We previously discussed just how important a high functioning website is to your SaaS Marketing Strategy. With an impressive website you are in an excellent position to start looking at other proven inbound strategies. This post is the first in a two-part series delving into the power of email marketing. Often considered to the underdog of inbound techniques, if you can master email, the potential ROI is unprecedented…
Bringing up the topic of email marketing within a SaaS marketing strategy is usually greeted with two schools of thought; The first proclaiming email is an ‘old hat’ strategy that has long gone the way of phone cold calling. Expect your messages to go unanswered and your call to action ignored.
Conversely, others will try to convince you that email is the single most underrated SaaS Marketing Strategy. If you have yet to find success perhaps you’re approaching it in the wrong way.
After all, not everyone is on Twitter, Facebook, or your SMM channel of choice, however, absolutely everyone has an email address. According to HubSpot, for 86% of professionals, email is their communication method of choice.
If you think it’s time for you and your business to start utilising email marketing, great! But before you start designing, running, and optimizing those stellar email campaigns there are a few fundamentals you’ll need to have in place….
Choosing Your Email Provider
Email marketing is not something you’re going to be able to do effectively from the comfort of your Business email account. You should be familiar with the idea of automation from other areas of your marketing activities and that’s exactly the tactic you’ll need to implement here and to do so you’ll need a dedicated client.
Discerning whether a marketing professional is well-versed in the latest technology needs to be among the key questions you ask before hiring a SaaS marketer.
There are many excellent options available – the best choice for you and your business will depend on your goals and budget. MailChimp is a leader in the email marketing space and for good reason, they deliver impeccable service and are cost-effective.
We have previously discussed the power of CRM software – having the ability to integrate email marketing with the rest of your marketing activities cannot be understated. For our pick at Ingenio, we recommend HubSpot, the industry-leading standard.
Auditing Your Database In Compliance With GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation laws were imposed on the 25th of May 2018. The legislation brought in by the EU regulates the processing and handling of personal data, and for good reason.
Marketers have been forced to rethink and reconceptualise their practices around consent. It’s important to familiarise yourself with the following terms;
If your business still operates using these ‘old hat’ techniques fines up to 20 million euro or 4% of a company’s total global annual turnover. As well as damage to reputation, there are many repercussions that you could face….
- Premade/Purchased Lists: Sending unsolicited emails to people who have never been notified about your business. Purchasing or scraping their contact information from the internet.
- Opt-Out: Sending out emails to users that give you their contact information for any reason. Rather than giving the contact the option to opt-in, this puts the burden on them to opt-out.
- Passive Opt-In: Contacts the “option” to opt-in, but the checkbox will be pre-checked.
Quite simply; honesty is the best policy. Being transparent & genuine in your business activities connects with your customer base and stand to you over the long run.
In this day and age of Internet 3.0, consumers have become savvier with their online activities, with most being able to identify an untrustworthy business from a mile away.
If you intend to use “grey hat” tactics (practices that blur the line legally and ethically) you may find short-term success, but long-term this will be damaging to your authority and legitimacy in the market.
Do you want to be known as a business that makes your customers jump through hoops when interacting with you? or would you rather the reputation of the outstanding though-leader operating within your industry?
If it’s the latter here are some practices you can start implementing straight away;
- Consent should come from a positive opt-in, not pre-ticked boxes
- Separate consent requests from other terms and conditions
- Provide instructions on how people can withdraw consent so they can do it easily
- Keep a detailed record of who consented, when, and how.
- Regularly review your existing consent practices & opt-ins.
If you need further information on auditing your email marketing in compliance with GDPR practices, check out this comprehensive infographic from sendinblue.
First Impressions Are Everything
Your introduction is a key element of your SaaS marketing strategy. For example, new subscribers and customers receive your welcome email as the first communication they receive from you so it will need to stand out.
During those moments when people are engaged with your business, welcome emails are particularly important because they serve as your first impression. It is common for welcome emails to be opened more often than average, so be sure to deliver value right away.
Greeting them warmly, describing what they should expect from you in the future, and offering value right away is crucial.
Through automation, you will be able to send a welcome email automatically to every new contact once you’ve set it up.
Great Copywriting Is Essential To Your SaaS Marketing Strategy
Copywriting is like a muscle that will constantly need to be exercised if you hope to be successful. Perhaps your social media strategy has been effective and you have tried and tested CTA’s working successfully on PPC campaigns. Don’t expect to apply the same techniques to email and find immediate success.
Each channel will require a different approach and rigorous A/B testing to crack the winning formula. The niche in which your business operates will largely dictate the writing style. Do your subject lines need humour to appeal to your audience or would humour have the opposite effect?
Regardless of tone, your message needs to be short and snappy – keep it to 40 characters or less. Consider asking a compelling question, including a deadline, or just teasing your message to draw attention.
Overthinking this might be what’s holding you back, consider asking yourself these three questions;
- Headline: What are you offering?
- Message body: How will it help the reader?
- Call to action: What should they do next?
If you need a dedicated SaaS Marketer to excel in your email marketing strategy Find Hiring Solutions for your business today!
Since 2015, Ingenio has been providing SaaS staffing for top technology companies. Our experts at Ingenio are passionate about finding and placing Saas staff, so we remain at the forefront of innovative recruiting approaches.
If you would like to receive exclusive access to content about improving your SaaS marketing strategy, fill out the form below and join our SaaS community!
Written by James Coffey
[hubspot portal=”6777644″ id=”699d62db-8da4-4ce8-9727-548e2aef97a3″ type=”form”]