When you hear “automation,” chances are you’re thinking fast, robotic, and assembly line. While there is truth to these perceptions, email marketing automation requires a knowledgeable marketer to create a strategy, manage the process, and then analyze the results to inform on next steps.
If you’re unsure about using email marketing for your agency, let’s put to rest some common misconceptions.
1. Email Marketing is a Passing Fad
Talk about a huge misconception. According to a 2015 Salesforce analytics study reported on Forbes, email marketing is the top source for data used by high performance enterprises. Then consider the number of active email accounts is growing: there are over 4.35 billion in use now, which is predicted to reach 5.59 billion active accounts by 2019.
2. Automation Means Set It and Forget It
Without human intelligence, all of that data your email automation software collected is as useful as 10,000 lbs. of cotton puffs at a building construction site. Software cannot create marketing plans or content. It compiles lists of your leads, tracks email delivery and engagement rates, and collects email performance data. You need to put in the intellectual and creative work; interpret the data to find insights that inform future campaigns and other marketing tactics.
3. Automation Ensures Email Deliverability
Between sophisticated spam filters and prioritized inbox features, it’s easy for your marketing email to go unread, possibly undelivered. Best practices play a role here in determining which segment of your audience will receive an email and the clarity of the message to inspire action.
4. Email Marketing Automation Is Effortless
Content is significant in email marketing, and you need to create a lot of it following a strategy and established goals. Each email campaign must be unique and should be personalized. Target your buyer personas using list segmentation, and speak their languages while addressing their needs. Then there is the follow through when you ask the recipient to click on the CTA (call to action). The work extends far beyond the email to fulfill the offer.
5. Automated Emails Are Cold and Impersonal
Email automation software is designed to integrate with your CRM enabling you to categorize your audience or leads based on interest levels and other segments. From there, the message and CTA are geared toward the targeted audience with personalized touches, including addressing the recipient by first name.
Now that these common misconceptions have been cleared, it’s time for you to put email marketing automation to work and win more business for your agency.
Tags: marketing tips
