Ask an Email Expert: Maximizing Email Content in Marketing

Maximize Email Content Marketing to Convert & Retain Multi-Channel Subscribers

Chances are, we can all name a brand product that we have purchased inside a larger department store—perhaps walking away with a KitchenAid mixer from Kohl’s, or your Lancôme Dual Finish from Ulta Beauty. These wholesale relationships are a cornerstone in our retail landscape. Thousands of brands sell predominantly through their wholesale partners while maintaining a D2C channel via their own website. As consumers, we often flock to these brands’ websites to both research and window shop. And, if done well, the brands gain a new opted-in consumer based on a “sign up for email” offer hook, well-done messaging, or for simply being a well-liked brand. 

D2C brands must welcome this newly opted-in consumer and assume the role of brand ambassador.  This new email subscriber may or may not purchase from you. You may drive them to engage and capture additional data from them without ever converting them to a purchase.  Regardless, you are at the helm of your own brand, so you get to drive the narrative. Better yet—they came to you which indicates an interest in your products and services. This new email relationship may be the best (or only!) chance a brand has to deliver and reinforce a memorable, defining experience.  Enter: A Welcome experience like no other…

Use data to analyze the audience

You embraced their first touchpoints, now how do you know if you are growing subscribers that are only visiting but not shopping? You need quick intelligence from the start as to weed out your window shoppers from those who may be converting to a direct customer.  

• Having access to data insights that can help you determine market intent allows you to proactively test content and messaging in continuing to drive engagement and conversion. 
• Native audience segmentation and persona development allow for personalized messaging and recommendations to guide their shopping.
• A continuous testing approach allows you to learn fast and adapt your communications to the desired outcomes.

Give your subscribers what they want

Knowing what is relevant to your customers will be a matter of testing and learning. Do they care about the most popular selling products or most viewed? Are they interested in how other customers have reviewed and used your products (spoiler alert: they most definitely are!) Do they want more facts about the brand, or helpful information about the sustainability of your business practices? You no longer have to guess if you have the ability to turn these into data events and then in turn, use them to activate next steps with messaging.

Play the long game with your email content

Cadence matters when you’re tapping your email list. Does your most valuable audience respond better to a certain frequency of emails? Do your emails recognize important lifecycle events that matter to your most important demographics? Your best customers will appreciate a long relationship with your email campaigns as long as they remain relevant and are customized whenever possible.

Make it easy to take action on email content

When the time is right for your customers to make a purchase, it should be easy for them to click through to your website and find a clear connection between what they saw in your email and what’s hosted on your landing page. Make it easy to find what they’re looking for, get notified of back-in-stock items, learn about related products, and level up when the time is right for them.

Reward repeat customers

Keeping your customers loyal is about extrapolating on what they’ve responded to in the past to find what they might like next. The right incentives never hurt either. A relationship with your brand should feel like an easy adventure and a positive experience at every touch point from day one, regardless of where or how customers first come across your brand. So much of that experience will stem from strategic push email campaigns. And keep in mind how you define repeat behavior. This now may include not only those buying direct from you; but also consistent engagers as they are getting their brand needs met from your campaigns.

Bottom line

Don’t just open the flood gates of promotional emails the minute you gain a new subscriber. Don’t lose sight of that Ambassador role they awarded to you. Use your marketing platform to identify the intelligence that helps you set apart your messaging and communications and help you develop healthy and durable relationships with your email subscribers. Go from being left unread to converting  repeat customers.