eDMS.
What are they?
You may have heard this term thrown around during a vague conversation with a fellow marketer, but never really questioned what it means, what it is, and more importantly, how it could work for you.
The all-too-infamous marketing acronym eDM stands for Electronic Direct Email, a great tool to communicate with your brand database for two key outcomes; to build and develop your brand, or to convert sales.
Depending on your unique brand objective, an eDM can be a successful asset when used correctly. However, we increasingly see huge mistakes being made across the board when it comes to effectively communicating with your audience.
With that being said, we’ve compiled a list of DO’S AND DONT’S for successful eDM marketing.
DO’S:
- Grow your database using correct methods such as sign up forms, that encourage users to opt-in to receive your emails. This way you’ll be sending content to subscribers that want to receive your emails, rather than getting frustrated at pesky emails and unsubscribes from your database.
- Send a welcome letter immediately after a subscription. This can be done through an automated system. How many times have you wanted to purchase from a company after getting that wholesome welcome email?
- Get personal with your eDM. Show your client why your offering is of value to the user. In this case, personalisation is your best friend. Many eDM systems will allow for automatic personalisation, so that you can keep things as personal as you can (even on a large database).
- Use marketing automation to create a customer journey that provides each individual user with valuable content
- Think about the device. A smartphone may have a different interface and it’s harder for a user to read the whole eDM how you’ve laid it out. Ensure the most essential call to action is at the start so the user can’t miss it.
- Quality check every element of your email before you send out. Check every hyperlink, your spelling, grammar – even the mobile optimisation!
DONT’S:
- Forget a pre-header text. It is essential to gain attention and provide further content to your message that will encourage the user to open the email. Keep it funny, short and sweet.
- Don’t say too much, one message with a strong, clear call to action will be much more effective than an abundance of information that the user will most likely not read through. The average adult spends only 13.4 seconds reading an email. That might not be in your favour, so keep it to-the-point, engaging and as user-friendly as you can.
- Send the same email to every subscriber in your database, segmented lists are a great way to categorise your audience based on their interests, habits and buying cycles that allows you to tailor messaging to attract individual readers.
- Send a generic email that doesn’t speak to your audience. This is a waste of your time and will likely result in unsubscribes.
- Send an email to your database at the same time. Use your database to optimise your subscribers time zones to ensure they are receiving your email at the best possible time.
- Ignore reporting and analytics provided from previous campaigns. They are a great tool to improve future emails and customer engagement. This will be your key to what’s working well and what isn’t.
eDM’s aren’t meant to be daunting and really are a great tool for connecting with your customers to grow your brand awareness or convert sales. If you need a hand with your eDM marketing, email us (ha!) at hello@thecollectiveco.com.au.
