If you are into digital marketing, you would have definitely heard of email automation.
91% of the most successful users agree that marketing automation is âvery importantâ to the overall success of their marketing across channels. â Marketo & Ascend2 âMarketing Automation Strategies for Sustaining Successâ (2015)
Even though that is the case with many successful digital marketers, less than ten percent of the companies have adopted marketing automation. Email marketing is just a piece of marketing automation.
If you aren’t aware of the benefits of email automation, it is high time you jump on the bandwagon.  Automating emails helps you drive user engagement and conversions ultimately. It is also useful for  building a good rapport with the customers or target audience.
Ready to board the train? Keep reading.
Table of Contents
Start Collecting Emails
Before you can start sending out emails, you need an audience. You should ask people, that is, your target audience to sign up for your newsletter subscription. In order for your automated email campaign to be successful, you need a robust list of subscribers.
You can collect subscriptions by placing sign-up forms on your blog’s sidebar or  below content (above the footer section). You can also share a link to your newsletter on your social media accounts, where you can generate leads and build your desired audience.
Make sure you explain to your potential subscribers on what they can expect from you through these newsletters. Your work doesn’t stop after collecting the email addresses and building the list – you should provide them with quality content. If not, people may unsubscribe or report it as spam (if you keep sending low-quality content). I bet you don’t want that to happen.
Moreover, you should make the sign-up process as simple as possible (without disabling double opt-in). Keeping the double opt-in feature enabled protects you from spambots, email scams, fake subscribers, etc. Also, try to provide your potential subscribers with free goodies such as e-books and coupons. Who doesn’t like free stuff other than me? đ đ
Send Relevant Emails & Boost Engagement
When was the last time you sent an email to your whole list? Maybe some of them opened your email but I’m pretty damn sure it was less than the percentage you had expected before sending it. This is the reason why you should target groups of subscribers rather than sending the same stuff to everyone. Before sending out automated emails, you must segment your subscribers depending upon their niche.
By segmenting your subscribers, you can divide them into groups based on their location, age group, interests, etc. and then send them relevant emails. Sending targeted automated emails will also help you boost your conversions by more than seventy percent.
Personalization Is The Key
By sending personalized emails, you won’t sound like bots to your subscribers. Moreover, sending personalized emails will deliver 6X higher transaction with more than forty percent click-through rate. By subscribing to your emails, people not only expect quality and relevant information but also it should answer their questions and must be of interest.
You can personalize emails by including their name in the subject line, sending targeted industry updates, offering free courses which may be of interest to them, etc.
Welcome Email Campaigns
Put your new subscribers automatically to a list and send them welcome emails – a series of automated emails that they will be receiving as soon as they sign up for your email list. The goal of a welcome campaign is to help your subscribers understand you while getting them excited at the same time.
By sending them your most popular posts or free e-books and coupons, you can make them feel that joining you list was a good deal. Always remember, making a good first impression is what matters the most – so, be smart with what you send in your welcome emails.
Introduce yourself, talk like a friend, deliver the promised goodies, thank them for joining the list and most of all, be truthful.
Make A Deal They Can’t Refuse
Give away valuable content for free. Someone joined your mailing list and you’re not going to send them anything back? That’s not good for business. They are your potential customers. So, send them something which they cannot refuse – it will make a lasting impression on them. Don’t just promise you will be sending them cool stuff if they sign up only to be sending them junk emails filled with adverts!
I cannot suggest to you what you need to send them as it varies for every industry. Just make sure you send them something so valuable that it will turn them into loyal customers. Maintaining a healthy relationship with your subscribers is good for business.
Link Your Campaigns
By linking your campaigns, you can increase your return on investment (ROI). You can do so be moving subscribers from one list to the other once your email campaign for the previous list ends. This will not only keep your audience engaged but also will be of value to them. And don’t forget to add a link to unsubscribe from the list at the bottom of the email.
Nowadays, many email marketing providers allow you to move subscribers from one list to another within a click of a mouse. An option to move automatically is also available with AWeber, the number one email marketing service provider. Linking campaigns also helps you create a more personalized experience for your subscribers.
Conclusion
By betting on email automation, you can take your business to greater heights. Email automation helps you save time and create a deeper relationship with your subscribers at the same time. This is a win-win situation for you as these campaigns will increase your conversions.
More than 100,000 digital marketers, professional bloggers and businesses trust AWeber with their email marketing needs and automation. Now, it is your time to try AWeber for 30-days [free trial].
Thus, I hope this post helped you in learning how to get started with email automation. By the way, please do share this article with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.