Best Practices for B2B Email Marketing Campaigns

By Jon Franko
Gorilla76
 

Seems like more and more, we’re being hired to execute email marketing campaigns for the companies with which we work. And really, that’s to no surprise.

 

Besides being extremely cost efficient and quite effective (we see open rates often in the 40% range!), they’re a breeze to build, simple to edit and can be measured to extents that would make Claude C. Hopkins’ head explode.

 

Let’s take a look at a few best practices so that you can build and launch a successful email marketing initiative.

 

At Gorilla, we currently use Campaign Monitor for our marketing newsletter and all of our clients’ newsletters. It’s very easy to use, customizable, provides terrific analytics and is really cheap to send (5 bucks per campaign, one cent per recipient). The backend dashboard is as intuitive as it gets, and there are lots of tools that can be used for the more savvy user (A/B testing, etc.).

 

There are lots of great options for email marketing software. The key is to simply find one with which you’re comfortable. We’re really comfortable with Campaign Monitor – it’s hard not to be.

 

Stop and think about what messages/emails get your attention, and more importantly, your precious time. Chances are, they’re going to be visually strong and copy short. Make sure you consider how you can deliver your message visually when writing your next campaign. And remember – the visual and the text don’t have to tell the exact same story – but instead, work as complements. Like beer and brats.

 

Marketing 101, right? Correct. But it seems like the majority of email marketers don’t get this. Chances are, any company that has access to your inbox has a product that at some point you were really interested in. But now, their messages get deleted before they even have a chance to tell their story. Part of that could be due to a dull product. But more than likely that’s due to not knowing one’s audience, and not knowing the message to tell that audience.

 

Stop and think about your subscribers: are they the right subscribers in the first place? Are you giving them a message they’ll want to read? Some of the newsletters I receive might only have one story that interests me. But that’s one more than most of the newsletters that hit my inbox.

 

Seems like weird advice, right? Well, normally it is. But in the case of an e-newsletter that is accompanied by a custom template, don’t feel like just because your software allows you to insert your recipients name (Dear Fred) that you have to. In fact, I’d probably advise against it. It feels cheap, less premium and definitely canned.

 

Your eblast is simply a piece of communication from your brand – embrace it. Don’t feel that you have to try to make it look personalized; if that was the case, you’d probably just send it from your regular email anyway.

 

It needs to interesting enough to get someone to give you 10 seconds plus of their already overbooked day. And it needs to have a compelling call-to-action that drives one to click through.

 

When it comes to an eblast, the one thing you have to remember is less is often more. Spare the nine-paragraph story, and instead, post it on your site. Then simply give your campaign list a taste of the story, giving them the ability to click through if they want more.

 

As we mentioned, software like Campaign Monitor will let you measure your campaign’s splash. You’ll quickly notice which stories were the most popular, and which stories would’ve best been left on the editing room floor.

 

Regardless, it’s your job to take this data and form it into a more successful campaign the next time around.

 

Need more information?
Jon Franko
Gorilla 76 LLC
408 North Euclid Avenue, 3rd Floor
St. Louis, MO 63108

314-332-1020 X2
www.gorilla76.com
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