{"id":276304,"date":"2016-02-04T00:47:24","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T13:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/au\/pro-education\/5-emails-every-wedding-business-sending\/"},"modified":"2016-02-04T00:47:24","modified_gmt":"2016-02-03T13:47:24","slug":"5-emails-every-wedding-business-sending","status":"publish","type":"au-pro-education","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/pro-education\/5-emails-every-wedding-business-sending\/","title":{"rendered":"Increase your sales by sending these five emails"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"email<\/p>\n\n

Viagra, life insurance and lotteries – inboxes are crowded places nowadays with unsolicited SPAM, supermarket\u00a0loyalty programs and Facebook notifications. Are consumers becoming desensitised to email marketing? Wouldn’t they prefer\u00a0a glossy look-book in the mail every month?\u00a0Traditional marketing – despite the rumours<\/a>\u00a0– is not entirely<\/em> dead, but if you’re looking for a more eco-friendly, cost-effective and lightening-fast alternative, email marketing is the\u00a0answer.<\/p>\n

What is email marketing and why it’s not dead<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n

Email marketing, according to this nifty little infographic<\/a>, dates way back to the 1970s, when the first mass email campaign was unleashed, resulting in\u00a0$13 million worth of sales<\/a>\u00a0from just 400 emails. Ahhh yes, the good ol’ days.<\/p>\n

The email marketing boom continued through\u00a0the ’90s, where a ‘spray and pray’ mentality was used to blast consumers\u00a0en masse, with little or no message customisation; the equivalent of sending everybody<\/em> in your email list a buck’s night promotion on\u00a0Boobalicious Strippers<\/em>… including the brides. *Not recommended<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"email<\/a><\/p>\n

These days however, far more sophisticated email service providers<\/a> allow businesses to segment lists into a variety of groups: past buyers, prospects, current clients, brides, grooms, age groups, interests, locations and every other imaginable demographic category you can think of, meaning people are more likely to\u00a0receive\u00a0content they actually\u00a0want<\/em> to see.<\/p>\n

Consequently, email marketing is anything but\u00a0dead. In fact, it’s constantly evolving to provide customers with greater value through high-level\u00a0automation, tagging and segmentation\u00a0features offered\u00a0by\u00a0all good email marketing providers.<\/p>\n

Why it’s important to your wedding business<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n

Laser-precision targeting in email marketing means businesses are now able to better predict\u00a0what customers want, and when they want it, based on a range of information imported\/gathered over time using reports with\u00a0statistics on click-throughs, online purchases and downloads, as well as preferences and data\u00a0retrieved\u00a0from\u00a0segmentation campaigns<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All the data is then fed into CRMs (customer relationship managers<\/a>), designed to help businesses\u00a0match their\u00a0products with customers’\u00a0needs. You guessed it – resulting in more sales. Herein lies the perennial value of email marketing and the reason your business is leaving money on the table if you’re not getting involved.<\/p>\n

So, where\u00a0to\u00a0start?\u00a0If you\u00a0don’t have a database of emails to begin testing and measuring your\u00a0marketing campaigns,\u00a0try these 7 tips for growing your email list<\/a>. If you’ve got a list and you’re ready to send your subscribers\u00a0some killer content<\/a>, here are five\u00a0emails your business can send to build rapport, encourage loyalty, create top-of-mind awareness, and ultimately generate more sales:<\/p>\n

Types of emails and\u00a0and their purpose<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n

1) Newsletters: <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Deciding to send\u00a0regular newsletters to your database is one thing, but actually doing it – on time\u00a0– is another. As Hubspot explains, newsletters are one of the most common types of email marketing to send, but also one of the hardest to get right<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Typically a compilation email composed of anything from company\u00a0announcements, new product releases, industry\u00a0news, case studies, referral programs, blog<\/a> highlights, interviews, and everything in between, a newsletter takes time to compile, but can provide great insight (thanks to email metrics and reporting features<\/a>) into\u00a0what your customers want more of, and what inspires them to take action from your emails. <\/span><\/p>\n

Drop-and-drag features available on even the free\u00a0email marketing providers makes designing and compiling newsletters a piece of cake, and with\u00a0A\/B testing<\/a>\u00a0you can compare the effectiveness of two different email styles to discover the most popular format and content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"email<\/a>
Source: MailChimp<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2) Promotional email:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

While a promotional email is a more direct bid for customers’ money, a\u00a0segmented database means your customers or prospects are more likely to engage with your content because you have already qualified them as likely to be interested in the promotion you’re sending. <\/span><\/p>\n

If for example you have a list of\u00a0husbands, you could schedule emails to be sent to them on the anniversary of their wedding each year, showcasing\u00a0the “Top 10 Anniversary Gifts She’ll NEVER Forget<\/em>“, with a list of 10 products\u00a0you stock online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These type of anniversary emails<\/a>\u00a0(also commonly used to send customers special offers on their birthday)\u00a0are set and forget campaigns that can automatically send in the background, so you can focus on other email marketing like limited-time coupon codes, quantity-restricted promotions (“First 500 customers only!”<\/em>) and seasonal sale announcements, like Christmas or\u00a0Mother’s Day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"email<\/a>
Source: Vertical Response<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3) Welcome email: <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Welcoming prospects and new customers to your email list introduces them to your brand in a conversational manner, while setting the expectations of the newly formed\u00a0friendship, including\u00a0how frequently they should expect contact and the benefits of being on your list:\u00a0exclusive pre-release offers, member-only discounts and entertaining\u00a0or educational\u00a0tips and articles.<\/p>\n

Welcome emails typically involve a\u00a0call to action, designed to drive traffic back to the website and encourage sales. They\u00a0can also be used to\u00a0invite recipients\u00a0to interact with your brand on\u00a0social media. Asking readers\u00a0to\u00a0add the company email address to their ‘safe list’ to ensure your emails don’t end up in the junk folder is also a good way to guarantee\u00a0uninterrupted communication with your list. If you’re a\u00a0wedding vendor in the clothing retail space, check out these\u00a012 Noteworthy Examples of Fetching Fashion Welcome Emails.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Source:<\/a>
Source: Ometria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4) New inventory email:<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/span><\/h3>\n

As Vertical Response<\/a> explains, the four elements to a successful new inventory email or product release announcement\u00a0are; <\/span><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0<\/span>What is it?
\n2)\u00a0Why should I care?
\n3)\u00a0What\u2019s included?
\n4)\u00a0How do I get it?<\/p>\n

Don’t make your readers work for information. They\u00a0should be able to determine\u00a0from briefly scanning the email\u00a0answers to these questions, like\u00a0Jockey.com<\/a>\u00a0have done below. Bamboo Blend is the new product,\u00a0beneath this are the features and benefits, followed by a call to action to click through to the website and view the product.<\/p>\n

\"new<\/a>
Source: Two Funky Chicks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5) Testimonial or review email:<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n

According to global information and measurement company\u00a0Nielsen<\/a>, 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising.\u00a0If you had the choice\u00a0between\u00a0investing hundreds or thousands of dollars into digital advertising, or using the positive (and free) feedback and genuine endorsements of past customers to win\u00a0new business, which would you choose?<\/p>\n

At Easy Weddings, we know that\u00a0wedding suppliers with more than 11 reviews experience a 200% increase in ad performance. This is why we built a free Facebook Review app to help you generate more reviews for your listing (log in to the Client Admin Centre<\/a>\u00a0for more information.)<\/p>\n

SalesForce<\/a> suggests the following methods for helping your testimonials and reviews shine through email marketing:<\/p>\n

1) Invite\u00a0customers to feature in case studies, provide reviews and write testimonials: <\/strong>show prospects and future customers how other wedding couples have successfully used your products or services in the past to make their special day even more amazing. Encourage people to write honest\u00a0reviews in exchange for a discount on their next order.<\/p>\n

2) Include testimonials from your social media:\u00a0<\/strong>every time somebody writes a Facebook review<\/a> on your Business Page expressing thanks for your assistance, appreciation of a product feature, or even a comment about how quickly their order\u00a0arrived, this testimonial can be repurposed in your newsletters and email marketing.<\/p>\n

3) Create customer testimonial videos:\u00a0<\/strong>investing in quality video production can be costly. Consider running a competition encouraging customers to submit their own product\/service review, or invest in a simple smartphone tripod\u00a0and offer customers a reward or discount for providing a review at the end of their contract.<\/p>\n

Committing to email marketing<\/h2>\n

If\u00a0you think about the\u00a0return on investment for\u00a0email marketing being\u00a0$44\u00a0for every $1 invested, the potential of this strategy\u00a0to increase\u00a0sales is too good to deny. If\u00a0you’re not subscribed to an email marketing software<\/a> for small business, make the time this week to sign up for trial periods and familiarise yourself with different providers\u00a0by watching their video tutorials and sending test emails.<\/p>\n

If you’re already subscribed to an email marketing solution\u00a0(but like so many businesses got cold feet and never\u00a0actually sent\u00a0an email), 2016 is your\u00a0year for a leap of faith into the lucrative world of email marketing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":269148,"template":"","au_pro_edu_tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-pro-education\/276304"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-pro-education"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-pro-education"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_pro_edu_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_pro_edu_tags?post=276304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}