Some say that email marketing is dead. I beg to differ.
Email marketing is one of the easiest ways to reach out to clients and leads, especially if you’re just starting an SEO agency and don’t have the resources for other marketing initiatives.
If done right, email marketing can take your agency a step closer to that sale. But, half-baked email marketing can be just as damaging. So, how do you maximize your email marketing efforts to get more clicks?
Here are smart tips for SEO startups when launching email campaigns:
Don’t send to everyone – narrow down and segment your email list
Do you plug all your contacts into one email campaign? Many digital marketers are guilty of this.
Launching an email campaign is often a hit or miss, and it’s going to be all misses if you send an email without targeting the right audience. Like in selling SEO services, you don’t cast a wide net. Instead of sending an email to thousands of people, it’s best to narrow down your list and talk to the decision makers of the business first.
With this list, you can further segment your audience based on location, industry, or common grounds you have. This ensures the message is relevant and valuable to whomever will receive it.
Write compelling subject lines
The subject line is the first thing recipients will see when your message pops into their inbox.
Writing the subject line can be tricky. It should provide a sense of urgency, invoke curiosity, and give your audience an idea of what you’re message is about.
Here are some examples of compelling subject lines:
- Last call to get your business on the 1st page!
- Brace yourselves – More traffic is coming to your site
- Your secret weapon for customer engagement: Social Media
Make it all about them, not you
Like in any aspect of your marketing efforts, you need to personalize the experience when sending emails to prospects. You’re talking to real people who knows the difference between a generic email and one that’s sincere.
Address them by their name—if possible, use their name as part of your greetings on the subject line. Your copy should allow them to envision how they can gain value from your business. Be conversational in your emails; write it as if you’re writing to a friend, not as a salesman.
Introduce your agency and tell them about your services but keep this section brief. No bragging about your accomplishments. Your priority is to show them how you can solve their problems, which brings us to the next tip.
Deliver value
One of the important questions your email has to answer is, “What’s in it for me?”
If you want clients to click on your email, you need to provide value right from the start. Value can come in different forms – a website audit, a special promo for your SEO services, or educational content. The best option is to hire digital marketing consultant london for this type of specific job.
Keep it short and specific
Ever been in a conversation that seemed to drag on forever? Unless the topic is interesting, not everyone has the patience to tune in to a long-winded conversation. The same can happen to your emails.
The average attention span users spend on reading emails is 11 to 15 seconds. If your emails are too long, these will end up not being read thoroughly by your recipients. Worse, these may end up in their trash folder.
Make your emails concise and easy to understand. Every word should serve a purpose – no fluff, no ramblings. Be clear and specific on what you want clients to do when they read your emails.
Don’t forget to A/B test
The beauty of being in the digital business is you can run a test for anything, including the emails you send out.
A/B testing allows you to determine which aspect of the email campaign to improve – subject lines, call to action, copy, layout, and even the images on the email. It’s easy to A/B test email campaigns, as most marketing automation tools have built-in tools for this purpose.
Here are a few pointers when you conduct A/B tests on your emails:
- Don’t test two different variables at the same time to get the best results.
- Launch A/B tests simultaneously to avoid time-based factors from affecting the results.
- Don’t use different sets of audience lists; use only one list and split it up.
- Never stop testing.
Send at the right time
Do you want your clients and leads to receive an email at the start of the week? When is the best time to send a reminder email for your promos?
Timing is crucial in email marketing. The last thing you want is to send an email when your clients or prospects are asleep or out on a weekend.
Based on our experience, the best time to send an email is between 10 and 11 in the morning. This is usually when they have more time to go over their emails. On the other hand, the best days to send emails are Tuesdays to Thursdays. Avoid sending on a Monday because people are still trying to sort out their priorities for the week and might not pay attention to your email that much.
Ready to Start Sending Emails?
Email marketing is one aspect of learning how to start an SEO business. It’s a powerful strategy to get more conversions and guide clients through every stage of the buyer journey. Sometimes, all it takes is one impressive email to convert those one-time clients into long-term relationships. Are you going to let this opportunity pass?
