have your first students.

– 5 tips to attract students for your online course

Coursify.me is a dynamic and customizable eLearning platform, which provides all the resources you may need.

Present in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is the perfect solution for those who want to create and sell online courses.

To know more, visit our website, test the platform and find out why we are the best option for you.

The post MailChimp: create email campaigns to sell online courses appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.

Best way to communicate with your audience, email campaigns are a powerful marketing strategy.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is an email sent from a company to one or more potential customers.

While everything in the digital world seems to change fast, the use of email remains unwavering.

An article on why email marketing isn’t dead reveals that 90% of adults and 74% of teenagers still use email regularly.

This makes email marketing the perfect tool for creating a customer relationship, generating leads, and increasing sales.

– How to Generate Leads

But before you run a successful email marketing campaign, you need planning and preparation. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do this.

1. Define your Goals

The first thing to do is set goals.

To get started, think about what you want to achieve with your emails, such as:

• Getting new subscribers to generate leads;
• Nurture existing leads by providing something they value;
• Convince inactive customers to buy with you again;
• Target your audience so you can send more focused and assertive proposals and offers.

An email marketing campaign is usually conducted in stages, with different content, but the ultimate goal is always the conversion.

2. Know the Different Types of Email

It is important to know what types of email you can send.

The most common, with which we are all familiar, are the promotional emails, which talk about offers, products and services.

Then there are relationship emails that focus on giving something of value to the subscriber, such as a newsletter, a gift, relevant information they can use, and so on.

– How to create a newsletter that converts

There are also transactional emails, which include:

• Subscriber registration confirmation;
• Welcome message;
• Confirmation of purchase;
• Request for review;
• Validation of changes to subscriber information.

Generally, transactional emails are triggered automatically by the actions of users subscribed to your website.

3. Use Technology Wisely

The best email marketing services are implemented through tools developed for this function, such as MailChimp.

– How to create email campaigns with MailChimp

When choosing a software to create your campaign, see if it offers features like:

• Easy creation and automation of campaigns, including templates and workflows.
• Integrations with software you already use, such as WordPress and OptinMonster.
• Ways to segment your audience.
• Performance analysis tools.

Features like the MailChimp automations illustrated below will help you schedule transactional emails, blog-driven updates, respond quickly to customers, and create and deliver promotional and relational emails.

4. Create Great Optins

In summary, “Optins” is the necessary authorization, given by an individual, to receive e-mail communications from a particular company.

For this to happen, you’ll need to create attractive, attention-grabbing signature forms, and encourage people to sign up.

Try different types of forms on different parts of your site, including:

• Welcome pop-up, which appear when people arrive at your site.
• Pop-ups that can appear on any page and temporarily blank out the rest of the content to focus on optin.
• Banners on the sides of the site.
• Exit intent pop-ups, which appear when people are about to leave the site.

For best results, place optins in multiple places and determine rules for them to appear and targeting criteria.

This reduces the level of annoyance while maintaining effectiveness.

5. Plan a Schedule

Many companies receive new subscribers with a small series of emails to help them get to know your products and services.

This sequence is usually as follows:

1. Welcome.
2. Products/services that the company offers.
3. Company news.
4. Some offer or advantage to encourage the reader to take action.

Do not overload your subscribers by sending emails too often. This will send them directly to the spam box.

Inserting a button so the user can unsubscribe, if desired, is also important as it demonstrates respect for the customer and builds trust.

Once you outline your email marketing plan, it’s time to start writing.

6. Make your Best in Subject Line

The subject line plays a crucial role in getting people to open and click on your emails.

As the title of a blog post, the subject of the email needs to draw attention so people want to go further.

Data Campaign Monitor show that the subject lines that most converts have between 41 to 50 characters.

Some tips for creating good topics are:

• Telling people what they will receive when they open your email;
• Add personalization, such as including people’s names in the subject line;
• Avoid spam trigger words so your emails make it to the inbox.

7. Prepare the Copywriting

It’s finally time to write the text of your email marketing. Time to create an engaging and effective copywriting.

– Copywriting Tips

For best results, in the beginning, keep the text short, clear and avoid launching your offer too soon. You want people to feel comfortable first.

Greet subscribers by name. Personalized emails are more successful.

Other ideas for improving your copywriting are:

• Develop a personal story. This makes the reader create an emotional connection with your brand.
• Offer something of value to your readers. It can be content, some useful information or special offer.
• The use of GIF or video keeps readers more involved.
• Create attention-grabbing signature.

Lastly, the last part of your email marketing copywriting is the call to action (CTA).

Your CTA is what you want people to do when they read your email and it can appear more than once during the text.

8. Focus on Design

The layout is a fundamental part of a successful email marketing campaign.

It reflects the image of your company and therefore determines the impression your reader will have of your brand.

With more people than ever reading emails on mobile devices, it ‘s important to use a responsive template so your email is automatically resized.

Another factor to watch out for is that, while images are more attractive, many people turn off their viewing in emails.

For this reason, it is important to invest more in the text than in the use of images.

Our tip: Remember to use alt tags to describe the images used, so the people who disabled them will know what’s there.

9. Test and Follow Up

And when you think that now you just have to send it, it’s not really so easy.

This is only the first step, the first test.

To create a truly effective email marketing campaign, you need to test and collect data.

That means sending and seeing how everything works: design, copywriting, subject lines, and calls-to-action.

You’ll also need to monitor email analytics from your service provider relating to opens, clicks, unsubscribes and forwards.

This will allow you to discover what is working and what is not.

Another problem to be monitored is your sender reputation, which affects email deliverability.

Use the Sender’s Score to see if there are red signs that might prevent your emails from reaching your subscribers’ inboxes.

Finally, manage your subscriber list by trying to reengage inactive subscribers and removing them if your attempts fail.

It is best for email marketers to have higher opening and clickthrough rates with fewer active subscribers, than keeping a large number of inactive ones.

Why use MailChimp in your Email Marketing Campaign

Excellent resource for promoting online business, MailChimp is an extremely attractive option for anyone who is starting their email marketing strategy.  

Developed to enable sending email to thousands of addresses at the same time, the tool allows free sending to up to 2000 subscribers.

Easy to use, you can create HTML email templates without any coding. And to improve, the service integrates nicely with various platforms, such as WordPress.

Among the features and advantages that MailChimp offers, we can mention:

• Sending email to an unlimited number of recipients at once;
• Higher deliverability;
• Privacy laws;
• Professional layout;
• Compatible with multiple readers and devices;
• Seamless integration with other applications and services;
• Performance analysis.

Simple and intuitive, those who create online courses and do not understand anything about design do not have to worry.

Just choose a template and then define the layout and text using the drag-and-drop resource.

The software provides a variety of basic templates to get you started.

MailChimp also allows you to easily organize your subscribers through lists, which are the basis of every email marketing campaign.

That way you can get in touch and develop a relationship with your students by maintaining a professional look and a sending schedule, which strengthens your Inbound strategy.

– How to use Inbound Marketing

With a well-planned and aligned email marketing campaign, you will soon have your first students.

– 5 Tips to Attract Students

Coursify.me is a completely dynamic and customizable eLearning platform that assists and makes available features that make it even easier for those who want to sell online courses.

Present in over 60 countries, Coursify.me is the perfect solution for anyone who wants to own their own business without having to invest anything to get started.

Visit our website, test the platform and know why we are the best option for you.

The post Email Marketing: How to Create a Successful Email Campaign appeared first on Blog Coursify.me.