How to Use Email Marketing as a Strong Branding Tool

What do your emails say about you and your business?

Email marketing, when done correctly, is a strong branding tool that will drive traffic to your website, raise overall brand awareness, educate and provide value to your audience, and keep your business at top of mind.

You want your email list to say “Awesome, another email from [insert your name/business here]! I wonder what I am going to learn this time” and you want them to say that the second they see your latest masterpiece in their inbox. You DON’T want them to say “*deletes without thinking twice*”.

In this blog, I won’t go into detail on how to get people to like you, but I will show you how to get people to recognize you. Once they associate you and your business as a value provider, they will be that much more likely to remember you the next time they need what you sell.

Branding in the Digital Age

Chances are you have a website; you might also be on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and all that good stuff. (If you aren’t…please refer to our digital marketing page and give us a call) but either way, Email Marketing is a great way to both START branding your company and CONTINUE branding your company in the age where consumers are glued to phones, tablets, and computer screens for the majority of the day. Email marketing has many benefits, and branding is only scratching the surface. So let’s dive in.

Email Marketing As a Branding Tool

Follow these rules to optimize your email marketing and leverage it as a strong branding tool that lands right in the inbox of your target audience (a place where they spend a majority of their online time, I might add).

The first and (arguably) most important rule? Be Consistent.

Across Social Media, Graphics, Website, Voice, Content, Subject, Timing, Templates, Colors, Signatures, Logos, Fonts, etc. Your audience should be able to go from e-newsletter to blog to homepage to brochure without batting an eye. When you stay consistent, your audience will know whose message they are looking at the minute they lay eyes on it.

The easiest way to accomplish this when it comes to email marketing is through using a template. Constant Contact provides customizable templates that you can tailor and manipulate for the exact look and feel that you would like. Templates will help you keep color, layout, subject line, and content consistent from week to week.

You might also consider sending out your email blast at the same time on the same day of the week each month/week. That way, your audience will be waiting for your email to pop into their inbox.

The second thing to keep in mind? Content.

Utilize every opportunity that you have to teach your audience something valuable. Let them know that you know what you are talking about and become a valuable resource for them. This will assist you in branding yourself as someone that your audience is going to think of the next time they need help with a project.

At Keystone Click, we follow the 70/20/10 rule. This means that 70% of the time, you are sharing tips, tricks, and tidbits of valuable information with your audience. 20% of the time you are sharing information from others within your industry that you have deemed valuable. This is the time to pay it forward (Hint: they will return the favor). And finally, 10% of the time you should sell whatever it is you have to offer. This is the perfect time to mention our Email Marketing Special… Sign up between now and September 1st and you will receive free setup and training! (See what I did there?)

Follow the 70/20/10 rule when it comes to email content and you will brand yourself as a valuable resource. And don’t leave out that 10%. Never send out an email without at least one solid Call-to-Action.

The third thing to consider? Visualize email as the bridge to where you really want your audience to go.

Set a goal for yourself. Do you want people to learn about that special you have going on? Do you want to increase event attendance? Maybe you want more likes on your company Facebook page.

Think of your where your audience is currently as Point A and your goal as Point B. Email is the bridge that guides your audience from Point A, their inbox, to Point B, your message. As stated previously, your audience won’t even bat an eye when they go from email blast to website because you are that darn consistent in your color scheme, voice, and overall feel.

To review, be consistent, be resourceful, and be a bridge.

Find these tips helpful? Learn more about email marketing here! And here!

Comment below with any questions, queries, concerns, suggestions, etc. We would love to hear from you.