‘Content is King’ has become the go-to mantra for marketing advisors and analysts. And well-written, original content does deserve that reputation – content can improve SEO, engagement, and overall traffic. But good content can be used to improve another aspect of your site’s online efforts; your email marketing campaign. Sending well-written, thought-out emails is just as important as having an easy to read, engaging website and blog. Email marketing should be a cornerstone of your content strategy, but if it isn’t, you can use the following steps to help incorporate email marketing into the wider content campaign.
Review
So what is it that you are currently putting into your marketing emails? Are you just using generic calls-to-action, or is there some real thought and effort being put into your email marketing? Of course, the basic marketing tactics that most people use can be effective. You might even be mistaking that effectiveness for a successful campaign. But don’t be fooled, if you aren’t putting a lot of effort into that campaign, your numbers are not as high as they could be. It is all too easy to fall into complacency and tell ourselves that if something isn’t broken, it isn’t worth fixing. But you need to be leaving your comfort zone and testing out new tactics. Your subscriber list isn’t static, and the natural fluidity in which new and old subscribers come in and out of that list means you have to be willing to review your content, and your tactics, and change them if needed.
Customize
After you review what you are currently doing and who you are targeting, it is time to actually customize the content of your email. You’re likely targeting a particular subset of the market – people like high tech aficionados, or small business owners operating their garage, or college kids looking to buy some clothes before heading back to school. Your content needs to specifically target them and their interests. Take the example of the garage entrepreneur. They probably don’t have a lot of experience, and are interested in learning more about running a small business, or want to hear advice as to what they should and should not be doing. If you run a company that serves or advises this type of person, your marketing emails shouldn’t be filled with generic business news or platitudes. That type of content might net decent enough metrics, but the overall engagement with your message is going to be pretty low.
Blog
A study performed by HubSpot back at the beginning of 2012 found that companies that blog generate twice the amount of traffic from their email marketing campaigns than companies that didn’t. Obviously, you need to be blogging, and your blog is where your content and email marketing strategies will really come together. Use the information and direction gleaned from the review and customization steps to guide what you write in your blog. One of the main purposes of email marketing is to get people to your site, and there is no better way to do that than to actually create the type of content that your subscribers want to read. Your subscribers will also represent a cross-section of your target market, meaning both potential and existing customers will be interested in reading what you write. So blog regularly, and plug the content in your marketing emails.
Conclusion
All too often business owners or marketing advisors look at content strategy and email marketing as being two, distinct camps, when in reality they are much more intertwined. Objectively review you current email marketing, and see where it falls short. Then, use your blog to bolster your marketing content and engage with your readers. Your click-throughs and your total traffic should both receive a significant boost, and people will actually look forward to receiving and reading emails from you.
