The truth? Strategic, branded email marketing is one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience, promote your biz, and actually get results – but only if you do it right. No purchased lists. No spammy copy. No half-baked designs from 2006.
So, whether you’re a marketing newbie or you’ve dabbled in the dark arts of enticing inboxes before, this guide will walk you through how to get started with email marketing the right way
Step 1: Verifying Your Email Domain (AKA: Prove You’re Not a Robot)
Before you design your first beautiful marketing email, you need to prove you’re a real human being and not some shady inbox invader.
This means verifying the email domain you’ll be sending from. Most email marketing platforms (think Mailchimp, Constant Contact, etc.) will ask you to confirm that your “from” address is legit. Usually, they do this through a verification code or DNS record update. Yes, it’s a little techy. No, you can’t skip it.
Why does it matter? Because verifying your email domain helps keep your emails out of junk mail. It lowers your bounce rate and tells email servers, “Hey, I’m cool. Let me through.” And if your email marketing efforts are going to pay off, you need your message to actually make it to people’s inboxes.
Step 2: Design a Top-Tier Template
Now that you’ve verified your digital identity, it’s time to design your email template. Most email marketing tools offer drag-and-drop options that make it easy, but not all templates are created equal.
Here’s what to keep in mind:
- Brand it. Seriously. Branded email marketing matters. Use your colors, fonts, tone, logo, etc. Make it unmistakably you.
- Match the format to the goal. Sending a welcome email? Go clean and personal. Launching a new product? Highlight the visuals. Writing an e-newsletter? Focus on readability and flow.
- Don’t crowd it. Clean layouts, strong headlines, and obvious buttons win every time. (Your audience should never need a magnifying glass or decoder.)
And whatever you do, don’t design something that looks like it was built in 1999. (Looking at you, Comic Sans.)
Step 3: Build Your Email List (Legally)
Spoiler alert: You CANNOT (and should not) email just anyone. If you bought a list off the internet or plan to scrape emails from LinkedIn… don’t.
Not only is it illegal in most cases (hello, CAN-SPAM), but email marketing platforms will blacklist you faster than you can say “unsubscribe.” Any when we say “blacklisted,” we mean no more sending marketing emails – ever.
Instead, grow your email list the right way:
- Add a pop-up or footer sign-up form to your website
- Include an opt-in checkbox on contact forms
- Promote sign-ups on social media or in-person
- Offer a freebie (guide, checklist, discount, etc.) to sweeten the deal
This is how to build an email list that actually wants to hear from you. It’s the first step in building trust with email subscribers.
Step 4: Write Killer Email Content
Here’s where so many brands fumble. Just because someone opted in doesn’t mean they want to read your internal memos or a novel-length e-letter.
Email content ideas should be clear, concise, and click-worthy. Want to learn how to write a marketing email that gets opened and clicked? Start here:
- Use compelling subject lines (not “June Newsletter”)
- Keep your content short and skimmable
- Add visuals and call-to-action buttons
- Link out to deeper content on your website or social
Need a little inspiration? Check out our top 5 email marketing must-dos for email marketing tips that’ll take your game from bland to grand.
The goal: make your email campaign snackable, scannable, and savable. You’re not trying to say everything. You’re trying to say the right thing.
Step 5: Embrace the Email Analytics Era
You hit send. Now what? You stare at the screen and hope someone (or anyone) opens it? Not quite. It’s time to dive into those email analytics like the data-savvy marketing maven you’re becoming.
Key metrics to watch:
- Open rate: Tells you if your subject line is doing its job (but beware, Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection skews this one)
- Click rate: Who actually clicked something? This is gold.
- Unique opens/clicks: Gives insight into individual user behavior.
- Unsubscribes: Did you turn someone off? Figure out why.
These metrics tell you what’s working and what’s not. Adjust your subject lines, layout, or content accordingly. That’s what strategic email marketing is all about.
Need Some Email Marketing Help?
You’re busy. We get it. You’ve got a business to run and probably wearing many hats already. If setting up email marketing, designing email templates, growing your audience list, and analyzing metrics sounds like a lot, that’s where we come in.
Contact us today and let’s chat about how our email marketing services might be the answer your business has been looking for.
