How do email marketing strategies work?

What business processes can be transferred to newsletters?

Let’s start with what business processes exist? The main ones related to working with clients include: finding new clients, first contact (activation), retaining existing clients, and increasing loyalty (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. – Main business processes related to working with clients

Let’s take a closer look at each stage:

• Finding new clients – all our landing pages, forms, and subscriptions, those moments where a person can leave their contact and enter our service to communicate further.
• Activation – this includes all possible welcome sequences through which we activate our users.
• Retention and loyal customers – this is the part where we work with clients who are making their second purchase. This also includes bringing back clients who start to “drop off,” meaning reactivating the connection with them.
• Loyalty – this is no longer about static funnels; it’s a set of trigger emails that we can use to push certain segments of users.

We have clarified this. But the question arises, what to do next? How can we use the data we have about users to understand how to build a strategy and where to start?

Well, to maximize the use of the data we’ve collected, we can start with RFM analysis. This method of data analysis is used for segmenting customers based on their purchasing behavior. It can help businesses understand who their target audience is, which customers can bring more profit, and how to effectively manage marketing campaigns and customer loyalty.

Fig. 2. – RFM analysis scheme

To select specific cohorts for this analysis, we will define some indicators.

By recency of orders:

• 1 – old customers
• 2 – relatively recent customers
• 3 – recent customers

By total purchase amount:

• 1 – small
• 2 – medium
• 3 – large

By purchase frequency:

• 1 – buys very rarely (one-time order)
• 2 – buys infrequently
• 3 – buys often

Fig. 3. – Example of counting and forming segments

What to do with all these cohorts?

After sorting the data, we look at how many of each category we have in the database. Based on this, we establish the priority for which mailing we will launch first. Let’s take a look at the tables:

First – customers who are leaving.

Fig. 4. – RFM analysis: segments of customers who are leaving

Second – dormant. These are the customers that need to be somehow reactivated.

Third – regular customers.

Fig. 6. – RFM analysis: segments of regular customers

How to apply in email marketing?

Planning stages:

• Audit of the current situation
• Competitor analysis
• Setting goals
• Creating a chain

1.Audit of the current situation: what to analyze?

• Our website and audience
• Organization of the contact database
• Methods of collecting new subscribers
• Mailing service, if used
• Types of emails we send
• Results of mailings – opens, clicks, conversion

2. Competitor analysis:

Below is one way to analyze competitors:

Fig. 7. – Example of competitor analysis

3. Setting goals: we think through a set of metrics:

Before planning any chain, it is necessary to think about what our KPIs will be and what goals we set. That is, what we want to achieve as a result. For example:

• Growth rate of the subscriber base
• Traffic generated from email mailings
• Number of target actions completed from mailings (applications/orders)
• Revenue from these target actions
• % of this revenue in the total turnover of the project

4. Creating a chain. Planning sub-stages of work:

• Database collection
• Segmentation
• Mass mailings
• Automated emails
• Measuring results

Having figured out what needs to be done before thinking through and developing the mailing system, let’s move on to examples of content that you can apply. 

Welcome-type content for segment 311, those who have recently shown activity / need to be activated.

Fig. 8. – Examples of content for “welcome” mailing

What to write?

• Remind the subscriber about the frequency of received emails
• Emphasize the features
• Step-by-step instructions
• Bonuses
• Personal account and motivation to use it

Also, a few general tips that can help you with setting up and sending emails. So, when sending, it is important to consider a few key aspects:

Target audience.

Before starting to send emails, it is necessary to define your target audience. This will help make the mailing more personalized and increase the chances of success.

Content.

The content of the email should be clear, understandable, and contain information that will be useful and interesting to the recipient. Additionally, it is important to pay attention to the design of the email and its formatting.

Frequency of mailing.

The frequency of mailing should be optimal so as not to impose on the recipient and not evoke negative feelings. Sending too often can lead to unsubscribing from the mailing list or even blocking the sender’s address.

A/B testing.

A/B testing helps determine which elements of the email perform best, such as the subject line, text, design, or call-to-action button. This allows for improved effectiveness of the mailing and increased conversion rates.

Analysis of results.

Analyzing the results of the mailing allows for assessing its effectiveness and identifying problem areas that need improvement. For example, one can analyze open and click rates, unsubscribes, sales, timing, and the time emails are opened.

Overall, setting up and sending emails is an important tool for increasing sales, improving customer engagement, and enhancing loyalty. A proper approach to setting up and sending emails can yield noticeable results and help increase business effectiveness.

To dive deeper into the topic, you have the opportunity to check out the report in video format with answers to questions.