Email Marketing for Business

So, you have got a bunch of visitors coming to your site each week, and you would like to offer them a newsletter? Or perhaps you are trying to cut costs with internal communication, providing a cool email magazine rather than a printed one? Perhaps you just want tell people about your whitepapers, case studies or press releases?

Email Marketing for Business is easy when you know how; keep your stakeholders engaged, let them converse with you, give them value. You are not looking for an immediate return or selling anything in particular, but nurturing and preserving that ongoing relationship with stakeholders is important.

Things to consider

• Multi-Programs & Dual Branding. You can split your campaigns out into different programs; Internal, External & Press, for example. This then allows you to handle the reporting and branding of your emails, dependent on which program they belong to. This means things are so much easier down the line when you have multiple marketing programs in operation and you wish to evaluate them appropriately. In addition your subscription preferences area (the online area subscribers access from their emails) can be styled differently or present different data depending on which program the email has come from.

• Database Configuration. Maybe you have multiple offices, with multiple departments? Or perhaps you have customers segmented depending on what they have bought, or what they have expressed an interest in? Putting that into Mailvivo for the first time could be a little confusing so just as well we can handle all that for you. All you need to do is give us the bulk data, and we will put them in Mailvivo, fully segmented with the correct interests assigned for you.

• Opt-in Forms & Triggered Emails. The new subscriber experience is important; it sets expectations and enforces professionalism. We provide the code you need for the opt-in form which, when filled out, will automatically submit the relevant data to your mailing lists. Alternatively you can invest in 'smart forms' that have a number of whizzy features and complete system integration built-in. Once this is done, Mailvivo can send out any number of emails, within any number of timeframes, completely automated. This means that as a first step you can send your new subscribers a nice email welcoming them to your mailing list.

• Simple Conversion Tracking. Seeing what people do after they click on links within your email can be greatly beneficial. Invited some of your stakeholders to an event you are going to attend? Why not use a landing page to capture an RSVP? A few days before the event is due to start why not think about using simple conversion tracking to follow up with all the people that clicked on the original link to RSVP but never actually filled out the form on the landing page? Moving beyond an 'email blast' mentality towards a targeted marketing approach is the first step to being effective with your email marketing.

• Custom Templates. Your branding is important; it defines who you are and gives you a visual identity in the sea of competition. Great care is often taken getting brand identifities right for print. The same diligence can and should be applied to digital communications. By asking Mailvivo to create a custom template within your brand guidelines means you can maintain that visual exclusivity throughout your email comms.

Internal Communications

Letting your employees know about what is going on within the company they work for can enforce their internal brand loyalty, encouraging creativity and innovation. Your employees are stakeholders too. We advise building and maintaining a relationship with them just as you do your customers; your employees are essentially internal customers. Internal communications do have slightly different rules to mailing outside of your company. You do not have to include any opt-out links, for example. The language used can be more colloquial, giving the feeling the email is coming from a friend, rather than just their boss! The aim of internal communications should be to encourage feedback, leading on to innovation and creativity. Consider letting them get involved with some internal competitions, debates and perhaps even decisions about where the company is going.

External Communication

Primarily newsletter style emails, these should be informative and engaging; that means no boring stuff! You can use dynamic content to ensure you are giving your subscribers what they want to know about, not what you think they should know about. If you are just sending out informative emails then consider adding in a little bit about how your reader can get more involved with the company. Let them know if you are holding any webinars, seminars or going to be at any events. Sometimes you might want to include a little bit of a sales pitch in your newsletters, but be careful as it is not always a good idea to put this as the main part of the newsletter - it might be irrelevant to the subscriber. Instead, consider tactfully placing it around your main message. This will still make it rather obvious, but will not take away from what your subscriber will be expecting.

Marketing Materials

Using email marketing to distribute your marketing material means it is fast, simple and measurable. You will be able to see the exact reach your material has, using our reporting you can see exactly who is opening and engaging. You could also consider utilising a resources area on your website, asking simply for an email address to send the marketing material to. You can then use our triggered campaign options to automatically send out any requested items - you don't have to do a thing! This also means it is another way to grow your mailing list; ask them if they would like to receive further marketing material, or your newsletter, and you will build up a small list of interested individuals that want to hear more about your business.

In summary, Email Marketing for Business is about building and maintaining relationships, keeping subscribers engaged and active - thinking beyond the click.

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