How can I make email marketing more effective and profitable?

Lots of marketers think of email as just one more tool in their toolbox, using it as a channel for sales pitches like seasonal deals or rewards programs. According to Profitalize CEO Jon Weberg, however, email deserves more attention because it can reap greater rewards.

Providing valuable content that nurtures leads instead of strictly selling to them significantly improves email deliverability, engagement, and other profitability metrics. And at a recent Affiliate World event, Jon explained how shifting your approach to email can help you build customer relationships that generate more value over time.

Shifting Focus from Selling to Relating

Instead of bombarding leads with sales pitches, prioritize trust and rapport to build longer-term relationships that will pay off with greater total value over the customer’s lifespan.

The best way to move beyond the immediate sale, Jon says, is to focus on the “three Es”: entertain, educate, and entice.

  1. Entertain: Capture attention with engaging content like humor, storytelling, and creative visuals.
  2. Educate: Provide valuable information through resources like guides, webinars, and expert insights.
  3. Entice: Present your offers after establishing trust and demonstrating value.
3 Es of Emotional Conversion Marketing

Creating Personalized Experiences

Relating to leads is an important start, but it’s crucial to build on this foundation by creating personalized experiences for each lead.

You can start by creating audience segments based on their interests, behaviors, and engagement levels.

From there, you can tailor your messages to address each segment’s specific needs and concerns. That content can then be the basis for trigger-based emails that are automatically sent in response to specific actions, such as website visits, content downloads, or abandoned cart activity.

Building Multiple Touchpoints

To further strengthen these relationships, build multiple touchpoints across various channels.

Jon recommends maintaining regular contact through email, social media, and other relevant channels. You can also diversify your content by offering a mix of formats, including blog posts, videos, infographics, and interactive elements. Additionally, leveraging cross-channel engagement will reinforce your message and increase brand visibility.

Prioritizing Value Over Sales

Effective nurturing campaigns will always provide high-quality, valuable content over strictly marketing and sales material. This shift in focus helps your brand build trust and foster long-term relationships.

Delivering value starts by offering resources that genuinely help your audience solve their problems. In doing so, you can demonstrate your expertise and establish yourself as a reliable source of information.As Jon says, remember that your audience is made up of people, not robots!
Audience is full of people.

Monitoring & Adjusting

Constantly monitoring and adjusting your nurturing strategies is the only way to ensure continuous improvement.

Monitoring email campaigns includes tracking key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.

You’ll also need to analyze the data to identify areas for improvement and optimize your campaigns for better results. Finally, based on your analysis, continuously refine your messaging, content, and nurturing strategies to improve engagement and conversions.

As Jon and his team discovered, these strategies can nurture leads effectively, build strong relationships with your audience, and drive both customer conversions and long-term loyalty.