There are many right ways to promote a business through email marketing… and an equal number of wrong ways. If you’ve been in the digital marketing game for a while now, you’re likely aware of the importance of making sure your own email marketing is really successful, and not a complete flop. But knowing how to create a successful email marketing campaign is a whole different story.
The truth is, in a digital world where trends die out and things get old really quickly, what worked for you last year probably won’t work so well at all anymore. All aspects of digital marketing are a challenge, but especially so with emails. There’s a fine line between being considered “spam” or a resource of actual value for your business’ customers. You want to make sure your email marketing strategies never land you in the spam folder.
Understanding the basics of email marketing is important, but it goes beyond that if you want to grab your customers’ attention, intrigue them, and gain their loyalty – all in a couple of paragraphs and images sent directly into their inbox. How many emails should you send, and how often? What should you be saying? How do you promote without sounding too salesy?
If, for you, the answers to these types of questions remain unanswered, it’s time you turned to the internet for some help. I’ve put together a list of my favourite email marketing blogs to help you improve your current strategies – and the best bit? They’re all free.
Fed up of seeing minimal success from your email marketing? Campaign Monitor can help. In fact, it prides itself as delivering “best digital and email marketing content” – an ambitious claim to make, but certainly one we can believe. Campaign Monitor’s email marketing platform has been used by more than 250,000 customers to make lasting impressions over email, so there’s no denying the brand has picked up plenty of industry knowledge over its time of internet reign.
Campaign Monitor’s blog doesn’t just provide the usual how-tos. You can also find an abundance of helpful resources, including free tutorials and templates, tips on what’s trending, and inspiring examples of email marketing done right. Definitely one to save to your bookmarks bar.
2. Mailchimp
If we don’t use Mailchimp ourselves, we all know of at least five other people who do. Mailchimp has made a name for itself as arguably the most popular email marketing platforms to this day, serving millions of customers around the world. It was designed way back in the hazy internet days of 2001, and was one of the very first of its kind.
It’s unsurprising that Mailchimp has seen so much success from then until now, and there’s plenty of proof of this on the Mailchimp blog. The Mailchimp 101 post is worth checking out whether you’re a Mailchimp user or not, as there’s plenty in the way of useful advice if you’re looking to learn the basics of email marketing in general.
As an email marketing platform that rivals the best of the best, VerticalResponse has been a company focused on connecting businesses with their customers since 2001. The best way to learn is through experience, and VerticalResponse certainly has plenty of that to boast about – which, to our benefit, it does do, on its blog.
Promising to help you leverage the power of its platform with “insights, examples and practical advice from email marketing experts”, the VerticalResponse blog is awash with relevant advice and strategies for all number of email marketing campaigns. Whether you’re after company updates or more general email marketing guides, VerticalResponse is always worth a visit.
4. GetResponse
One of the most highly educational email marketing blogs out there at the moment is Get Response. Produced by the self-proclaimed tech geeks at GetResponse, the “world’s easiest” email marketing platform, don’t expect to get through the contents of the blog in one quick afternoon sitting.
There’s plenty to swot up on, no matter what your current level of skill. The blog interlopes email marketing with other digital marketing aspects, such as SEO and social media, to help you to plan well-rounded campaigns that are consistent across all elements of your business’ online presence.
5. MailBakery
MailBakery is a creative brand that specialises in email template design and coding, and has completed over 5000 projects since 2010 alone. The small team behind the magic combines passion and expertise to give their customers something special every time – and their blog is on hand to help you achieve the same.
Don’t expect frequent updates on the MailBakery blog, but the content that is released is always worth its weight in gold. From free templates to examples of email marketing that really works, it’s certainly worth having a scroll-through when you’ve got some time on your hands. You can also check out posts under the blog’s different categories if you’re looking for something specific.
If you understand the value of having multiple marketing resources to hand at all times, you’ll love the blog at MarketingProfs. Designed by a team of digital experts, the MarketingProfs blog aims to deliver education that is practical, hands-on, and approachable, designed to meet the most in-demand skills.
MarketingProfs provides so many resources that even the team’s editors apparently have a hard time keeping up. You can filter the blog’s full library to find what’s the most relevant to you, or type into the search bar if you’re after something in particular. There are plenty of free tools, if that’s what you’re after, and you can choose the best way to learn based on your own preferences.
7. Email Monks
As their name suggests, Email Monks consider themselves masters at what they do, with a group of “divine” designers and coders that excel in developing highly visual responsive emails and landing pages. Impressively, since its establishment, Email Monks has served 5,000+ brands for their responsive email design, newsletter templates and landing page needs.
You don’t have to look far into the Email Monks blog to be certain of its team’s passion and intelligence when it comes to email marketing. Expect frequent posts on all manner of topics, from how-to guides, to mistakes to avoid, campaign examples, tips for success, and much more. Don’t expect to leave the site in a hurry.
