Digital marketing. Content marketing. Getting your message across and measuring incoming response. It’s all about ROI, and it’s important, right? And there are many ways to do this.
One of the ways is to do regular direct emails to a subscriber base – it comes into their inbox, you lace it with a great enticing subject and headline, and then you include a strong Call to Action at the end…
But how do you build that email database? There remains a school of thought (and worryingly, of practice) that believes you can buy an email database and simply hammer out mails to that in the hope of achieving some stickiness.
The truth is that this is a terrible idea.
Firstly, consent (given GDPR regulatory updates) is a major barrier – oftentimes these mailing lists include thousands of people who did not knowingly or willingly give their details.
This means that legally you could find yourself in hot water (given that the onus is now on all parties involved in the marketing activity to prove correct methodology).
Secondly, it’s very likely indeed that the multitude of people on the list will not have, or may only have a very limited interest in your subject matter.
This means that you risk reputational damage (the ‘buzzing fly’) by sending them constant communications that are of no interest.
What does this mean for your mailing list ambitions?
The best way to build a solid, relevant and engaged database is by allowing people to opt in to your mailing list on your website.
- Include the capability on your site in an obvious but unobtrusive place that doesn’t detract from your main message/entry point.
- Create innovative marketing campaigns across a range of digital media that encourage sign-up – perhaps incentivise someone to sign up by offering a free 15-minute consultation, or similar
Be innovative in your email campaigns
- Have punchy, engaging headings and subject lines
- Include useful insights and relevant information
- Include a clear Call to Action
Make sure it’s measurable
- Google’s Campaign Builder can create clickthrough URLs which can be identified and measured in Google Analytics
- MailChimp is an excellent option to set up measureable, customisable campaigns
For more information on digital marketing and content strategies, contact Realnet today on +1223 55 08 09.