Your Guide to Email Marketing by Total Merchandise: Part 1

Countless reports have shared that email has a higher return on investment than any other marketing channel. Email marketing is a long-standing, effective way to draw in clicks through to your website, to drive sales, and to increase your business’ revenue. We’ve put together a complete guide full of best practices for your email marketing to help with the success of your future campaigns.

Understand Why You Need Email Marketing

Email is an important part of your marketing strategy, and it’s important to understand why it is essential before you begin your campaign. Firstly, email is the top communication channel for businesses. In fact, research has shown that around 91% of consumers check their email inbox every day.

Furthermore, email marketing is important because it has a great conversion rate. Email conversions are three-fold higher than social media conversions, with studies showing that consumers who purchase products via email marketing spend 138% more than those who do not receive their offers via email - that's a pretty big deal!

Get Your List Together

Over time you have the opportunity to organically grow your mailing list. While it is possible to buy email lists, this is not something we recommend, as it is far better to share your email campaigns with people who have signed up for them and are genuinely interested in your brand, rather than those who will send it straight to their trash. Plus, with the introduction of new laws and regulations such GDPR, if you're found to be emailing people without their permission your company could suffer some serious consequences! Those who have opted in to hear from you are far likely to buy from you. So how can you get your list together?

Firstly, you could have a popup call-to-action box on your website, offering people the chance to join your mailing list by submitting their email address.

A good way to encourage people to join is by offering something - it could be a free e-book, a complimentary consultation, a free gift, or a voucher/code for money off of their next order. These offerings, known as lead magnets, are enticing and you are far more likely to build your mailing list quicker. Just know that a lead magnet does not have to cost your company anything – for instance, if you have a food brand you could offer a free recipe PDF when someone signs up to your mailing list. What is important to remember is that people love instant gratification, so if you are rewarding people with something they can instantly access when signing up to your mailing list, you should stand a good chance of them being interested in your future email campaigns.

To learn more about how you can utilise email marketing to benefit your business' recognition and ultimately increase sales, take a look at part two of this guide. 

Written by

Adam Carter | Head of Products

Adam has been leading the Product team for over 18 years, during which time he's built up an enviable reputation as one of the industry's most trusted authorities on promotional merchandise. As well as supplier relations, product sourcing and pricing, Adam is also responsible for ensuring our promotional merchandise is presented on the website in the most effective manner. His expertise makes him the go-to person on the team for spotting merchandise trends and he's highly experienced in identifying the best branded products to meet our customers' needs. When he's not working, Adam enjoys travel, electronic music and all forms of cinema.

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