Inbound Marketing And Email Marketing Explained In 16 Steps

Email marketing is one of the most important tools in your marketing arsenal. It’s a tried-and-true method for getting your product and brand in front of potential customers but it’s also a lot more than just sending out mass emails.

In this post, we’ll explain how to use email marketing to grow your business, from what it is and how it works to creating an effective strategy and optimizing campaigns for maximum results.

Email Marketing Tutorial | Simplilearn – YouTube

Takeaways
1. Inbound marketing focuses on attracting and engaging prospects through valuable content.
2. It involves creating content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience.
3. Email marketing is a key component of inbound marketing, enabling personalized communication.
4. Effective email marketing involves segmenting your audience and sending relevant messages.
5. Inbound marketing aims to build lasting relationships and nurture leads over time.
6. Providing value through educational content establishes your authority in your industry.
7. Social media and content distribution play roles in amplifying inbound marketing efforts.
8. Inbound marketing aligns with modern consumer behavior, focusing on solving problems.
9. Email marketing’s effectiveness lies in delivering timely, targeted, and valuable content.
10. The customer journey and personalized experiences are central to successful inbound strategies.
11. Inbound marketing is about pulling prospects in through attraction and engagement.
12. Sharing insights and expertise can position your brand as a trusted resource.
13. Building a loyal audience requires consistent delivery of high-quality content.
14. Email marketing automation can enhance efficiency and provide a personalized touch.
15. Inbound marketing requires understanding your audience’s pain points and preferences.
16. By providing value upfront, inbound marketing leads to higher quality leads and conversions.

Table of Contents

1. What Is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is a strategy that focuses on attracting customers through content, social media and other online channels. If you’re unfamiliar with the term “inbound marketing,” you may also come across it as “inbound sales” or “inbound marketing and sales.”

Outbound marketing, on the other hand, refers to advertising messages that are sent out to potential customers via direct mail, email and phone calls.

In contrast to inbound marketing, which focuses on generating leads through content creation and distribution over the web, outbound marketers aim to reach their target audience via mass media advertisements such as TV commercials or billboards.

Building a successful inbound marketing strategy requires creativity and innovation. Explore some of the most creative examples of inbound marketing to inspire your own campaigns and engage your audience effectively.

2. Examples Of Inbound Marketing Vs. Outbound Marketing

To get a better understanding of the difference between inbound and outbound marketing, let’s look at some examples.

Inbound Marketing

Attracting customers to your website through content marketing, SEO (search engine optimization), social media, etc. This will help increase organic search traffic and get more visitors to your site.

Appealing to customers directly with email marketing that provides value by providing helpful information or discounts on products/services you offer.

These are both ways of attracting visitors by providing something of interest that they didn’t know about before coming across it on their own time.

Outbound Marketing:

Sending direct mailers or cold calls to potential customers off the street without any previous knowledge about those individuals’ interests or needs (e-mail lists).

This approach doesn’t allow for any personalization because it’s simply based on outdated demographic data collected online (or sometimes offline) which is not representative of actual individual tastes and desires so forget about getting any real ROI here!

3. What Is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is a form of direct marketing and advertising. It usually involves sending emails to potential or current customers.

Email marketing is one of the most common and effective ways to promote your business, website, blog, or product/service.

Here are some benefits of email marketing:

Can be used for lead generation, eCommerce sales, and customer retention campaigns
Low Cost – you only pay per click or engagement (opens)
Personalized Content – target specific users based on their interests, location, etc

This guide will explain how to start your email campaign from scratch using MailChimp in just 32 steps!

Want to ensure your content ranks high on search engines? Discover actionable tips in our article on earning a spot at the top of Google’s search results to enhance your content’s visibility and drive organic traffic.

4. Steps To Create An Email Marketing Strategy

Before you begin, there are four steps you need to take:

Understand Your Audience

You can’t send emails to people unless you know who they are. Find out what their interests and preferences are by asking them questions on your website, in surveys, and through social media.

Do this with an open mind. Don’t assume that because someone has visited your site before that they will want everything from the same types of products or services as someone else who visited at a different time.

Define Your Goals & Objectives

Before you start sending any emails out into the world, you must set yourself some clear goals for each campaign: what do you want people to do?

For example, do you want them to sign up for an email newsletter? If so then make sure there’s a link in each email that takes users directly into their inbox so they don’t have any excuses not to subscribe (and follow up afterward).

5. Outline Your Target Audience And Objectives

This is the first step in determining what you want to achieve with your inbound marketing strategy.

Define your target audience: The first thing you need to define is who will be receiving your emails. Consider things like age, gender, location, and industry as well as their online activity. Do they read blogs?

Do they watch videos? How often do they buy products online? Once you have an idea of who makes up your target audience, you can create tailored content for each group.

Define objectives: Objectives are essential goals for the email campaign that you’re creating or revising.

They can be anything from increasing sales revenue or gaining more leads to improving customer service or reducing churn rate (the percentage of customers leaving a service provider over time).

Objectives should align closely with business goals; if not then there’s no point setting them up at all because it won’t lead anywhere useful! So make sure all objectives align with larger business objectives before proceeding any further down this path towards success!

The landscape of marketing is evolving, with a shift towards inbound strategies. Learn more about the transition from traditional marketing in the post “The Death of Online Marketing, The Rise of Inbound Marketing” and understand the advantages of embracing inbound methodologies.

6. Create Buyer Personas

A buyer persona is a fictional person that represents your ideal customer. You’re probably already familiar with the concept of the target audience, which is another way of talking about a group of people who have similar characteristics and interests.

A buyer persona is different because it focuses on just one customer at a time, rather than an entire demographic or segmented group.

Buyer personas help you create content that speaks directly to your ideal customer’s needs and wants (which we will get into in detail in Step 7).

They also increase the likelihood that your content will resonate with them since they are designed specifically to address their pain points and offer valuable solutions.

7. Choose Your Email Marketing Software

Now that you have a general understanding of what inbound marketing is and how it works, it’s time to choose your email marketing software. When choosing your CRM (customer relationship management) and/or email marketing software, consider the following:

Affordability
Ease of use
Integration with other tools you use (like social media)
Reputation in the industry

You should also look for reporting and analytics capabilities so that you can track how your campaigns are performing. Some key features to look for include templates, segmentation, personalization, A/B testing capabilities, etc.

8. Set Up An Unsubscribe Option And A Mail Preference Centre

With email marketing, it’s important to make sure that your customers can easily unsubscribe from your list.

You need to make it easier for them to do this than opening up their inbox and finding them among all the other mails that come through without any indication of who they’ve been sent from or what they’re about.

This can be annoying and time-consuming for users so just make sure that you put yourself in their shoes before sending out any emails. If a user wants something different from what you’re offering, then let them opt out! If they don’t want anything else, then don’t send any more emails!

Your only goal should be to improve customer satisfaction rather than trying out new tactics just because some articles said it was a good idea (we’ll talk more about this later).

Curious about the differences between inbound and outbound marketing? Discover why many businesses are favoring inbound methods over outbound in our post on “Why Inbound Marketing Beats Outbound: 8 Ways” and explore how these strategies impact customer engagement.

9. Optimise Your Signup Form To Maximise Conversions

If you’re running an inbound marketing campaign, then you’ll want to make sure that your signup form is easy to use, find, fill out and understand.

Make it easy to use: You should make sure the form has a clear objective (e.g., download an ebook), with a call-to-action button that encourages users to click it (e.g., Download now!).

Furthermore, the confirmation page after completion should also be simple and well designed with a brief message explaining what they’ve just signed up for.

Make it easy to find: If they can’t find your signup form – which would be the case if it’s hidden in an obscure corner of your website or isn’t visible on other pages – then they’ll never fill it out! Don’t hide them away from users they need to be easily accessible so as many people as possible see them and can click through without any difficulties whatsoever (including those who visit via mobile devices).

Make sure people know exactly what they’re signing up for by including clear instructions & explanations within email templates.

Such as welcome series emails or thank you messages sent directly after someone submits their details online through different channels such as social media platforms like Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR).

Where there isn’t space available yet for lengthy paragraphs written about everything else besides just why this particular person should join/subscribe right now!

10. Aim For A Healthy List, Not A Large One

One of the biggest mistakes you can make with your email marketing strategy is to let your list grow without any regard for quality.

If you’re sending out a ton of unnecessary messages, or if you have thousands of addresses on your list that aren’t relevant to your business, then it might be time to start cleaning house. The benefits of keeping your lists clean are numerous:

Your emails will have a better chance of being delivered (and read) by subscribers who are more likely to open and click through them
You won’t waste money paying for unopened and unsubscribed emails which can be expensive in terms of both time and money
Email providers like Gmail may label certain accounts as spammy if they believe there is too much-unsolicited information coming from those domains

11. Use Double Opt-In To Ensure Every Email Address Is Valid And Belongs To A Real Person

Double opt-in is a way to ensure that the person who subscribes to your list is a real person. The subscriber receives an email asking them to confirm their email address.

If they don’t confirm, the email address is dropped from your database and not added as a subscriber in MailChimp or any other platform.

Double opt-in is also one of the best ways to avoid spam complaints and keep your deliverability rate high.

Because it verifies that every email address belongs to a real human being who has intentionally opted in for emails from you instead of clicking on a link that may have been maliciously placed by hackers or spammers.

12. Segment Your Email Lists Based On Buyer Personas Or Behaviours

If you’re sending emails to your customers and you don’t segment your list, then all the recipients will receive the same email.

Segmenting helps you target content to a specific audience based on buyer personas or behaviors. You can segment based on location, demographics, interests, etc.

13. Personalise Emails By Including The Customer’s Name

This is a good way to make the recipient feel special, while also helping you get more clicks and conversions. If possible, use double opt-in to ensure every email address is valid and belongs to a real person who wants to receive messages from your business.

This will help you ensure that you aren’t sending messages to fake addresses; it also provides proof that you are not spamming recipients

Looking for a growth strategy that’s effective and customer-centric? Dive into our article on “Why Inbound Marketing Is the Best Way to Grow Your Business” to uncover the benefits of inbound marketing and how it aligns with modern consumer behavior.

14. Test Different Subject Lines And Preview Text Before Sending Emails Out To All Contacts In A List

If you haven’t already, it’s time to start testing. Many tools can help you do this.

You can use a tool like MailChimp or Constant Contact (which is owned by MailChimp) to test different subject lines and preview text for your emails before sending them out to all of your contacts in a list.

You’ll also want to track your click-through rates so that you know which ones are performing best and what has the highest open rate? What has the highest click-through rate? Are some of your emails getting sent straight into junk mail folders without ever being opened?

Finally, if you’re using an email service provider like Constant Contact or AWeber (both mentioned above), they offer other services that will allow you to test different subject lines and preview text before sending them out too!

15. Make Sure You’re Working From Mobile-Friendly Templates That Can Be Read Across Devices, Including Smartphones And Tablets

If your emails aren’t readable on mobile devices, they won’t get read at all. This is the biggest mistake I see in email marketing campaigns content is too small to read!

If your newsletter looks great on a desktop computer but impossible to read on a phone, you’re missing out on potential subscribers who don’t want their eyes strained to try to decipher which button says “Subscribe” and which says “Unsubscribe.”

16. Design Emails For Easy Scanning As Opposed To Reading Word-For-Word On Mobile Devices, Where Users Are More Likely To Skim Content Instead Of Reading It Entirely On Their Phones’ Small Screens.

Email design is essential to the success of your campaigns. If you’re not designing your emails properly, you could be missing out on a lot of opportunities.

Use short paragraphs and sentences
Add images
Add bold text to emphasize important points or highlight important information like prices, deadlines, and other key pieces of info (but don’t overdo it!)
Add italicized text to indicate emphasis or possibly even sarcasm if necessary (not recommended)

Email design is essential to the success of your campaigns. If you’re not designing your emails properly, you could be missing out on a lot of opportunities.

Conclusion

So, in summary, inbound marketing, and email marketing are both powerful tools that can help your business grow. They’re not interchangeable approaches; they each have their strengths and weaknesses.

If you’re looking for a way to reach more customers without spending money on expensive advertising campaigns or hiring an army of salespeople (which could be counterproductive), then this might be just what you need.

FAQs

Have questions about inbound marketing? Here are some answers to commonly asked questions:

What is inbound marketing, and how does it differ from outbound marketing?

Inbound marketing focuses on attracting and engaging potential customers through valuable content and experiences. Unlike outbound marketing, which involves reaching out to a broader audience with messages, inbound marketing draws prospects in naturally.

Can email marketing be considered inbound marketing?

Email marketing can be a part of both inbound and outbound strategies. When emails are personalized, relevant, and provide value to recipients, they align with the principles of inbound marketing by nurturing relationships and encouraging engagement.

How can manufacturing companies benefit from inbound marketing?

Manufacturing companies can leverage inbound marketing to showcase expertise, share educational content, and build relationships within their industry. By providing valuable insights and solutions, they can attract leads and position themselves as thought leaders.

What are some examples of successful inbound marketing campaigns?

Successful inbound marketing campaigns often focus on addressing customer pain points, offering solutions, and delivering valuable content. An example could be a series of blog posts that provide in-depth guides to solving common industry challenges.

Is inbound marketing suitable for all types of businesses?

Inbound marketing can be effective for a wide range of businesses, from small startups to large enterprises. It’s particularly valuable for businesses that aim to build long-term relationships with their audience and provide value through informative content.

Costantine Edward

Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.