With billions of emails being sent out
every day you’d better hope your own email campaign is standing out and getting those clicks. If it’s not then you’ve got some work to do!
With so much competition out there, it’s important to learn how to do email marketing the right way.
So, is your current email marketing working? Do you know how to run a successful email marketing campaign?
By the end of this useful guide you’ll know all the tips, techniques, and best practice to create an amazing email marketing campaign for your shop.
The elements of a successful email marketing campaign
- A targeted email list
The most successful email marketing campaigns start off with an email list full of high-quality leads. The best way to build up this sort of list is by converting people already interested in your services into email subscribers.
You can convert your website visitors into subscribers by enticing them in with an incentive for signing up. For example, you could offer them free downloadable content like a free guide, access to an exclusive webinar, or a series of how-to videos.
Visitors tend to have a very short attention span, so it’s important to grab their attention and get them to sign up as quickly as possible.
If you can’t get them to sign up by filling in your form, another great way to get their contact info is with exit intent pop-ups.
The way exit intent pop-ups work is as soon as your user goes to exit your website a pop-up will appear detailing your enticing free content in exchange for them signing up or subscribing to your email marketing.
If you’re attending industry events, make sure to collect people’s contact details when they visit your booth and follow up with them afterwards with an enticing offer in your email newsletter.
2. Clear goals
Once you’ve got your list up and running, it’s always good to set out clear goals for yourself - no matter what you’re trying to accomplish. If you want to create a campaign that works, setting out clear goals really helps - that way you know if you’re achieving results that actually matter to you.
Common goals for email marketing campaigns for auto shops include:
- Increasing your shop’s average repair order
- Filling your appointment calendar
- Re-engaging customers who haven’t interacted with you in awhile
- Increase bookings for a specific service
- Introduce a loyalty program
3. An understanding of the different types of emails
Understanding the different types of emails that are sent for email marketing campaigns is essential to figuring out what you should email to your subscribers.
There are three main types of emails sent in marketing campaigns, and they’re sent with different intentions/goals in mind:
1. Promotional emails
These emails talk about special offers, deals, and are all about self-promotion. Their goal is to get someone to spend money with you.
2.Relational emails
These emails are generally weekly newsletters/updates that provide your subscriber with relevant news about your company/industry. The goal with these emails is to build a relationship with your readers - people buy from/hire companies they feel connected to on a personal level.
3. Transactional emails
Transactional emails are emails triggered by an action your subscriber took on your site.
For example:
- Subscriber signup confirmation emails
- Welcome emails
- Order or purchase confirmation emails
Although transactional, they do provide a great chance to work on injecting your own personal brand into a direct line of communication with a potential future client.
4. Email marketing tools to make your job easier
Email marketing tools help you streamline the creation and sending of email campaigns.
They have features like:
- Templates to make your emails easy to create (and replicate)
- Integration with your website CMS, accounting software, or booking system
- The ability to segment and target your audience
- In-depth analytics on how your campaign is running
- Automation for sending emails/replying to emails
Some great email marketing tools include:
- Mailchimp
- Drip
- GetResponse
- AWeber
- ConvertKit
- Constant Contact
5. A clear plan for your email campaign
As soon as you’ve got your subscriber list all sorted and your goals clearly mapped out it’s time to sit down and plan out your emails.
Here’s an outline you can follow when coming up with your emails:
- Type of email
- Rough content idea
- The main action you want subscribers to take
When creating your emails you want to make them timely, relevant, and valuable to your subscriber.
Don’t overwhelm your subscribers by bombarding them with constant emails - instead stick to an organised plan and send them the emails they’re expecting (and wanting).
6. A perfect subject line
Subject lines can make or break an email marketing campaign.
Subject lines are the first things your visitor reads when they see your email, so they have to be enticing, interesting - and most importantly persuade them to open it. If they’re not, then your subscriber will more than likely delete the email before they even read it.
Improve your subject lines by:
- Telling people what’s inside before they open the email
- Add some personalization like the subscriber’s name
- Avoid spam trigger words
- Stay on topic
- Make it exciting/intriguing for the reader to find out more
7. Engaging copy
When writing the text for your email you want to hook your reader in, right at the start. Generally speaking, try to keep the emails as short and to the point as you can.
Address your subscribers by name (personalization goes a long way with email marketing) and include interesting and relevant info is an absolute must to keep your subscriber engaged.
Don’t forget to include a killer CTA in your email so you can encourage your reader to take action.
8. Create a clean, simple email design
Design matters when it comes to creating a successful email marketing campaign. If your email looks terrible then it’s going to reflect badly on your business and your subscribers will stop reading.
If you’re not already, you can save some serious time by saving your email layout as a template. Not only can you avoid spending hours designing new emails every week, your readers will get used to a familiar layout - skipping to the sections they enjoy the most.
9. Continuous testing
Split A/B testing can give you amazing insight into what works (and what doesn’t). Test your design and layout, your copy, subject lines and even your calls to action. Change anything that isn’t working for you and try different approaches to improve your campaign.
The more you test your emails and monitor their progress the more you’ll be able to improve for future campaigns and convert more people into paying clients.
With these 9 steps implemented into your next email marketing campaign, you’ll be able to engage your target audience, show them what a great shop you are, and ultimately turn them into loyal, repeat customers.
Ready to create the perfect email marketing campaign for your business?
Get in touch today
and our expert team will do the heavy lifting for you.
