According to one recent study, there were nearly four billion email addresses in the world as of 2021. That means that over half the population of the planet is currently engaged in email communication, and that is one trend that shows absolutely no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

But at the same time, simply conducting an email campaign alone isn't nearly enough to develop the relationship you're after with your target audience. If you truly want to use email marketing in the most effective way that you can, there are a few key things you'll want to keep in mind.

Getting Started

By far, one of the biggest contributors to the success of your email campaigns will be the goals that you set for yourself at the beginning of this process.

Every campaign needs objectives and you need to understand yours so that you know what type of content to create and, more importantly, why it matters. Maybe you're trying to reach new customers. Perhaps your goal is to increase engagement. You could be gearing up to sell a new product or service. It doesn't matter - you need to work out exactly what you're trying to achieve, then define it in solid objectives that give you something to act towards moving forward.

At the same time, you'll also want to try to grow your email list organically as you can't email people without their permission. You could offer incentives on your website to get people to provide their email addresses, for example. Just make sure that the benefits of those incentives are always clear and exciting. You should also add sign-up links everywhere you can - from your blog to your social media to even on your business cards.

Want to get started NOW with your email marketing? 

Download "The Beginner’s Guide to Email Marketing" and find out how to: 

• Set objectives for your email marketing used the SCALE method 
• Grow your list organically and keep it clean
• Automate your key customer journeys
• Segment and personalise your email marketing 
• Test and analyse your email campaigns 

Maximise Your Impact

Finally, you'll want to segment and personalise your lists as much as possible as relevant and personalised content will always win out over more generic content. However, your subscribers will naturally have a variety of needs and interests - meaning you're unlikely to land on a single newsletter or piece of content that appeals to all people equally.

You could add new customers to one segment, for example, and existing loyal customers to another. You could even segment people based on factors like demographic, interests, locations and behavioural data like past purchases.

Regardless, this will allow you to send each of these groups appropriately personalised emails - thus increasing the chances that people will actually read your messages as often as possible. 

In the end, you need to treat customers the same way you would a close friend. Don't just bombard them with email advertisements, because that's a great way to destroy your reputation. Instead, send them regular updates about what you're doing. Let them know what is going on with your business and why they should care. Ask them about their preferences. Take their lifestyles and interests into account.

The better you are at doing all of this, the more effective your email campaigns will actually be.