Recent updates in privacy laws and protection features made us wonder if it’s worth sticking to email marketing. The answer? Yes.

Apple launched iOS 15 and the Mail Privacy Protection features in mid-2021. Fast forward to a year later, and those features didn’t impact email marketing as significantly as expected. Email marketing still has a huge ROI compared to other marketing techniques. You’re sending messages to warm leads who signed up for your mailing list. They want to hear from you or are already your customers. If you are not capitalizing on email marketing, you are missing out. The good news is it’s not too late to start now.

Here are seven tips on how to set up effective email marketing.

1. Collect emails

Don’t have a list yet? Set up a landing page. Make it really easy for people to sign up for your emails. Have a signup link for your newsletter on all your online channels. 

Most email platforms now make setting up landing pages easy for your lead magnets so you can start building your list right away. 

2. Validate your list

Periodic email list purging needs to become a part of your quarterly or biannual tasks. Use an email verifier to remove outdated contacts. It will help you guard against unsubscribes and spam complaints. 

If you have a lot of signups, validate more often. I’ve seen emails with subject lines for time-limited free e-books that double as a notice for being removed from the list if the recipient doesn’t download the offer. After all, lack of interest means the reader is no longer a warm lead.

3. Use micro-segmentation

Detailed segmentation of your list can increase open rates by 203%. Once you get your readers to open that email, engagement and conversion are next. Look at your customers’ behavior data and preferences. What links are they engaging with? 

When you see that a particular group opened a particular link, send them something related to that link. These readers are very hot and in the funnel. They need further nurturing. 

Let’s say another group not only opened the link but actually purchased from you. Match what they receive in your next email according to that behavior. What do they need next after their purchase? 

4. Use email platforms for reporting data and recommendations

Email platforms make segmentation easy with reports and recommendations according to engagement. Even with only two links in one email, you can derive useful information about the readers’ behavior. A platform such as Aweber can show you which people clicked on which link so you can personalize the next emails those people get. 

Despite all the technology and regulatory changes, one aspect of content and email marketing stays the same: deliver content relevant to each specific segment, and you’ll see results. 

5. Try AI

With all the segmentation to be done, AI can help cut down the workload and optimize your emails. On the front end, AI can help with writing effective subject lines and personalizing email campaigns. On the back end, AI can help clean up your list and run analyses: A/B, historical data, predictive, etc. 

Although AI is a powerful tool, it is still a tool to augment your marketing. AI can’t replace humans. Humans will always want human communication, which brings me to my next point. 

6. Remember the human aspect of email: Be authentic

We’re inundated with ads on a daily basis, everywhere. Your email shouldn’t sound like an ad. Yes, use automation for promptness and relevance, but make sure your emails don’t lose their human authenticity. Always check whether your brand voice is recognizable in every email. 

People respond when you sound like a person, whether that’s cheeky or funny or sagely like a wise grandpa. Your authentic self should be there. With your email, always aim to connect with the other person on the receiving end. 

Conclusion

Email marketing is alive and well, and you need to capitalize on it. If you haven’t, start collecting email addresses today so you can start your email marketing as soon as possible. Make sure your email list stays clean by validating it. Make use of technology to segment your list so you can customize your interactions with your leads. Speak to your customers human to human, and you will see your email marketing pay off. If you are not sure how to proceed, reach out to a digital marketing agency and see your practice grow.