Anyone who decides to take their email marketing into their own hands essentially needs nothing more than a PC, an email program, and the right strategy. (Photo: © Juliatim/123RF.com)
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Digital Crafts - Theme specials
September 2019
Crafts 4.0: Email marketing allows craft businesses to reach many potential customers quickly and cost-effectively. The right strategy, professional implementation, and compliance with all legal requirements are essential.
Even in times of social media, Online newsletter among the most important digital advertising channels. According to a study by United Internet Media GmbH from February 2019, 70 percent of German email users have already subscribed to one or more newsletters. Of these, around 65 percent receive newsletters from various companies several times a day. Around 34 percent of readers have already purchased offers from newsletters.
The results show that newsletters are equally popular with companies and customers. Craft businesses can also use this advertising channel to inform prospective customers about new products or services, promote special promotions, or strengthen customer loyalty.
Thanks to fully digital processes, email marketing offers many advantages: This means there are usually no shipping costs, the information reaches the recipients within seconds, and special statistics tools make it easy to monitor success. Furthermore, there's hardly any wastage when recipients actively sign up to receive information.
When implementing their own online newsletters, craft businesses basically have two options: Either a online marketing agency Commission a service provider – or do it all yourself. Professional service providers take many tasks off your hands: They take care of the text and graphic design, handle distribution, and monitor success. However, depending on the effort involved, they can easily charge three- or four-figure sums per newsletter sent.
Operations management
Operations management
Operations management
Anyone who decides to take their email marketing into their own hands essentially needs nothing more than a PC, an email program, and the right strategy (see checklist).
With special software products or online platforms, processes can be accelerated and automated as needed. For example, companies can use email marketing tools like Cleverreach or Clever Elements to create and automatically send their own newsletters using layout templates, without any programming knowledge.
Address management and reporting tools for evaluating success are usually also included. Prices range from free to several hundred euros per month, depending on the number of emails and recipients. This makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to conduct professional email marketing themselves.
However, simply sending a newsletter does not guarantee that it will reach the recipient. Often, overzealous Spam filter that prevent the message from even reaching the inbox. However, there are ways to make it less likely that it will be filtered out—for example, by using a serious subject line without intrusive language.
There should also be no numbers (such as customer numbers) in the subject line or at the beginning of the email. Good content that offers readers added value can also prevent the recipient from immediately deleting the newsletter or marking it as "spam."
Furthermore, a well-maintained database helps ensure that all emails actually arrive. The more emails that are undeliverable, the more likely a provider is to classify the sender as a "spammer."
In order to ensure that craft businesses are legally protected in the best possible way, they should only register for their own newsletter via the so-called "Double opt-in" procedure Allow: When subscribing to a newsletter via the company website, the interested party must tick a box confirming their consent to the processing of their data. The interested party will then receive an email with a Confirmation link which they must actively click. They must then confirm again that they wish to receive promotional emails.
Furthermore, the message should explain which data is collected and processed for what purpose. This first email must not contain any other promotional information. Only after clicking the confirmation link will the address be added to the newsletter distribution list.
Important: To ensure businesses can comply with their legal obligation to provide evidence, subscriber confirmations, including a time stamp, should be archived in a legally compliant manner. It is also recommended to allow readers to unsubscribe from each newsletter with just one click. If you have any legal questions, the specialized advisors at the Chambers of Skilled Crafts can assist you.
Define target groups: Who do you want to address with your next newsletter? Prospects, regular customers, inactive existing customers, or decision-makers within your company?
Formulate goals: What's the focus of the next newsletter? Acquiring new customers? Do you want to boost online store sales? Are new products/services/promotions being promoted? Or is it about generally increasing your brand awareness?
Please note copyright: Only use images and texts that you have produced yourself or, alternatively, content for which you have the appropriate usage rights.
Develop layout: Create a suitable layout for your newsletter that matches your company's corporate identity.
Place elements: The content that is most important to you should always be immediately visible in the newsletter – without scrolling.
Personalize content: Newsletters are more successful when you address your customers personally in all of your content. Personalized content, compiled based on previous orders or requests, for example, also offers greater value to customers.
Stay authentic: Avoid using marketing phrases in your newsletters. Instead, develop an authentic and natural style that reflects your business. Spelling mistakes should be avoided at all costs. If necessary, hire an editor or proofreader to review your texts. The cost is usually just a few euros per standard page.
Limit lengths: Keep all text as long as necessary and as short as possible. Use paragraphs and subheadings for structure. Include links to online pages for further information.
Activate readers: Encourage your readers to take a call to action—for example, clicking on a text link or button to get more information. You can later analyze these clicks to measure success.
Optimize the subject line: The subject line of a newsletter often determines whether the email is opened by the recipient or deleted unread. The general rule is: no more than 40 characters, so the line remains completely legible even on small screens. Tease the content highlight in an interesting way. Mentioning a city/region for locally limited offers often increases open rates.
Schedule shipping time: The right time to send your email plays a major role in opening rates. Private customers, for example, prefer to read their emails between 17 p.m. and 20 p.m. on weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on weekends. For business customers, you should keep in mind that they prefer to read their emails during work hours.
Consider specifications: Observe applicable laws, such as the GDPR, copyright law, and the Telemedia Act, in all marketing activities. This includes providing an imprint.
Check your successes: After sending each newsletter, you should analyze your success and continue to refine your email marketing strategy over time.
Promote newsletter: To increase your reach, you should promote your newsletter on as many channels as possible, for example on your own website, in social media networks, in email signatures, in advertisements, etc.
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