What is Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) marketing ?

Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) 

Never heard of direct mail marketing using electronic means? You’re not the only one, most likely. In this blog post, we describe EDM marketing ( Electronic Direct Mail ), and contrast it with traditional email marketing efforts.

306.4 billion emails were sent and received daily worldwide in 2020. Email marketing tactics are crucial for your company’s marketing efforts because almost everyone in the world has an email address and email marketing continues to have the highest ROI.

Table of contents :

1. what is Electronic Direct Mail marketing ?
2. EDM marketing vs email marketing: What’s the difference?
3. How to create an EDM marketing campaign?

                     Define your goals:

                     Build your email list

                     Segment your list

                     Create compelling content

                     Test and optimize

                     Schedule and send

                     Measure and analyze

                     Follow-up

4. Conclusion

what is Electronic Direct Mail marketing?

Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) marketing is a form of digital marketing that uses email as a means of communicating with customers and prospects. The goal of EDM marketing is to build relationships with customers, promote products and services, and drive conversions such as website visits, product purchases, or event sign-ups. EDM campaigns can include a variety of elements, such as text, images, videos, and links, and can be targeted to specific segments of a mailing list based on demographics, behavior, or other criteria. EDM campaigns are typically created and managed using email marketing software and can be automated to reach customers at specific times or triggered by specific actions, such as website visits or abandoned shopping carts.

EDM marketing vs email marketing: What’s the difference?

EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing and email marketing are similar in that they both use email as a means of communicating with customers and prospects, but there are some key differences between the two.

Purpose: EDM marketing is typically more focused on building relationships with customers and driving conversions, whereas email marketing can also include transactional emails such as order confirmations and shipping notifications.

Targeting: EDM campaigns are typically more targeted and personalized, as they are often segmented based on demographics, behavior, or other criteria. Email marketing, on the other hand, may be sent to a broader audience with less segmentation.

Automation: EDM campaigns are often automated, meaning they are triggered by specific actions or scheduled to be sent at specific times. Email marketing may be less automated and more ad-hoc.

Design: EDM campaigns tend to be more visually appealing, with a greater emphasis on design and branding. Email marketing may be more text-based and functional.

In summary, EDM is a subset of Email Marketing, where the focus is more on direct sales and relationship building, whereas Email marketing can include various types of emails like transactional emails, newsletters, etc.

How to create an EDM marketing campaign?

Creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign involves several steps:

1. Define your goals: Identify what you want to achieve with your campaign, such as increasing website traffic, boosting sales, or building brand awareness.
2. Build your email list: Use opt-in forms on your website, social media, and other channels to grow your list of subscribers. Make sure to comply with the GDPR and other regulations related to data privacy.
3. Segment your list: Divide your list into smaller groups based on demographics, behavior, or other criteria to create more targeted campaigns.
4. Create compelling content: Design your emails to be visually appealing and easy to read, and include persuasive calls to action.
5. Test and optimize: Use A/B testing to determine which elements of your emails are most effective, and make adjustments accordingly.
6. Schedule and send: Use email marketing software to schedule your emails and send them to your list.
7. Measure and analyze: Track the performance of your campaign using metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, and use that data to improve your future campaigns.
8. Follow-up: Based on the results, you can create a follow-up sequence of email.

It’s important to keep in mind that an effective EDM marketing campaign requires ongoing effort, and requires testing and optimizing over time to see the best results.

Define your goals:

Defining your goals for an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is an important first step in creating a successful campaign. This step involves identifying what you want to achieve with your campaign, such as increasing website traffic, boosting sales, or building brand awareness. This helps you to focus your efforts and measure the success of your campaign.

For example, if your goal is to increase website traffic, you might focus on driving clicks to your website through your email campaigns. This could include creating compelling content that encourages readers to click through to your website, using clear and prominent calls-to-action, and segmenting your list to target specific groups of customers who are more likely to be interested in your products or services.

If your goal is to boost sales, your focus might be on creating emails that persuade customers to make a purchase. This could include using persuasive language, highlighting special offers or promotions, and showcasing customer testimonials.

Similarly, if your goal is to build brand awareness, you might focus on creating emails that are visually appealing and on-brand, and that are designed to create a sense of familiarity and trust with your customers.

Build your email list:

The second step in creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is to build your email list. This involves collecting the contact information of people who are interested in receiving emails from your business. There are several ways to do this, such as using opt-in forms on your website, social media, and other channels.

An opt-in form is a simple form that allows visitors to your website to sign up to receive emails from your business. These forms can be placed on your website, on your social media profiles, or on other online platforms. They typically ask for the visitor’s name and email address, and may also ask for additional information such as the visitor’s location or interests.

It’s important to comply with the data privacy regulations when collecting and managing email addresses. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) are examples of regulations that businesses need to comply with. These regulations require that businesses obtain explicit consent from individuals before collecting and using their personal data. This means that individuals must be clearly informed of what data is being collected, how it will be used, and who it will be shared with. Businesses also need to provide individuals with the ability to opt out of receiving communications at any time.

Once you have collected a list of email addresses, you can use email marketing software to manage and segment your list, and to send targeted and personalized emails to specific groups of customers.

Segment your list:

The third step in creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is to segment your list. Segmentation refers to the process of dividing your email list into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics, behavior, or other characteristics. This allows you to create more targeted campaigns that are better suited to the needs and interests of different groups of customers.

For example, you might segment your list based on demographics, such as age, gender, or location. This would allow you to create campaigns that are tailored to the specific interests and needs of different age groups, genders, or regions.

Another way to segment your list is based on behavior, such as purchase history, website interactions, or email engagement. This allows you to create campaigns that are tailored to the specific needs and interests of different groups of customers based on their past behavior.

You can also segment your list based on other criteria, such as interests, job title, or income level. This allows you to create campaigns that are tailored to the specific needs and interests of different groups of customers based on other characteristics.

By segmenting your list, you can create more targeted and personalized campaigns that are better suited to the needs and interests of different groups of customers. This can lead to higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, and can help you to build stronger relationships with your customers over time.

Create compelling content:

The fourth step in creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is to create compelling content. This step involves designing your emails to be visually appealing, easy to read, and persuasive, and including calls-to-action that encourage readers to take a specific action, such as visiting your website, making a purchase, or signing up for an event.

Visually appealing emails should have a clear and consistent design that is on-brand and easy on the eyes. This can include using a consistent color scheme, font, and imagery, and using images and videos to break up text and make the email more engaging.

The content of the email should be easy to read, with clear and concise language, and a logical structure that guides the reader through the message. The email should also be optimized for mobile devices, as many people read their emails on their phones.

Calls-to-action (CTA) are the buttons or links that encourage readers to take a specific action, such as visiting your website, making a purchase, or signing up for an event. They should be clear, prominent and compelling.

In addition, the email should include persuasive elements that encourage the reader to take the desired action. This can include using persuasive language, highlighting the benefits of taking the desired action, and addressing any potential objections or concerns the reader might have.

Test and optimize:

The fifth step in creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is to test and optimize your emails. This step involves using A/B testing to determine which elements of your emails are most effective, and making adjustments accordingly.

A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a method of comparing two versions of an email (version A and version B) to determine which one performs better. This can be done by sending the two versions of the email to a small sample of your email list and comparing the results, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

For example, you might test different subject lines, headlines, images, layouts, or calls-to-action to see which elements are most effective in driving engagement and conversions. Once you have determined the elements that are most effective, you can make adjustments to your emails accordingly.

It’s important to keep in mind that testing and optimization is an ongoing process. It’s not just a one-time event, you should continuously test different elements of your emails to see what works best and what doesn’t. This can help you to improve the performance of your emails over time and to build stronger relationships with your customers.

Schedule and send:

The sixth step in creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is to schedule and send your emails. This step involves using email marketing software to schedule when your emails will be sent, and to send them to your list of subscribers.

Email marketing software typically allows you to create, manage and schedule your emails, and also allows you to automate your email campaigns. This means that you can schedule your emails to be sent at specific times, such as on certain days of the week, or at specific times of the day. You can also set up automated email campaigns, which are triggered by specific actions, such as website visits or abandoned shopping carts.

Once you have created your email and set a schedule, you can use the email marketing software to send your email to your list of subscribers. The software will handle the technical aspects of sending the email and will also provide you with detailed reports on the performance of your emails, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

It’s important to consider the best time to send the emails, because sending emails at the right time can improve the open rates, click-through rates and conversions.

Measure and analyze:

The seventh step in creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is to measure and analyze the performance of your campaign. This step involves tracking key metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, and using that data to improve your future campaigns.

Open rates refer to the percentage of people who opened your email, click-through rates refer to the percentage of people who clicked on a link in your email, and conversions refer to the number of people who completed a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for an event. These metrics can be used to gauge the effectiveness of your campaign and to identify areas for improvement.

Most email marketing software will provide detailed reports on the performance of your emails, including open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. These reports can be used to track the performance of your campaign over time and to identify patterns or trends in your data.

Once you have identified patterns or trends in your data, you can use that information to make adjustments to your campaigns, such as testing new subject lines, headlines, images, layouts, or calls-to-action, or adjusting the scheduling of your emails. This can help you to improve the performance of your emails over time and to build stronger relationships with your customers.

Follow-up:

The eighth step in creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is to create a follow-up sequence of emails. This step involves creating a series of follow-up emails based on the results of your initial campaign, and using that series of emails to continue to engage with your customers and drive conversions.

A follow-up sequence of emails allows you to continue the conversation with your subscribers even after the first email has been sent. It can be used to nurture leads, remind subscribers of abandoned shopping carts, upsell or cross-sell products, and more.

There are a few different ways to create a follow-up sequence of emails:

• Automated email sequence: Email marketing software can be used to set up an automated sequence of follow-up emails that are triggered by specific actions, such as website visits or abandoned shopping carts.
• Manual follow-up: You can also create a manual follow-up sequence of emails that are sent out based on specific events, such as the subscriber’s birthday or the anniversary of their first purchase.
• Drip Campaigns: A drip campaign is a series of automated emails that are sent out on a schedule, for example, a welcome series for new subscribers, or a series of educational emails for a product launch.

It’s important to consider the timing of the follow-up emails, and the content of the emails. The follow-up emails should be timely, relevant, and provide value to the subscribers.

Conclusion :

Creating an EDM (electronic direct mail) marketing campaign is a multi-step process that involves defining your goals, building your email list, segmenting your list, creating compelling content, testing and optimizing your emails, scheduling and sending your emails, measuring and analyzing the performance of your campaign, and creating a follow-up sequence of emails. Each of these steps is important for creating effective and successful EDM campaigns.

Overall, a successful EDM marketing campaign requires ongoing effort and testing and optimizing over time to see the best.

 

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