How can you use email marketing to create a sense of belonging?

When talking about email marketing. It may seem old fashioned in 2023 but it’s still a top marketing channel for businesses. With over 4 billion daily email users, email marketing provides more opportunities to connect and engage with customers at a lower cost. To elevate email marketing you need the power of segmentation. Here are some key points you need to look into to enhance your strategy. - Precision targeting - Enhanced engagement - maximizing relevance - adaptability - data driven insights - ROI amplification

There are some types of list. For example, we can divide it to Cold, Warm and Hot List. Cold means that the people were not aware or show any interest to our product at the first place. Warm means that they already curious or show interest. And Hot means that they already want to buy and we only need to guide them along the way.

Think outside the box of traditional segmentation. You want to consider why you’re sending emails, who you’re sending emails to, and what you want their post-email experience to be. Look not only at behaviours and demographics but signals, engagement, interactions, sentiment…consider what customers tell you about your email marketing activities and what one segment needs versus another. You can segment your database around different nurture types, newsletter types, customer goals, etc. If you only segment based on things like interests, you end up missing out on all of the firmographics you also need to take into consideration that help you segment based on value for your audience.

Organizations often neglect segmenting their email lists or target databases. When you want to launch a campaign, this becomes a last-minute task. Marketing teams have struggled to get approval from sales for campaigns. Ownership of the target list is an issue. Who owns this list? Sales teams centralized or field sales representatives. The quality and source of the database are also issues. To launch the campaign without any delay, clear-cut SoPs should be in place for updating the list in real-time. Sending spam/untargeted mail is the last thing you want your brand to be remembered for.

Use personalized communication, addressing subscribers by name and tailoring content to their interests. Share behind-the-scenes insights, encourage user participation, and offer exclusive content. Use inclusive language, express gratitude, and create a sense of community to foster belonging through email marketing.

In addition to personalization and dynamic content, it's crucial to remember two key factors that can enhance the effectiveness of email marketing: 1. Craft a catchy subject line: This initial impression determines whether recipients open your email or not. A compelling subject line can pique their interest and encourage them to explore further. 2. Keep the content concise and engaging: Given the volume of emails we all receive daily, brevity is key. Deliver your message in a clear, concise, and engaging manner to ensure your audience stays interested and reads through the email. These strategies, combined with personalization, can greatly contribute to creating a sense of belonging and connection with your audience.

Emails should not exceed one paragraph with a strong subject line. In addition, compelling content should be provided (via a call to action). You should avoid focusing too much on visual elements and instead focus on the quality of the content. I am against sending emails (or even SMS, or WhatsApp) reminding users about abandoning their carts. Instead of sending a mail, provide an in-app notification with some offers.

People want to read content from other people. Personalization means speaking to your readers in the way that they’ll respond to best, and that means being relatable, clear, and human.

Personalization is always the key, when it comes to community building and improving brand experiences! Email marketing is a way for you to interact with your customer base, and using personalization can show them they are valued and heard within your brand. That’s creating brand evangelism and loyalty to your brand!

Let's be honest, most emails SUCK. But, what a good story-based email does that others don't is create familiarity for the reader. Let's take an example of what I wrote fo a restaurant aggregator app. "Here's how I pick my restaurants and why it matters to you." "Hey Coby, Sometimes, I wish there was a Tinder for restaurants where I could just swipe and find a match. But, sadly for us, there isn't. So, this is how I make sure my next meal is worth the price I pay." Do you see where this is going? Build on your own experiences to create a narrative that strikes a chord with your reader.

Use personalized communication, addressing subscribers by name and tailoring content to their interests. Share behind-the-scenes insights, encourage user participation, and offer exclusive content. Use inclusive language, express gratitude, and create a sense of community to foster belonging through email marketing.

I would say don't simply share your story. Share your target audience's story. This can be literally something that one of your past or current clients went through (no names have to be revealed), or it can be something that you know a lot of your target market or community struggles with, wonders about, or experiences on the daily. Your story needs to be a reflection of your audience. It can't be all about you. Always relate the story back to them. That's how you build a sense of connection, belonging and trust. And that's what creates a pathway toward them taking action with you.

When it comes to crafting engaging emails, incorporating behavior principles is essential. Email copies serve as the medium, while these principles act as the hooks that can effectively nudge and influence customers. This is particularly powerful when sharing your brand story and values, as it creates a genuine connection with your audience. By using behavior principles strategically, you not only engage your readers but also invite them to be a part of your brand's narrative.

This should also include sharing your conversations with other subscribers. For example if a subscriber replied to your email with a question concerning your content, after responding to that individual. You can share that conversation with your response in another email. That gesture will make your subscribers feel seen

In my experience, inviting contributions from email (and other touch points), is not only a way to encourage discussion but also a way to mine future content. Take advantage of all interactions as data points, and listen to what your audience is saying. If you want to keep the interactions private, you can use the topics discussed or shared with you as future sources of output. It helps to personalize and to create another prong of content marketing.

You can encourage people to mention/debate the points in your newsletter on social media. Then start each newsletter showcasing discussions on social media from the previous newsletters, to entice people to be in on the action. Devin Reed does that super well with his newsletter. I posted on LinkedIn debating something he had written in his newsletter. My post was then mentioned in his next edition. You then allow people to interact, on the channel they prefer.

Use personalized communication, addressing subscribers by name and tailoring content to their interests. Share behind-the-scenes insights, encourage user participation, and offer exclusive content. Use inclusive language, express gratitude, and create a sense of community to foster belonging through email marketing.

In the words of Maya Angelou: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." By enhancing the customer journey through for example personalized emails, invitations to events, workshops and creating content which is interesting and add value will go a long way in creating a feeling of community and belonging. By focusing on creating communities rather than solely marketing and selling products/services you create awareness, build trust and create a solid customer base and loyal community over time.

While it's true that email marketing faces stiff competition from other channels like WhatsApp, SMS, and social media, it can still be a valuable tool for building a community and fostering loyalty. The key is adapting to the changing preferences of today's audiences. It’s difficult to retain them for long, considering the fact that so many brands are launched each day. While it's not a one-size-fits-all solution, many successful brands continue to use email marketing effectively, combining it with other strategies to engage their audience. I think the trick is to strike a balance and leverage the strengths of each channel to retain customers as much as possible.

I believe Email marketing can serve as a powerful tool for creating a loyal community. By sharing insightful content you can engage followers who are enthusiastic to hear from you. From building trust to boosting brand awareness, the benefits of email marketing are numerous. With the help of a consistent and informative email campaign, you can establish yourself as a trusted source of information and build a relationship with your subscribers over time.

Strategies to build your community through your emails: ✅ An unshakable email UVP that’s irresistible to your One Reader ✅ Personality-filled emails that make people respond. You can collect the responses as customer data for future emails or offers. They want to feel seen and included. ✅ An email strategy that addresses your subscribers’ ✅ Strategic use of copywriting techniques such as storytelling, future pacing, curiosity, etc. to keep people hooked and make your emails fun to read ✅ Proof: Show that people like your One reader love & convert from your emails Examples: The Why You Buy newsletter, and my list, 💊Email Cures to generate leads, sell my products, and create emails my subscribers love.

Create user generated content contest- Run contests or campaigns encouraging subscribers to create and share content related to your products or services. Feature their content in your emails, giving them a sense of recognition and community involvement. I tried this strategy with a skincare brand, and it worked. One of the reasons for its success was the demographic age group, which falls between 20 and 35yrs.

All of these specific tactics are irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if you have loyalty rewards or if you send people personal greetings. That’s a distraction from what “relationship” truly means. Why do you like your friends? Why do you love your partner or your family? Is it because they give you bonus points for hanging out with them? Or do all of them congratulate you with every major or minor holiday without fail? Relationships are about trust and connection. And you can only create connections by continuing to genuinely listen and care about your audience, their needs, and their presence. Email them about the things they care about. Recognize them when they interact with you. Ask what kind of appreciation they WANT to see.

Nurturing a relationship via email marketing starts with the user willing sharing information. Also remember to use the information specifically to customize their experience. Every time the retailer for my eyeglasses company send me an email with balloons to wish my happy birthday, I smile. Not only do I have a positive reference to their brand, but I usually end up purchasing another pair of frames because ‘I deserve it.’ 🤓

Significant points you should consider in email marketing: -Email includes a short introduction -Include the value you bring to the audience -Personalize email based on your knowledge and relationship with the audience - For better results if possible do not send emails with the company general email.

Personalization! Email marketing is the best form of marketing to create a feeling of belonging among subscribers, customers, or leads. The "Hey, name " feature of email marketing makes messages feel personalized to a receiver. Sending personalized emails to your receivers will make them feel seen, heard, and loved- compared to Using other forms of content. Email marketing has the ability of communication to feel like a one-to-one discussion, and not like one-to-many like social media posts.

Send personalized emails based on geographic, age, and gender demographics. Always provide FREE VALUE through whatever your marketing strategy may be. Make your target segments to send targetted emails to each one of them to avoid being spammy! End with a CTA