How Email Marketing Can Work for You: A #CMWorld Twitter Chat with Bernie Fussenegger

“You’ve got mail.”

CMI PR and Video Consultant Amanda Subler and I worked with the man who voiced this famous AOL phrase. (He wasn’t an Uber driver back then, and he did more than notify us of incoming email.)

If you think about it, that phrase was first recorded in 1989. The first email was sent long before that. Marketing tactics and channels come and go. So why is email still relevant today?

B2The7’s Bernie Fussenegger helps brands create emails customers want to read. He also write a successful newsletter of his own. That’s why we asked him to be a guest on the #CMWorld Twitter chat. Bernie shared why email is effective. He also gave his tips for strengthening our email marketing strategy.

It was a great chat with new learnings and good reminders. What follows is a brief recap. See more tips from Bernie and our community on Twitter.

Based on CMI’s latest research, email consistently ranks as one of the top ways marketers distribute their content. With many emerging tactics and channels, why is email still one of the most effective marketing strategies?

A1a: With Email, you own the list, you own the content, you own the frequency & email lets you interact with your audiences at a higher level. You can be very segmented and targeted #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A1b: Email marketing should be part of your digital strategy for brand awareness and brand loyalty. Email marketing is still one of the most effective channels when it comes to ROI #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A1c: Email marketing is great for building relationships with your prospects, leads, current customers and past customers. These individuals raised their hand, given you data and said they want to hear from you. #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A1d: Email marketing allows you be be more personalized, targeted and segmented which allows you to send more relevant communications based on the data you have on your customers = better relationships & loyalty. #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A1e: Emails subscribers are generally going to be your more loyal customers – you have data on these customers which enable more relevant and personalized content. #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A1f: What do you do if social media goes away? You rely on your owned channels – website and email. Never build on rented land or be cautious! #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A1: Email is effective because it’s a great way to test content in real-time. It’s also highly targetable and inexpensive. #CMWorld

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) January 12, 2021

a1: it’s an owned channel that can be segmented ande used in so many different ways, to reach so many different audiences.

it’s not one size fits all and as a marketer you can adjust your content and stories to adapt.#CMWorld

— Lauren (@laurfarrell) January 12, 2021

A1. Relationship building and accessibility. It’s true that many emails get ignored, but well-planned, concise email campaigns can help get the right solution to the right people. #CMWorld https://t.co/EDWnOa4fYV

— (((Emily L. Phelps))) (@SouthpawTales) January 12, 2021

If you’re looking to start an email marketing campaign from scratch, what’s the first step you should take?

A2a: Before you begin an email program…

– Determine what your goals and objectives are
– Target audience
– The content
– What to measure (what does success mean?)
– What are you doing with the data
– How does email compliment other programs#CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A2b: Steps for each campaign.

– From Name
– Clear subject lines
– Relevant Pre-header
– Personalize & relvant content
– Clear call to action
– Measurable KPIs
– Test, Test and test some more (A/B testing)#CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A2c: Choose a email provider that meets your needs but also allows for program growth and the ability to be omni-channel. #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A2d: A/B testing and testing in general for content, subject lines, call-to-action areas and frequency will also help with engagement and optimal results. #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A2: The first step should (always) be to ID your audience and understand their needs. Email is a powerful tool, but it’s useless without the addresses of relevant people with whom you’ve built some relationship. Cold calling/list buying is so 1980s 🙂 #CMWorld

— Mike Myers ? (@mikemyers614) January 12, 2021

A2) When starting any effort, make sure your GOALS and INTENTIONS are clear. You can always shift and adjust with time and experience, but you must always be sure you have a PURPOSE to why you are doing something, like an email campaign, to begin with. #cmworld

— OnePitch (@onepitchsaas) January 12, 2021

There are many ways people read email. How do you know your reader will have the best experience?

A4a: Data and analytics are your friend when it comes to email performance – how your subscribers engage, click and even where they are reading your email. #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A4b: I’m a personal fan of using @litmusapp as part of the pre-send process and for also placing Litmus pixels within the email for even deeper audience/email performance analysis. #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A4c: Analytics and data are great, but also reach out to your engaged and non-engage subscribers to ask them the why, what needs to be improved and what they expect. Always be looking for real insights #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A4d: Metrics that I like to measure (can be different for each campaign)

– Open Rates
– Click-through rates
– Click to open rates
– Conversion rates
– Bounce rates
– Unsub rates
– Engagement rate
– List growth
– Campaign specific metrics
– Device#CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A4:

For me, clear headings, neat and tidy layouts & plenty of white spaces will keep even the wordiest emails nice to look at and easy to digest – a good experience.

But the best way to know what works for your subscribers is to ask them for feedback. #CMWorld

— James Tennant (@JamesConverge) January 12, 2021

A4. Using the test feature on an email campaign is critical! Send it to yourself, click all the links, make sure that what you are building is translating correctly before sending it out to your contacts. #CMWorld

— Allee Creative, LLC (@alleecreative) January 12, 2021

A4. Here’s my approach: ask yourself and honestly answer it: would you read this email? If it’s a ‘yes,’ your audience it likely to enjoy the reading experience too. If it’s a ‘no,’ work on the newsletter design, content, and whitespace. #CMWorld

— Masooma | Content Writer (@inkandcopy) January 12, 2021

A4: Good software provides insight into user behavior with #email: reading depth, links clicked etc. Depending on resources, I’d either choose the winning points or, if equal segments are obvious, create 2-3 versions and segment the audience based on their reading habits #CMWorld https://t.co/zR6eStze1S

— Natasha Kvitka (@natasha_kvitka) January 12, 2021

In addition to the solid insights, Bernie and our community gave their suggestions for their favorite emails.

A7c: Corporate brands that are standing apart…@mixtiles@Zappos@netflix@DollarShaveClub@amazonmusic@Amazon

Social channels – Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn#CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A7d: Solo brands/peeps that are standing apart and providing great value@cgritmon @dshiao @ryanfoland @MarketingProfs @mike_allton @JuliaEMcCoy @dgingiss @elanaleoni#CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) January 12, 2021

A7. I like emails that include quality content and don’t try to push any products down my throat.
The emails I often open come from @Grammarly, @HubSpot, @databoxHQ, @raconteur, and @circlearound_ #CMWorld

— Teodora Ema Pirciu (@emapirciu) January 12, 2021

A7: I love what @carney_co does in The Daily Carnage. There’s a survey in each newsletter related to hot industry topics. Gets readers involved and automatically directs you to the rest of the content/page with valuable content and article quick-links. #CMWorld

— Melissa Harrison (@MHBossLady) January 12, 2021

The @whole30 team and Melissa Urban are killing the newsletter game – everything they send always feels relevant and timely, and I open and read every week.

— Karen but not one of *those* Karens (@nochillfilter) January 12, 2021

I also LOVE @MarketingBrew and @MarketingProfs for industry news and trends, always open and read!

— Karen but not one of *those* Karens (@nochillfilter) January 12, 2021

Which reminds me, since I’m already shouting newsletters: @JamesConverge emails, TrendingUP is the epitome of value in an easy to read format. Worth subscribing #CMWorld community.

— Masooma | Content Writer (@inkandcopy) January 12, 2021

What brands do you think stand above the crowd when it comes to email marketing? I’d love to know. Let me a comment. I’m always looking for new newsletters to subscribe to.

Want to learn more about Bernie? Watch my interview with him on Beyond the Chat.

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