Email marketing remains one of the most valuable channels for startups to cost-effectively drive growth. Use it as rocket fuel to boost your business.
Why Email Marketing is Crucial for Startups
For any fledgling startup, getting the word out about your brand and attracting new customers is a major challenge. With limited resources and manpower, you need marketing tactics that provide real impact without breaking the bank. This is where email marketing comes in – it should be a foundational part of your growth strategy from day one!
Email allows startups to build awareness, connect with potential customers, drive sales, and analyze performance in a targeted, cost-effective way not possible with most other channels. Here’s a closer look at the key benefits email marketing offers startups specifically:
Builds Brand Awareness and Loyalty
One of the hardest things for a new company is getting your name out there in the first place. Email provides a direct line of communication to share your brand story and offerings with people who have already shown initial interest by signing up.
By consistently nurturing your list with valuable content, special offers, and engagement opportunities, you establish mindshare and build loyalty with your subscribers over time. They’ll come to rely on your emails as a useful source of information related to your industry or their needs.
Consider an eco-friendly startup that sends emails with tips on sustainability, profiles of green products, and company updates. Recipients gain a positive association between the brand and green living content they enjoy.
Or a subscription clothing company that sends style advice, sneak peeks of new collections, and advance access to sales. Subscribers develop affinity and keep coming back for the perks.
Email is unique in its ability to foster these durable relationships and deepening impact. Other paid ads come and go, but you own the email channel and list completely.
Cost-Effective Customer Acquisition
For the tight budgets of most startups, being able to reach customers and prospects affordably is hugely important.
Compared to other paid digital channels, email consistently provides the highest ROI and lowest cost per acquisition or action. Industry benchmarks show email generates a return of $42 for every $1 spent – much higher than social, SEO, content, or paid search.
And the basic costs of email platforms, design, copywriting, etc. are very reasonable, especially when managing smaller lists. Free and low-cost tools are readily available.
Beyond sheer efficiency, the segmenting power of email allows startups to precisely target the audiences most likely to resonate with their offerings and convert. You can really make every send count and minimize waste.
While still investing in other channels as you’re able, lean heavily on highly targeted and well-nurtured email marketing to fuel early traction in a financially sustainable way.
Allows Targeted Segmentation
Speaking of targeting, no channel does it better than email. The customer data and lists you build in your platform give immense power to segment and personalize communications.
Divide your subscribers by attributes like:
- Geography
-Demographics - Past purchases
- Interests
- Engagement levels
Then craft focused emails with relevant offers and messaging to capture each group’s attention and prompt desired actions, whether a purchase, content download, event registration, etc.
Lifecycle-based segments are also hugely valuable, with specialized emails for new signups, repeat customers, dormant users to reengage, subscribers with birthdays, and more.
A/B testing subject lines and content for different segments helps you optimize response rates over time. You gain granular insight into what resonates best with key groups.
The ability to serve up tailored experiences is a huge advantage for startups versus mass advertising to the general public. Waste is minimized and impact amplified.
Drives Sales Through Campaigns
While branding and subscriber growth lay the foundation, for most startups a top goal is ultimately driving sales revenue, which email excels at through targeted campaigns.
Promotional series highlight new product launches, discounts for subscribers, seasonal sales events, and more.
Ecommerce startups use abandoned cart emails to re-engage shoppers who left items behind, and win back customers with special comeback offers if they’ve been inactive awhile.
Lead nurturing workflows with useful content educate subscribers and build interest over time, turning them into qualified sales prospects ready to buy.
Post-purchase followup emails facilitate referrals, cross-sells, repeat orders, and valuable reviews.
Advanced techniques like dynamic content tailor promotions and recommendations to each recipient’s interests for higher relevance and response.
The sales impact can also be measured at a very granular level, unlike most marketing channels. You see which emails generate clicks, conversions, revenue, and more so you can double down on what works.
Provides Data and Analytics
Speaking of metrics, the data email provides is a key asset for startups. The ability to closely monitor performance and fine-tune activities is invaluable when resources are limited.
Key email metrics like open rate, click-through rate, conversions, revenue, and unsubscribe rate should be tracked continuously. Review regularly to identify high- and low-performing segments, lists, campaigns, and design elements.
A/B test different subject lines, content, images, calls to action, send times, etc. to see which variants improve results. Then optimize based on the learnings.
Email analytics provide a clear picture of subscriber engagement and campaign ROI – crucial for early customer acquisition. You gain visibility to optimize effectiveness over time.
Key Takeaway
In summary, email ticks all the boxes for startup marketing:
- Brand building on a budget ✅
- Precisely targeted outreach ✅
- Driving sales with automation ✅
- Detailed data and optimization ✅
Rather than an afterthought, make email the cornerstone of your user acquisition and revenue strategy starting on day one. Maintain a laser focus on growing and nurturing your list with compelling content and offers tailored to different segments over time.
The loyalty, sales, and insight you generate will provide one of the best returns on investment of any activity. Email success will fuel growth well beyond the startup stage.
Creating an Effective Email Marketing Strategy
You know email marketing is essential for startups, but what’s the best way to approach it? Crafting a solid strategy will set you up for success. Let’s walk through the key steps every startup should take to build an effective, high-impact email program.
Research Email Trends and Benchmarks
Before diving in, get up to speed on the current email landscape. Look at recent statistics and benchmarks for open rates, click rates, unsubscribe rates, and other metrics based on factors like industry, email type, list size, and day sent.
Understand what’s working at the moment across:
- Subject lines – length, emojis, personalization
- Previews – length, displays on mobile
- Content – links, images, length, calls to action
- Segmentation – behavioral, demographic, custom
- Automation – onboarding, re-engagement, etc.
- Design – layout, responsiveness, brand consistency
This will give you an idea of what good looks like, so you can model your strategy accordingly. HubSpot, Litmus, and Campaign Monitor publish regular reports with email benchmark data you can reference.
Doing a competitive audit of emails from startups in your space is also wise. See what they’re doing across messaging, offers, design, etc. – both good and bad examples to learn from.
Choose the Right Email Service Provider
Next key step – selecting an ESP to execute your strategy. Many options from basic to advanced features exist. Assess your current and future needs.
For most startups, an affordable service like Mailchimp, SendinBlue, or SendGrid should suffice initially. Look for key features like:
Automation
Welcome new subscribers, trigger sequences on time delays or specific actions, send abandoned cart reminders, and more without constant manual work.
Templates
Professionally designed, mobile-optimized templates to easily build emails on brand. Focus on content.
Analytics
In-depth tracking of opens, clicks, conversions, unsubscribes, spam complaints. Spot trends and optimize.
Integrations
Connect your signup forms, ecommerce platform, CRM, and other marketing systems for unified data.
Reports
Review engagement and performance by campaign, segment, content type, and more. Email to PDF.
Once you nail the basics and want more advanced capabilities, platforms like HubSpot, GetResponse, ConvertKit, and ActiveCampaign are great next-step options.
Start Building Your Email List
Now it’s time to identify sources for building your initial subscriber list. This provides the all-important recipients for your emails. Focus on:
Website Signups
Encourage visitors to opt-in via popups, header bars, embedded forms, exit intent, and during the checkout flow. Offer a content upgrade as incentive.
Social Media
Promote your list on social channels. A simple “Join our mailing list!” with a link makes it easy for interested followers.
Partnerships
Collaborate on co-marketing with aligned brands. Cross-promote opt-ins and content. Expand reach.
Events
Collect emails from attendees at trade shows, conferences, and webinars. Follow up to build the relationship.
Retargeting Ads
Remind visitors through digital ads on Facebook, Instagram, AdRoll and more. Persistence pays off.
Existing Contacts
Tell networks like employees, vendors, investors to join. They can refer others too.
Website Popups
Add website popups and overlays inviting visitors to subscribe before they leave. Time them well.
Track signups by source so you know what works best. Incentivize referrals to accelerate growth. Maintain consistent branding and messaging across channels for familiarity and trust.
Define Your Goals and Success Metrics
With your platform, integrations, and initial list in place, decide what email success looks like for your startup. Set specific metrics-driven goals so you can track progress. Common examples:
- Get 500 qualified leads in 6 months
- Increase revenue per email by 15% in 1 quarter
- Reduce unsubscribe rate to under 2% in 3 months
- Grow list to 5,000 subscribers in 1 year
These provide direction and accountability. Know how you’ll track performance based on opens, clicks, revenue per email, unsubscribes, etc. Shoot to exceed standard benchmarks.
And define the customer actions that constitute success at each email stage – signups, click-throughs, downloads, purchases, reviews, referrals. Tie metrics to these desired behaviors.
Establish a dashboard to monitor key indicators over time. Review frequently and optimize activities to hit your targets.
Map Out Campaigns and Segments
With goals set, map out the core campaigns, triggers, and audience segments that will drive results. Outline key elements like:
Welcome Series
Post-signup welcome email, introductory product tutorial, weekly tips for first 30 days, customer satisfaction survey.
Newsletters
Monthly product updates, curated tips & links, new feature sneak peeks, co-branded partner content.
Promotions
Product launch announcements, subscriber-only sales, seasonal promotions like cyber week and holidays, limited time discounts, special events.
Winbacks
Offers for inactive subscribers if no activity in 3+ months, extra incentives like free shipping or credits.
Surveys
Quarterly customer satisfaction and feedback surveys. Annual market research and NPS surveys.
And tailor these backgrounds:
- New subscribers (30/60/90 days)
- Power users (high activity)
- Lapsed customers (no repeat orders)
- VIP segment (top spenders)
- Subscriber interests and preferences
Match messaging, offers, and creative to each group for better response rates. Expand your mix over time.
Determine Optimal Send Frequency and Timing
There isn’t one universal cadence that’s best – frequency and timing should be informed by data. Test to find the sweet spot with your audience based on open and click rates.
Factors like your industry, offer types, list size, and type of content sent influence appropriate send frequency. Monitor engagement at different intervals – daily, twice weekly, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.
See when open rates start declining and adjust accordingly. For example, an apparel ecommerce site might email 3-4x per week with deals, while a SaaS startup sends educational content 2x monthly.
Likewise, test sending on different days of the week and times of day. Weekends vs weekdays, mornings vs afternoons vs evenings. Look at open rate data to detect any clear patterns and preferences. Optimize your schedule around what works best for each audience and email purpose.
The ideal frequency and timing will become apparent over time through experimentation and list growth. Err on the less frequent side until you identify what truly drives response.
Ensure Mobile Responsiveness
With over half of emails now opened on mobile, optimizing for smaller screens is a must. If your emails don’t render well in mobile, you’ll frustrate and lose subscribers.
Start with mobile-friendly templates from your ESP. Use stackable single-column layouts. Ensure buttons and links have adequate tap targets. Embed images responsively.
Preview on multiple device sizes. Many ESPs let you test render on real devices too. Tweak and simplify design elements that don’t translate well.
Litmus, Email on Acid, and Mailchimp’s mobile preview are great resources to test and optimize mobile rendering. Don’t launch without assessing mobile performance first.
Key Takeaways
That covers the essentials for crafting an effective email strategy as a startup. Remember to:
- Learn email best practices and trends
- Choose the right ESP for your needs
- Build your list from day one
- Set goals and metrics to target
- Map relevant campaigns and segments
- Test frequency and timing extensively
- Optimize for mobile responsiveness
Invest time upfront in strategizing and set the right foundations for email success as you scale. The work will pay off dramatically in subscriber engagement, sales growth, and brand lift over time.
Building a Quality Email List
You’ve got your startup’s email strategy mapped out and ready to launch. But hold up – you need recipients first! Building a robust email list should be an urgent priority.
These subscribers are the lifeblood of your email marketing. Approach list building as an ongoing process with multiple avenues to maximize signups. Consider options like:
Use Website Opt-In Forms
Your website offers prime real estate to collect emails from visitors. Embed opt-in forms on:
- Landing pages
- Homepage
- Blog posts
- Resource libraries
- Checkout pages
- Popups
Offer an irresistible content upgrade like a coupon code, ebook, toolkit, or email course in exchange for their email. This provides immediate value upfront.
Place forms prominently above the fold, using contrasting colors. Keep fields brief – just name and email. Send confirmation and thank you when they sign up. Make joining easy and appealing.
Offer Content Upgrades
Speaking of content upgrades, these deserve special attention. Create gated assets around popular topics and pain points to attract signups. Types of upgrades could include:
- Ebooks and whitepapers
- Templates and worksheets
- Cheat sheets
- Video tutorials or courses
- Free tools and calculators
- Coupons and promo codes
- Checklists and guides
- Webinar replays
The promise of accessing this exclusive content motivates visitors to exchange their email, growing your list. Promote upgrades across your site, social media, and other channels to maximize exposure.
HubSpot research found list growth was 2x higher for businesses offering content upgrades. Definitely leverage them.
Run Giveaways and Contests
Contests, giveaways, and sweepstakes are another excellent tactic for generating buzz and signups. Promote an amazing prize (your product, gift cards, etc.) in exchange for an email submission.
Require social sharing and referrals for extra entries to also spread the word. Feature different types of contests like:
- Photo contests – User-submitted images based on a theme
- Caption contests – Funniest caption for an image you provide
- Trivia quizzes – Reward correct answers
Promote contests on your site, social media, and existing emails. The irresistible prize will fuel excitement to drive entries and sharing.
Just ensure legal terms and conditions are clearly communicated. And follow through on awarding prizes promptly!
Leverage Existing Channels
Beyond your owned website and social media assets, also tap into other channels where your audience is already active:
Social Media
Promote your list on your company social accounts. Post sign up links, highlight content upgrades, and run occasional social-only giveaways. Ask followers to tag friends who’d be interested.
SEM
Add email signup messaging to your pay-per-click ads on Google, Bing, etc. Send traffic from ads directly to your opt-in landing pages.
Events
Collect business cards and run iPad opt-in forms at conferences, trade shows, and pop-up events. Follow up within 24 hours to engage attendees.
Partnerships
Work with vendors, resellers, agencies and aligned brands to co-promote opt-ins across respective customer bases. Expand reach.
Utilize channels you’re already investing in to get the word out. Multichannel effort brings better awareness and signups.
Validate and Clean Your List
As your list grows, proper hygiene is essential. Run your file through validation to remove:
- Spam traps
- Bouncing addresses
- Typos
- Duplicate contacts
- Unusable domains
This ensures send reputation and maximizes deliverability. It also sets you up to segment properly.
Ongoing re-validation identifies when existing subscribers become undeliverable over time so you can remove them.
And allow subscribers to easily opt out – don’t make them contact you directly. Honor unsubscribe requests promptly and fully. This helps avoid abuse complaints.
Building a quality list via diverse sources and keeping it clean sets you up for email success as you scale up campaigns.
Key Takeaways
In summary, some proven tips for building your startup’s email list include:
- Offer compelling content upgrades
- Run creative contests and giveaways
- Leverage website opt-ins and other channels
- Validate and scrub your list routinely
- Make unsubscribing easy
Pour creative energy into list building. An engaged, high-quality subscriber base is the “fuel” that makes your email program thrive long-term.
Creating Engaging Email Content
You’ve put in the hard work of building your startup’s subscriber list. Now it’s time to send them value-packed emails they can’t wait to open and take action on.
Crafting compelling content is an art and science. Let’s explore proven tips to engage your audience.
Write Compelling Subject Lines
The subject line is the first impression your email makes. You have just a few words to capture attention amidst crowded inboxes. Mastering subject line writing is imperative.
Use Curiosity Triggers
Spark interest by hinting at something valuable in the content itself:
- “See our new app demo video”
- “Check out these unlisted cyber week deals”
- “Thoughts on our new website?”
Ask questions, call out numbers, reference recent events – anything that ignites curiosity to open.
Utilize Emojis
Emojis add a human touch while being attention-grabbing. Select relevant ones that support your message:
- “We’re growing 🚀”
- “Cyber week starts now ⏰”
- “New feature alert! 🔥”
Studies show emojis can increase open rates up to 45%. But use judiciously based on your brand.
Personalize
Including the subscriber’s first name adds familiarity:
“Hey [First Name], check out our new video series!”
This simple personalization helps the recipient feel acknowledged. Just don’t overuse their name, which loses impact.
Be Authentic
Write conversationally using natural language suited to your brand voice and audience. Avoid excessive hype or formality.
Keep it Brief
Subject lines with 6-10 words get higher open rates on mobile by fitting more preview text. Get to the point quickly.
Craft a Strong Preview Text
Preview text gives recipients a reason to open when they glance at your email. Summarize key details from the content or highlight incentives like offers.
Some best practices:
- Write 1-2 concise sentences
- Don’t repeat subject verbatim
- Raise curiosity and urgency
- Use emojis and personalization
- Ensure readable on mobile screens
This snapshot convinces readers your full email is worth their time. Put thought into preview text that compels action.
Personalize Content with Merge Tags
Personalization should go beyond the subject line into the email body itself. Insert subscriber merge tags to tailor details to each recipient:
- First name
- Location
- Order history
- Interests
- Activity data
Use conditionals like if/then logic to change content dynamically:
“Thanks for being an [Company] customer for [YearsAsCustomer] years!”
This added relevance keeps subscribers engaged as you scale, avoiding a one-size-fits-none approach.
Include Educational and Helpful Information
While promotions have their place, make sure to also send genuinely useful content that builds trust and affinity with your brand over time. Types of informative emails to consider:
- Product update features, tips and how-tos
- Relevant industry articles, trends and insights
- Sneak peeks and first looks at upcoming offerings
- Customer success stories and testimonials
- Team/company news and milestones
- Curated and co-branded partner content
- Events, webinars and community opportunities
Think of the kinds of knowledge and resources your audience would find valuable. Use email to establish your startup as a trusted domain expert and advisor.
Promote Discounts and Offers
Of course you want to drive sales revenue, and promotional emails are fair game. Just focus on providing ongoing value versus self-serving pitches. Types of deals to promote:
- Subscriber-only coupons and flash discounts
- Free shipping or dollars off over minimum spend
- Buy one/get one and bundle offers
- First-time customer welcome offers
- Referral and loyalty discounts
- Holiday/event promotions like Cyber Week
- Content-gated upgrade offers and trials
- Contests and giveaways
Sweeten offers with stacked incentives like dollars off and free shipping together. Discount codes provide trackable ROI.
Share Curated Content
Increase the value you provide by curating and sharing relevant third-party content – news articles, videos, infographics, etc.
This estabishes your expertise and saves subscribers time in discovering helpful resources themselves. Some sources of curated content:
- Your latest blog posts and thought leadership
- New features related to your product
- Case studies and testimonials
- Industry news and trends
- Commercial content partners
- Infographics and statistics
- Lists and roundups on hot topics
Credit any external content you highlight. Align curated pieces to your audience’s interests and business challenges.
Ask Questions to Encourage Replies
Don’t just broadcast one-way messages. Engagement is a two-way street, so sprinkle in questions to subscribers:
- What do you think of our new app interface?
- Have you used X feature yet? What was your experience?
- What topics would you like us to cover in next month’s newsletter?
- Are there any features you’d like to see added?
Then highlight some replies received in future emails when featuring feedback. Recipients enjoy seeing their input shape future content and product enhancements.
Test Different Content and Styles
Don’t get stuck just using what you assume works. Take a data-driven approach to refining content over time.
Try A/B testing emails with different:
- Subject lines
- Preview text
- Content focus and topics
- Length and copy styles
- Call-to-action wording
- Visual themes and colors
- Days/times sent
Look at open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to guide you. Don’t leave results to chance.
Fine-tuning your copy, design, and cadence will steadily improve performance. Listen to the data.
Key Takeaways
Engaging email content is invaluable for startups to build durable relationships and drive business growth. Remember these tips:
- Seduce subscribers with irresistible subject lines
- Summarize key details in preview text
- Personalize content using merge tags
- Provide educational, helpful information
- Promote discounts and offers responsibly
- Curate and share relevant third-party content
- Ask smart questions to spark engagement
- Continuously test and optimize based on data
Rather than batch-and-blast spam, craft emails your audience loves receiving and interacting with. Quality creative pays dividends.
Automating Your Email Workflows
One of the most powerful advantages of email marketing is the ability to automate sends based on time delays, user actions, and other triggers.
Workflow automation allows startups to engage subscribers in a scalable way without constant manual effort.
Let’s explore some of the top types of automated email campaigns to implement.
Welcome and Onboarding Series
Set the right tone following a subscriber signup with a welcome series that introduces your brand, product, and value proposition.
Send a sequence of 2-4 emails over their first week:
- Welcome email on day 1 thanking them for subscribing
- Product tutorial on day 3 outlining main features/benefits
- Tips email on day 5 with power user advice
- Satisfaction survey on day 7 soliciting any initial feedback
Space out sends so they don’t become overwhelming. Offer valuable educational content that makes the subscriber feel acknowledged.
Onboarding automation nurtures momentum from sign-up through activation.
Abandoned Cart and Follow Up Emails
If shoppers don’t complete a purchase, trigger abandoned cart emails reminding them to finish checkout.
Send follow-ups like:
- Reminder 1 hour after cart started
- Reminder 1 day after cart started
- Final notice 3 days after cart started
Include their cart contents, and offer incentives like discounts or free shipping to nudge them over the line.
Follow up further for the next 7-14 days with related product recommendations and new arrivals. Keep your brand top of mind.
Customer Win-Back Campaigns
For subscribers who haven’t engaged recently, create re-engagement campaigns to win them back. Segment based on how long it’s been:
- 30 days inactive – send satisfaction survey
- 60 days inactive – send coupon and new arrivals
- 90 days inactive – send special discount offer
Or send win-back offers after the first missed purchase in their average purchase cycle.
Give them a compelling reason to re-activate their account and purchase again.
Event and Holiday Promotions
Leverage major events, cultural moments, and holidays for relevant tie-in promotions. Examples:
- Valentine’s Day – 15% off flowers, jewelry, romantic gifts
- Back to School – School supplies discount
- Halloween – 30% off costumes and candy
- Cyber Week – Different daily deals all week
Theme your messaging, offers, and creative assets accordingly. Follow up post-event on leftover inventory.
Being part of cultural moments facilitates open rates as subscribers expect event emails.
Retargeting Inactive Subscribers
Create segments of subscribers who used to be highly engaged but have faded over time. Craft re-engagement emails to pull them back in.
- Former power users – special VIP offers
- Past big spenders – significant dollar discounts
- Attendees of your last event – invites to upcoming events
- Former link clickers – fresh content they’ll like
Remind them of the value your brand used to bring them. Nostalgia helps regain faded relationships when done respectfully.
Segmenting Your List by Interests
Divide your list into subgroups based on interests and preferences to hyper-target content.
Ways to track user interests:
- Website behavior like pages visited
- Content offers they’ve downloaded
- Links they’ve clicked in past emails
- Products purchased or abandoned
- Survey responses and feedback
Then segment subscribers accordingly and deliver tailored content to address each group’s needs.
Key Takeaways
The essence of great email marketing automation includes:
- Welcome and onboard new subscribers
- Remind abandoned cart customers to finish checkout
- Craft campaigns to win back inactive users
- Promote around major events and holidays
- Create VIP offers for former power users
- Send hyper-targeted content based on interests
Workflows running consistently in the background are like your startup’s email engine, delivering value without constant manual effort. Automate intelligently.
Analyzing and Optimizing Your Emails
You’ve built your startup’s subscriber list, crafted engaging campaigns, and implemented automation. But the work doesn’t stop there.
To maximize results over time, you need to closely analyze performance and continuously optimize your emails based on data and insights.
Track Open and Click-Through Rates
Two fundamental metrics for every email are:
Open rate – Percentage of subscribers who opened it
Click-through rate – Clicks on links inside the email divided by total deliveries
How do your rates for each campaign stack up against industry averages?
|| Average Benchmarks | Great Benchmarks |
|-|-|-|
| Open Rate | 16% | 25%+ |
| Click-Through Rate | 2% | 5%+ |
If lagging behind, look at why emails aren’t resonating and compel action.
Monitor these key indicators over time, for both overall lists and for segments. Watch for any declining engagement.
Measure Conversion and Revenue Metrics
Opens and clicks indicate initial interest, but you also need to track how emails convert:
- Sales directly attributed to each send
- Lead generation and signups
- Downloads of gated content assets
- Event and webinar registrations
- Social shares, forwards and virality
Tie this back to revenue impact – what’s the ROI of your email program?
Calculate metrics like:
- Revenue per send
- Cost per lead
- Sales influenced by emails
- Email contribution to overall revenue
This quantifies the business value you’re driving through email. Monitor progress against revenue goals.
Gauge Email Effectiveness Over Time
Zoom out to look at engagement and conversion trends over weeks, months, and quarters.
- Is open rate steadily climbing or stagnant?
- Are click and conversion rates improving or declining?
- How do results compare year over year?
The bigger picture helps identify issues like list fatigue or poor performing segments. Spot areas for improvement.
Create dashboards in your ESP to track this high-level snapshot on an ongoing basis.
A/B Test Subject Lines and Content
Take key elements that influence open and click through rates and test variations to see what resonates best. Try different:
Subject Lines:
- Emotional triggers vs informational
- Short vs long
- Questions vs statements
- Emojis vs none
- Name personalization vs generic
Content:
- Long form vs short form
- More text vs more visuals
- 1 column vs 2 column layout
- List format vs paragraphs
- Soft sell vs direct CTA
- Educational vs promotional
Use open and click rates to guide optimization. Over time through continual testing, you’ll learn what works best.
Identify High and Low Performing Segments
Check your email metrics not just overall, but broken down for key subscriber segments.
Look at open, click, and conversion rates specifically for:
- New subscribers (0-3 months)
- Loyal power users
- Location (country or region)
- Lapsed customers
- Premium vs free plan users
Find both your highest and lowest engaging segments. Double down on what resonates with the top groups. Identify areas needing improvement.
Adjust Frequency and Timing As Needed
On top of content, also test and refine your send cadence:
- Reduce frequency if open rates decline
- Increase if engagement remains consistent
- Compare day of week – Mon vs Fri
- Compare time of day – AM vs PM
- Give real-time vs scheduled sends
Let data guide ideal nurture cycles for different segments and campaigns to keep subscribers engaged, not overwhelmed.
Improve Deliverability to Avoid Spam Filters
With legitimate permission-based outreach, your emails should reliably land in the inbox. But if deliverability drops:
- Examine spam complaints and unsubscribes
- Fix any faulty hard bounces diluting your domain reputation
- Avoid risky words like “free” and “credit”
- Warm up new sending IPs slowly
Deliverability rates above 95% should be attainable. Tackle any trickiness head-on to maximize reach.
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
Optimizing your startup’s email marketing boils down to:
- Monitoring open and click-through rates
- Tracking revenue and conversions driven
- Reviewing performance trends over time
- A/B testing subject lines and content
- Analyzing metrics by customer segment
- Adjusting frequency and timing as needed
- Maintaining strong deliverability
To build on these tips:
- Set up dashboards in your ESP to easily track key metrics
- Schedule time at least monthly to review reports
- Document learnings and optimization ideas
- Test new content and cadence variations
- Share results with leadership and stakeholders
Ongoing analysis and refinement will steadily strengthen engagement as you learn what resonates best with subscribers. Treat it as a scientific process.
Email’s unparalleled ROI and ability to drive growth is invaluable for startups. Follow these best practices and let data guide your path to email success!
Summary
Email marketing is a vital growth channel for startups. To recap some of the key tips covered:
- Make email a cornerstone of your marketing strategy from day one. The unrivaled ROI and segmentation power are ideal for startups trying to cut through noise.
- Research email best practices and tailor your strategy accordingly. Model what top brands are doing across creative, segmentation, automation and more.
- Build your subscriber list aggressively using website opt-ins, content upgrades, promotions and existing channels. Quality subscribers are the lifeblood for email success.
- Set specific metrics-driven goals for opens, clicks, revenue, etc. and monitor progress closely over time. Use data to optimize and enhance performance.
- Map relevant lifecycle-based email campaigns to onboard users, promote offers, engage inactive subscribers, capitalize on events and more.
- Automate sequences tailored to user behaviors and interests to nurture leads without constant manual effort. Workflows running in the background power growth.
- Craft compelling subject lines to capture attention, and test variations to improve open rates. Treat copy as a science optimized through data.
- Personalize content with merge tags and focus on providing educational value through helpful information. Build durable relationships with subscribers over time.
- Continually A/B test emails and analyze metrics by segment to identify what resonates best with your audience. Refine based on insights.
Done right, email marketing will become an invaluable competitive advantage fueling sustainable growth for your startup in a scalable way. Follow these tips to maximize effectiveness as you build strategic email capabilities over time.
Here are some frequently asked questions about email marketing for startups:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is email marketing important for startups?
Email is one of the most affordable and effective marketing channels for startups. It allows targeted outreach to build relationships with potential customers. Startups can drive brand awareness, leads, and sales through email in a scalable way.
When should a startup start email marketing?
Get started with email immediately when launching your startup. Begin building your subscriber list right away through your website, content offers, promotions and existing channels. Nurture this asset to fuel growth.
How can startups build their email list?
Focus on website opt-ins, social media, collaborations, events, paid ads and offering content upgrades. Promote a compelling reason to subscribe across channels. Incentivize referrals to accelerate growth.
What metrics should startups track for email?
Monitor open rates, click-through rates, conversions, revenue, engagement over time, growth of your list and more. Use segmented data to optimize and enhance performance.
How often should startups send emails?
Test different sending frequencies and days to find the right cadence based on your industry norms and audience. Increase or decrease based on engagement data. Typically start slower until you identify optimal timing.
What are some email best practices for startups?
Focus on valuable content, strong subject lines, personalization, automation based on behaviors, promotions, re-engagement campaigns, optimization through testing and tightly integrating email with your other efforts.
How can startups improve email deliverability?
Proactively maintain list hygiene, authenticate your domain, carefully warm up new IPs, monitor spam complaints, avoid risky words and consistently deliver valuable content subscribers want. Deliverability above 95% is a reasonable goal.
How should startups design and test emails?
Leverage mobile-friendly templates from your ESP. Check rendering on different devices. Use tools like Litmus for testing. Try different layouts, copy lengths and styles. Test images as well. Continually refine creative.
What email service provider is best for startups?
Many ESPs like Mailchimp, SendGrid, ConvertKit and SendinBlue have free or low-cost plans ideal for get started. Compare features like templates, automation, reporting and ease of use to choose what fits your needs.