How does e-mail automation work?

Just like the website, e-mail has become the standard in the online world and in digital marketing and, in my view, the basis.

For years, there has been a recurring discussion as to whether e-mail will lose its relevance at some point because, as we know, the younger generation also communicates via all other channels.

My position on this is as follows:

The website and the e-mail address belong to me privately or to my company. Both the website and e-mail addresses are independent of a provider, its welfare and its contracts.

Building a business on the basis of social media profiles is comparable to renting an apartment as opposed to buying a home.

It is true that the younger generation communicates on all kinds of instant messaging platforms. This is also being driven forward internally in companies.

However, e-mail is still the only real solution for professional and formal external communication.

As soon as teenagers enter the workforce, e-mail automatically becomes part of their lives.

Today, everyone has an e-mail address and can be reached via it!

Whether she/he reads the e-mails or not is up to you. You have no influence on this.

In the past, the open rate on emails may have been higher, but the number of people who could be reached by email was much lower.

The e-mail newsletter problem

Most companies still think in terms of the outdated idea of an e-mail newsletter. This is more part of the good reputation than the real sense of it.

Sending out a monthly newsletter is a constant struggle for many companies.

What new news are we supposed to report? The business is demanding and we work is not sexy news!

Away from the news idea

From my point of view, it’s primarily about sinking the news idea.

This applies both to the blog on the website and to the e-mail dispatch.

The process and strategy of email marketing

How does e-mail automation work?

The strategy that you can implement today with e-mail automation should be to provide visitors to your website who are interested in your company with a variety of information that provides them with added value on the one hand and presents your company from different perspectives on the other.

E-Mail Subscription Form

The basis for e-mail automation is a so-called subscription form, where the website visitor registers with their e-mail address and thus signals that they wish to receive e-mails from you. According to the new privacy rules, it must be stated what information the e-mails contain and why the e-mail address must be provided. This can be seen as harassment, but it actually helps to build trust.

Try it for yourself!

Register on websites to see how others have implemented this.

On all my websites you will find such a unique process implemented and you will receive information that I do not fully disclose publicly.

You can unsubscribe at any time.

You no longer receive spam emails from the websites where you officially register. The days when people sold their e-mail lists are over, so to speak.

Good tip:

Use a special e-mail address for newsletter subscriptions.

Lead magnet

If you or your company are not really famous, it usually takes an incentive for a website visitor to subscribe to your newsletter.

This can be a PDF with an interesting report from your industry or a video series, for example.
If you also use videos or blog posts to draw attention to the fact that a visitor should sign up, you increase the chance that they will become active and sign up.

Of course, there are various tricks and tips from specialists who deal exclusively with lead magnets.

I know many of these tricks and will be happy to advise you on how to implement them.

Thank You Page and first mail

With many companies, nothing happens when you sign up for the newsletter.

This means they miss the first chance to get in touch with the customer.

After successful registration, the customer can be redirected to a special page. This is called the Thank You Page because you should first thank them for the trust they have placed in you. The best way to do this is with a video, which is very valuable for customer loyalty, as you receive the visitor personally, so to speak, and build trust.

At the same time, on the Thank You page you have the option of pointing out that a first e-mail is on its way and that the customer should also check the spam folder.

Spam filters cause the biggest headaches in connection with e-mail newsletters.

Do not try to check them. Depending on the customer’s e-mail provider, different spam filters are in use, which filter different things and the criteria are constantly changing.

The only things you can do are:

• Register yourself with several different e-mail addresses on your website (accounts with Gmail, Yahoo, your own provider, etc.)
• Point out on the Thank You Page that emails may be in spam.

Follow-up emails and automation

The modern idea of email marketing is that emails are delivered in a programmed sequence after registration. This is called a campaign.

A campaign can have one email every day for a week and then more emails every week. You can build in times when communication is intensified. A creative approach is important.

Just throwing products at customers every day will most likely result in them unsubscribing.

These should not be cumbersome and are only effective if they create added value for the customer.

Pick up on topics that interest you and your employees.

I am an advocate of individuality and uniqueness. Be unique in this customer relationship. You are also unique when you introduce your company to a customer in a meeting or presentation. Email marketing is nothing else.

This can be broken down further within email automation. If certain steps in the process are carried out by a customer, this customer can be assigned flags in the system. This technique makes it possible to split up the process.

You can find further steps in the private area of the e-mail introduction, where I provide you with an example.

Register now. It’s worth it!

Broadcast and news

When news is due for communication, it can be delivered by e-mail independently of automated campaigns.

These two channels run completely independently, but a news message can also be subsequently included in the automation.

It is usually a good idea to write a blog post on the website and refer to it in a news item.

Conclusion

Once your website and e-mail automation are up and running, you can get creative on the various other channels.

There is an almost infinite number of ways to use social media and instant messaging platforms for marketing purposes. Ultimately, it’s all about a clear strategy and the efficiency of the channels, both in terms of management and results.

Management puts pressure on costs, the results manifest the success.

Of course, this is just an introduction and the devil is in the detail.

The development of such strategies and the practical implementation are my passion and it is my goal to present my clients online in the best possible way.

For me, uniqueness and individuality come before polished high gloss.