Emails have influenced the marketing world for a long time, remaining one of the most popular ways to generate leads and retain customers. An email marketing campaign is a series of emails intended to encourage engagement with current and interested customers, ultimately leading to an increase in sales. Typically strategized around a specific call-to-action (Read more! Sign up now!), email campaigns are a process of inbound marketing that keeps your business top-of-mind and at the top of your customer’s inbox. Emerging email marketing automation software has made this process even easier, and businesses with effective strategies are booming.
When done correctly, email marketing can be a powerful tool for organizations to strengthen their investor relations (IR) strategies. The key to effective IR is consistent communication and transparency. When investors understand your business, your value, your customers, and everything in between, they’re more likely to feel in-the-know and understand their investment in depth. In addition to this, the energy and knowledge spent to execute effective email marketing exemplifies your communications efforts and consistent innovative approaches to generating leads. All in all, it can showcase your professionalism through creative and strategic communications.
How you approach your next email marketing campaign could be the ticket to your next big business win. Here are some things to consider when leveraging the power of email marketing for IR:
Use your tools
There are many digital tools to help you build your email campaigns, and it can be tough to pick the right one. We highly recommend choosing one that can be integrated with any other data collection software your company already uses, so that the data can be used in multifunctional ways. When choosing, consider ease of use, price, what analytics you have access to, capacity for multiple email lists and maximum email send allowance.
Build for your brand
Use your company’s brand guide to create templates and make the email building process easier in the long run. Make sure that the design and layout of your emails is consistent with your brand and consider making a “brand voice” guide to lean on when writing email copy. This way, your emails will have a recognizability to them and will align with the remainder of your digital presence.
When to hit send
Sending out your campaigns at a time that works best for your target audience will be directly reflected in your open and click through rates. Consider time zones and time of day, as well as national and international holidays that might conflict with your typical scheduling. We recommend following up on your email analytics after trying a few different dates and times to conclude what is performing best for your business.
Avoid sending too much
Too many emails can make your marketing efforts feel less personal. Create an email marketing calendar to keep track of how many emails you are sending, and space them out enough so that your content stays fresh. Make sure that the emails that you’re sending add value – do they have a clear CTA? Do you have news or information to share? Does it help your customer understand your value? If you’re sending out an email just for the sake of consistency, slow it down!
Follow marketing regulations
In Canada, email marketing is regulated by the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), which protects recipients from having their email used unwillingly for marketing purposes. It is very important to ensure that your own local regulations are being followed. You can risk losing your entire contact list if regulatory efforts are not used and respected.
Sending an email might seem like a simple step towards business growth, but making sure that they land with your customers and lead to revenue is known to be a bit of an art form. If you’re looking to get started setting up an IR-lead email marketing campaign, building out templates for your efficiency, setting up drip campaigns, or more, reach out to ir@allianceadvisors.com – we’re happy to help.