Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective channels for building brands. 

With an average return on investment (ROI) of $42 for every dollar spent, it is easy to see why brands are jumping on the email marketing bandwagon. 

But there’s another side to this marketing channel that many people don’t recognize. And that’s the ability to allow businesses to establish personalized, one-on-one communication with their target audiences. 

As a matter of fact, 72% of Gen X and 64% of Millennials cite email as “the most personal channel” to receive communications from brands. 

This represents a huge opportunity for people building brands on a budget to get their message in front of people who will respond to it. 

So how can you use email marketing to build your brand?

Before we get to that, let’s take a look at why building a strong brand identity is important for any business.

The Importance of Building Strong Brands Identity

Brand identity is the overall perception that a consumer has about a company or product. 

Naturally, this perception is formed through multiple interactions with the company and its products. 

One of the most important aspects of building a strong brand identity is the consistent branding of the company’s messaging.

This is especially important for small businesses, which are often dependent on their brand to gain attention and respect. 

By creating brand-centric messages that are consistent across your marketing and communication channels, you can establish a solid foundation for your brand. 

Over time, people will begin to associate your brand with a certain level of reliability and trust, allowing you to: 

• Attract new customers,
• Keep your existing customers, and
• Build brand loyalty. 

Email marketing is a great way to establish a solid brand identity based on solid brand development principles. 

You can use it to: 

• Communicate with your audience in a personal and relevant way,
• Reach them at the most opportune time, and
• Interact with them on a regular basis. 

That creates a solid platform for building brand identity and credibility. 

Ten Steps to Building Brands Via Email Marketing

There are many ways you can use email to build a strong brand identity for your business. Here are ten ways to get started: 

Adopt Strict Branding Guidelines Across Your Campaigns

Adhering to a set of predefined branding guidelines can help you maintain a consistent, reliable brand.

Your logo, the font type, and even the tone of your messaging should maintain a level of consistency that will help you build rapport with subscribers.

In the long run, this will help you create a consistent visual identity for your company, making your brand instantly recognizable.

Double Down on Personalization

Adding a touch of personalization in your emails will give your audience the sense that they are interacting with a real person.

This can help to establish a level of trust and rapport that will help your audience respond more positively.

Besides, the act of personalization can help to create an emotional connection with your subscribers, which will lead to better conversion rates. 

But how can you personalize your emails? There are a few different ways you can go about it. For example, you can: 

• Include your subscriber’s name in the subject line,
• Add a personalized greeting in the body text, 
• Include a personal note, etc.

All of these actions can help to create a personal connection with your subscribers.

Those using autoresponders can take personalization a step further by using list segmentation. A software like Mailvio, for instance, will allow you to segment your lists based on certain criteria, such as:

• Gender,
• Age,
• Location,
• Interests,
• Purchase history, etc.

This will allow you to deliver messages that are more relevant to each segment, resulting in better engagement and conversion rates. 

Don’t Get Too “Salesy”

 You will not win a popularity contest if you come across as a hard-sell, pushy salesperson. 

People are looking for real value, not just a pitch for your products or services.

That means that you should be mindful of any type of direct sales approach in your emails.

Instead, focus on building a relationship with your subscribers by providing them with real value.

As a rule of thumb, your newsletter should be 90% educational and informative and 10% promotional.

In other words, it should solve a problem, provide a solution, or teach a new skill.

It should be something that your audience can benefit from and something that you know your audience will be interested in.

if you are offering a new software solution, your email should contain something like this:

“Hey, [NAME], I’m excited to announce that [SOLUTION] is finally available to you. It will make your life easier and will save you tons of time and money. 

You can get [SOLUTION] today at [LINK]”

The point is, your emails should provide a solution to a problem, not just a pitch for your products or services.

Craft Eye-Catching Subject Lines 

Did you know that 64% of all recipients make a decision to open an email based on the subject line alone? Indeed, a catchy subject line can make a huge difference in your overall open rates.

As such, you should invest a lot of time and effort in crafting compelling subject lines for newsletters.

There are several things to keep in mind when writing your subject lines: 

• Make sure that they are short and to the point,
• Use an emotional trigger,
• Use simple and clear language,
• Avoid using all caps and exclamation marks
• Use a question to encourage the reader to open your email, etc.

You can even use emojis in your subject lines to make them more engaging and boost your open rates. 

Remember, good subject lines are the backbone of any good email marketing strategy. 

Optimize for Mobile Devices

Your marketing campaign will hit a lot of roadblocks if you are not optimizing for mobile. According to data from 99Firms, 85% of users use their mobile phones to access their inboxes.

Building a credible brand requires a well-designed email that looks good across a variety of devices. Poorly designed emails can harm your brand reputation and turn off subscribers.

Proofreading the emails for any coding inaccuracies and grammatical errors is also advisable.

We’ve compiled a few tips for preventing email rendering challenges and delivering aesthetically pleasing campaigns:

Use Standard Instead of Custom Bullets

Using custom bullets could lead to improper alignment due to “indentation issues” in the email. It could also lead to faulty rendering in smartphones and tablets.

Add Alt Tags on All Images

Did you know that many email clients have images disabled by default? So, when an image doesn’t load, users will be left wondering what the image is about.

Adding alt tags will tell them what the image is about.

Use CSS Instead of JavaScript

JavaScript might be the ultimate website design tool, but emails do not support it. For flawless rendering, use CSS instead.

Use Web-Safe Instead of Custom Fonts

Fonts like Tahoma, Arial, and Courier are your safest bet to ensure proper rendering. As cool as they may be, many custom fonts don’t render properly in every email client.

Maintain 80: 20 Text to Image Ratio

Failing to do so will trigger spam filters, landing your campaign in the spam folder. Just make sure your messages don’t consist of images alone. 

Forward Subscribers to Your Blog/Website

One of the most effective ways to redirect recipients to your blog is to include a compelling CTA. To stimulate people to click on your links, you’ll need to use creative wording that:

1. Creates excitement
2. Suggest the next step for them to take.

In your CTA, use actionable terms such as “Download Now!” or “Sign Up Now!”.

Readers need to feel engaged and motivated to act. Take things to the next level by using personalized call-to-actions, which can increase your readers’ trust even further.

If a brand’s blog or website is easily accessible, consumers will be more inclined to trust the brand. And that is extremely important for building brands with a strong customer base.

Nevertheless, you are not limited to sending your readers to your blog only. An article or magazine featuring your brand could be an excellent place to direct consumers.

Add Social Media Links

In order to build better visibility in the digital marketplace, brands need to drive organic traffic on social media. This can be accomplished with emails. 

You should include social media links in your emails so that subscribers can connect with you through these platforms.

An active social media presence can build trust among the subscribers and allow you to connect with them on a personal level.

Online businesses are increasingly including links to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter to stay in touch with their subscribers. 

A lot of brands have adopted this strategy since social media and email make a powerful combo that yields the highest returns. 

Set Up Automated Workflows

An email automation workflow consists of a series of emails that are triggered automatically by a user action.

These behavioral email campaigns are designed to provide a consistent experience to your subscribers and nudge them closer to conversion. 

These automated workflows typically include several types of emails, such as: 

Welcome Email

Typically sent to new subscribers as soon as they sign up, these emails help you nurture your relationship with your subscribers and retain them for a longer period of time.

Promotional Emails

These emails are triggered and sent based on:

• Product searchers 
• Past purchases, or 
• Resources downloaded 

For example, Amazon uses AI to pursue cross-sell opportunities by sending emails that promote products similar to a user’s previous purchases.

Cart Abandonment/Reminder Emails

Obviously, these messages are sent when a customer leaves a product or products in the cart. Reminder emails can be used to prompt a customer to complete the purchase.

Re-engagement Email

Re-engagement emails are sent to subscribers who have been inactive for at least 6 months. They aim to re-engage these dormant users and bring them back into your fold.

You can create these workflows with Mailvio, which offers customizable email templates and powerful automation features.

A/B Test Everything 

Speaking of Mailvio, you should definitely make use of its A/B testing feature to determine what works for your brand. 

A/B testing allows you to run multiple versions of the same email, so you can easily see which one converts better. 

You can then use this information to create the most effective version of your email.

For example, you can split your audience into two groups and test out different layouts and content. The difference between the two messages will be reflected in the open and click rates. 

A/B testing is especially helpful when it comes to emails that have a lot of variations. For example, you can test out different subject lines, designs, and call-to-actions. 

You can also test out different copies, images, and colors. 

You should always test your emails. The best email campaigns are those that are constantly evolving. 

Consistent testing and tweaking will make them more effective and engaging. 

Conclusion 

Building brands online is no easy task. It requires dedication, persistence, and most importantly, a creative mindset. 

If you want to stay ahead of the competition, you need to constantly be innovating and improving your marketing strategies. 

And if you are serious about growing your business, you need to use email marketing to get your message across to your customers. 

Powered by a tool like Mailvio, you can send targeted, personalized messages to your customers and build a brand that resonates with them. 

Now that you have the blueprint for building brands via email, it’s time to put it into practice.

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