Key takeaways
- Pick an email service provider with flexible, scalable plans, expert advice and optimization tools to maximize limited budgets.
- Invest in A/B testing despite upfront cost. It improves conversions and reduces the risk of mid‑campaign rebuilds.
- Comply with anti‑spam laws (CASL). Spamming or “black hat” tactics can trigger massive fines, sometimes exceeding the million‑dollar mark.
- Use consumer data (third‑party or collected in‑house) to better target contacts and lower long‑term data maintenance costs.
- Design emails for mobile: use responsive templates, mobile‑friendly content and images that don’t strain bandwidth.
- Following these steps helps small brands improve efficiency and get more ROI from tight email budgets.
Introduction
For the smaller brands out there, building a successful organizational persona and connecting with viewers – specifically in the inbox – is all about winning the small battles that occur on the margins of your budget. From making the tough calls regarding what types of content you build, to the amount of money you can realistically funnel into an email marketing campaign, chances are you’re no stranger to the stress that comes with these decisions. In order to help you improve efficiency and reduce wasted budget potential – which in turn ensures you get even more bang for your buck – here’s a few quick tips for making the most out of your next email marketing campaign.
Pick the Right Service Provider
At the top of the list in terms of choices that can make or break a tight small business budget, Jaymin Bhuptani of Business 2 Community points out the need to find the right email marketing service provider. For those who are a little newer to the scene, this might not seem like much of a big deal at first.
Unfortunately, subscribing to this line of thought means that you’re potentially throwing away funds and assets that could otherwise enhance the return on your investment (ROI.) If this doesn’t sound like an idea that’s all that great, spend some time figuring out which service provider fits your needs. Flexible and scalable programs, expert advice, and optimization tools should all be at the forefront of this discussion, as each offering helps maximize the impact of your marketing dollar.
Invest in Testing
Bhuptani goes on to suggest than spending some money on testing can save your brand quite a bit of cash in the long run. Yes, this advice definitely seems counterintuitive for small businesses who are just trying to get by on a limited email marketing budget. However, if you’re able to get past this initial disbelief, there’s actually some sound logical thoughts that supports this viewpoint.
Essentially, it all comes down to sending the right message. A/B or split testing does increase your upfront costs, but it simultaneously improves the effectiveness of your email content – which in turn improves conversion and sales rates. When you take this outlook and pair it with the fact that testing also reduces the chances of your brand having to tear apart a campaign in the middle of the process, it doesn’t take much to see that this approach at least has a spot somewhere in the conversation.
Play By the Rules
Once your campaign is up and running, it’s also important to play by the rules at all times. The allure of spamming an audience and other “black hat” tactics is definitely real, but the threat of massive fines and legal issues is simply too much to handle for most organizations; especially those that are working on tight budget margins.
With Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) operating at full speed now, and other companies earning fines that exceed the million dollar mark, it’s never been more necessary to do the right thing in the inbox. Otherwise, you might have more to worry about than just an overextended budget.
Knowledge Is Power
Outside of learning about the rules and regulations of the countries in which you plan to operate, it’s also a good idea to spend some time learning as much as possible about the people that make up your contact list. Much like the various methods of testing, utilizing consumer data – either via third-party data sets or information complied during your own business operations – is all about expending resources now to save even more money down the road. The best part about this process is that the more you know about these individuals, the less time, effort, and funds you have to invest into your various data sets to keep these assets up to date and current.
Focus on Mobile Now
The final tip for keeping your brand in the positive position on the margins comes in the form of embracing the mobile craze. As Mashable’s Eric Krattenstein points out, there’s nothing that can stop the rise of mobile device usage, so why not jump on this train now and avoid the costs that come with switching up your approach when you’re forced to make this adjustment in the future? Responsive templates, mobile-friendly content, and images that don’t strain bandwidth all fit this viewpoint. By utilizing this foresight, as well as putting to good use the rest of what you’ve learned here, there’s no reason your brand can’t make the most out of limited funds and continue to win the little battles that exist on the edges of a tight budget.
FAQ
Choose a provider with flexible, scalable programs, access to expert advice and built‑in optimization tools so your service can grow with your needs and maximize ROI.
Yes. Although A/B or split testing raises upfront costs. Testing improves email effectiveness, boosts conversion and sales rates and reduces the chance of having to tear apart a campaign mid‑flight.
By improving message effectiveness and conversion rates, testing reduces wasted spend on ineffective creative and cuts the risk and cost of mid‑campaign rework, yielding better long‑term ROI.
Spamming and other “black hat” tactics can lead to massive fines and legal issues under Canada’s Anti‑Spam Legislation (CASL). Fines have exceeded the million‑dollar mark in some cases.
Use consumer data from third‑party sources or data collected during your own operations to better understand contacts. The more you know, the less time, effort and funds you need to maintain and update those lists.
Mobile usage is rising. Use responsive templates, mobile‑friendly content and images that don’t strain bandwidth so you avoid future costs from having to redesign for mobile later.
Pick the right service provider, invest in testing, comply with CASL, leverage consumer data to refine targeting and design emails for mobile to stretch tight budgets and improve ROI.
