Email Marketing as Social Media Tool

Social media and blogging are the hottest trends in internet marketing and client outreach these days, but email marketing campaigns are still a vital marketing tool. However, you need to make sure your emails stand out and provide useful information and actionable tools. Otherwise your clients might immediately drop your emails in the trash or regulate them to the dreaded spam folder. The trick is to use email just as you would any other dynamic social media tool. This may require retraining your brain to think different about newsletters and the like. The key to a successful email campaign is one that encourages participation, not one that dryly disseminates information.

Offer a free email based industry course where you share knowledge that you do not share on your blog or other social channels.  People always want to learn something new and even if you aren't in the habit of sharing industry secrets through a blog, you can probably find one or two things about your industry that your clients would love to know.  Your email course shouldn't be long, 3-7 email lessons will work. This approach builds loyalty and industry authority. Your subscribers will view you as an industry leader and teacher. This will keep them coming back to your business for future services.

This traditional method of email marketing will never go out of style. The trick is to offer deals sparingly and intersperse with other email marketing efforts. If you send out a deal email every week then you’re customers will lose interest and your e-newsletters will end up in the spam folder. Worse yet, they might become annoyed with your business altogether and move onto a competitor with a more dynamic email campaign.

Many email campaign applications allow you to create tiered email marketing campaigns that generate a unique email based upon the actions of your customer. This helps keeps your email responses social and personal so that you can cultivate strong client relationships. It also prevents you from being viewed as spam. No one likes receiving an email advertising a product they already bought or a service for which they've no interest. Targeted email responses will prevent this and help you come across as a more caring and attentive business.

The effectiveness of an email marketing campaign is all in how you use it. Updating your style to one that is more socially engaging will grow client relationships and build business. Remember to have be engaging, add some variety and always be strategic.