Email marketing is the buzz word when you want to get the word out. Yup, quite a tricky tongue twister we have over here but email marketing is not that tricky when you know what goals you have in mind with the email marketing campaign. Some brands indulge in email marketing as a constant advertising platform but then some brands indulge in episodic email marketing, which is using emails to inform the existing or prospective customers about an upcoming event or offer through small videos or episodes. Most marketing managers believe that an episodic email marketing campaign is the best tool when it comes to promotion not only because of its amazing retention value in the minds of the customer and its large reach but also because it engages the customer well.
Lets first see what exactly is email marketing.
#The not so new but one of the most popular kids on the block
Email marketing involves sending bulk emails to a sender list that has been formulated depending on the product offering and people who would be interested in it. The purpose of the email is to create awareness about the product/ offer /event or episode.
#The types
Email marketing is a broad term and it includes various formats and types of emails that are sent out to the customers but there are several categories of emails that are related to episodic email marketing and are sent depending on the goals set by the marketing team.
- Registration emails
These involve a brief introduction about the episode while soliciting the registration of the receiver for receiving the episodic emails. This kind of email needs to harp on the brand image so that the customer feels secure in giving away his details and wants to associate with the brand. This kind of email prepares the receiver for the episodic mails and he or she would feel comfortable opening them rather than simply trashing them.
- Standalone emails
These emails are sent for specific episodes, events or limited time offers. With these kinds of emails, the most important factor behind their success is the timing. The video episodes made for such emails pertain to a one time offer or event.
- Thank you emails
Thank you mails are the feel-good emails targeted towards making the customer build a long term connection with the brand for future episodes ore events. These mails are also a sort of teaser to the customer about the next round of episodic emails that will follow.
- Follow-up emails
Follow up emails are sent after sending the standalone emails to refresh the memory of the receivers who opened the first mail and for those who missed out on it.
- Survey emails
Survey emails, as the name suggests, are sent to gather feedback, suggestions, and preferences of the customers. They help the brand in creating the episodes keeping in mind the customer response and help them in creating email list segmentation too.
#What do you keep in mind while creating episodic emails?
- The subject line
The subject line should specify in brief what the email is about. It needs to be catchy enough for the reader to click-through and read the email. Personalization of the email helps a great deal as the reader feels an instant connect with the brand.
- The subject matter
Precise and crisp content about the event backed up by eye-catching images, videos and GIFs is how email marketing is made interesting for the reader. Along with an interesting video, engaging but brief content should be used when crafting the episodic email. Along with the header and the content block, there should also be a call to action as part of the email.
- The Footer
The footer must include the company’s mailing address, phone number, email contact address, and a website link as well as unsubscribe links or unsubscribe directions for the readers.
- The star of the mail: the video
GoAssignmentHelp, who is Expert in the field of episodic email marketing say that there are several pointers which a brand must keep in mind before creating episodes for email marketing
- Keep the interest of the viewer piqued
A lot of brands go in for telling a story that weaves in the offers or the USP of the brand. You would not want the viewer to stop watching the episode midway as his interest level wanes away.
- The cast
Casting an actor or celebrity who is popular among the audience or already associated with the brand helps a lot.
- Content is King
Keeping the language and the tone simple, non-offensive and crisp is the key to creating a successful episodic email marketing campaign
- Do not go OTT with brand promotion
Blatant product placement is simply not the road to take when we are talking about episodic marketing. It needs to be subtle and though the idea behind it is to apprise the viewer about the offers or the brand per se it needs to be done in the natural flow of the story of the episode.
- Build an element of suspense
If you are using a storyline in the episodes then it pays well to curate a story that has an element of surprise or suspense to it. This will keep the viewer hooked and it increases the click-through rate of the subsequent emails.
- Universal and social
If the theme is built around a social or a universal topic, the viewer’s connect with the brand is much stronger
- Introducing benefits for the viewers as part of the campaign
The carrot and stick approach is what will make the viewer feel satisfied at the end of watching the episodic email content. For instance, adding in some offers in the video that the viewer can redeem, is one such way of doing it
Brands today are not shying away from experimenting with episodic email marketing as it is giving excellent results. The thing to remember is to always test your campaign before you send it out to the bulk of your customers.
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