Use email marketing to amplify (and target) your content

In a previous blog post, I talked about promoting your content using social media . This week, I’ll cover another way to promote your content: email marketing. Even if you’re experienced with email marketing, using email to promote content might seem wrong to you. After all, you’re used to selling something tangible (a product or service), not free stuff! And you’re used to getting an immediate purchase or inquiry, not a lead that might turn into a customer some day.

However, I’ll give you one reason to get over your discomfort and use email differently: the way people buy has changed. As I learned from David Meerman Scott at the HubSpot conference last fall, no one wants to be sold to. If you help instead of sell, you’ll be more likely to find high-quality customers. (Click the link and watch the video. It might be the best 13 minutes of marketing advice you’ll ever get!)

With that out of the way, here are my tips on using email marketing as part of your content plan:

Send to the right list

As much as you can, segment your message. Keep in mind that old-school segmentation like demographics and business areas might not be the best fit for content marketing. It can be more effective to segment based on buyer personas – generalized representations of your ideal customers based on characteristics such as their motivations.

What about purchasing a list? Don’t do it! Chances are the people on the list won’t engage with. And if enough people mark your message as SPAM it could reduce your ability to get through email system filters later – even for people who have said they want to hear from you (more on that later).

At this point you might be thinking, “Yes, but how do I make people want to hear from me?” This is where your content comes in.

Present content that promotes engagement

The key to building healthy, organic lists is helping people with your content. Use your emails to feature useful content (blogs, videos, etc.) that educates and informs. Again, this is going to seem weird if you’ve used email marketing to sell, sell, sell in the past!

We advise clients to provide content that makes the recipient feel like “the smartest person in the room” during their next meeting. Think about your industry and your buyer personas. What would that content be?

Also, format your content for optimum open and click-through. You’re going up against a lot of competition in that crowded inbox, so do everything you can to make a good first impression. HubSpot recommends you do three things to improve open rates:

• Use a recognizable sender name – They see the best open rates when customers combine the name of a real person followed by the company name. Avoid using a generic info@ or marketing@ sender address.
• Personalize the subject line – If you have a good clean list, add a dash of personalization to the subject line. Don’t overdo it, though. Too much personalization can be creepy!
• Include a message preview – This is the text people see right after the subject line. Ideally the preview text should follow your subject line (for example, it answers the question posed in your subject line).

To improve click-through rates, HubSpot recommends that you:

• Personalize the content – Like with the subject line, use one or two pieces of information such as first name, industry, or location. Again, don’t overdo it.
• Make the value of your content clear – Make sure the copy clearly communicates why the content is useful or helpful. Use images to make it visually compelling.
• Break it up – Make sure your content is easy to skim. Use subheads and graphics to break it up.
• Always, always have a call to action (CTA) – The purpose is to engage, and that means a click. Use at least one, but no more than five, CTAs. Yes, all five can point toward the same thing in different ways (an image, a text link, a button, etc.) Your main one should be prominent, obvious, and toward the top.

Protect your sender reputation

No matter how good your message, some things can keep your email from reaching inboxes. The key is to improve your sender score so you can get past SPAM filters.

The sender score rates your reputation of your mail server, from 0 (horrible) to 100 (excellent). It’s based on how many people unsubscribe and report your email as SPAM. Mail servers often check your score before they let emails in. If your score is over 90, you’re doing well. If you’re under 50, you need to rethink your strategy.

To improve or maintain your sender score, HubSpot recommends that you:

• Reach out to inactive subscribers. Clean up your list.
• Use double opt-ins. Send a confirmation link.
• Ask subscribers to whitelist you (add you to their address book).
• Include a clear unsubscribe link and physical address in email footer.
• Use a familiar sender name.
• Offer both an HTML and plain text version of emails. This sends a good signal to Internet service providers.
• Honor all unsubscribe requests. Immediately.
• Get email sender accreditation from a third party.

To improve deliverability of an individual message, avoid spam triggers like “Cash” or “Quote” or “Save.” What about using the word “Free” in your email marketing? It all depends on your sender score. If you have a good score, you can get away with it. If you don’t avoid it.

Learn and improve

This is the part that often gets lost in the shuffle. Yes, you’re busy – but take time to look at your metrics. Which emails had the highest engagement? Which ones created a lot of churn (unsubscribes and SPAM reports)? Which CTAs attracted the most clicks? Which blog posts drew the most traffic? Your audience is telling you something. Listen, learn, and evolve your email marketing (and your content marketing) as needed to improve engagement.   

- Roberta

Roberta Gardner handles client service and project management for OSD’s social media and content marketing clients. She also enjoys volunteering for organizations including Mephibosheth Ministries.