How many emails do you reckon most people receive a day? 20? 40? 60? All wrong. On average, we receive 77 legitimate emails every single day, along with 19 spammy ones too.

Of those 98 emails though, how many do you think put much more than a second’s thought into their email signature? Not many. They’re a commonly missed, free marketing opportunity. 

By leveraging that space at the foot of your email you could:

• Drive more traffic to your site

• Increase your social following

• Promote current or upcoming sales, referral schemes, etc.

• Boost your inbound leads

Want your email signature to start making money for you? We don’t blame you. Whether it’s a company email to target prospects or employee correspondence to an existing client, here’s how to do it.

1. Basic contact details

• Your full name

• Your contact number

• Your email address

• The company’s name

• The company's website

• The company’s postal address

These are the absolutely basics, but you’d be surprised by how many people sign off their emails with none, like this:

For starters, it doesn’t exactly ooze professionalism. But it also blocks the recipient from quickly learning more about you and your company. In a dog eat dog world it’s all about ease, so save your readers a click or two by serving them all your information on a plate.

Added bonus: it’ll also save you time by reducing the number of people who respond asking questions like ‘What’s your phone number’ or ‘Do you have a website?’.

2. Inject a bit of color 

Color attracts attention, solidifies your branding, and just looks better. Be honest, which looks more eye-grabbing out of these two?

Example 1:

Image via rocketseed.com

Example 2:

3. Include your logo

Not sure about your logo? See if you need a refresh here.

Your logo is your organization’s footprint. It should be on your site, social media profiles, business cards, digital ads, flyers and…your email signature.

Whether you’re contacting new prospects or lifelong suppliers, placing your logo at the foot of your email will enable them to quickly and easily recognize where you’re from and add a layer of trust to what you’re sending. 

4. Add your social links

By including social media icons and linking out to your feeds you’ll:

a) increase your social following
b) give recipients an opportunity to learn more about you
c) add credibility to your email (people will see you’re a legit business…with legit branding)

If you’re going to point people to your social profiles though, remember to make sure you’re regularly updating them. Sending someone to a Facebook page that hasn’t seen a new post in 12 months is a wasted lead.

5. Spread your tagline 

Okay so you’re probably thinking this is an awful lot to fit in your email signature, but don’t worry, if you get the design right it won’t look over the top.

Your tagline is a snappy summary of what your company is all about. It’s something to be proud of and it’s something to shout from the rooftops. So, do just that by seizing the opportunity in your email signature.

The benefit? People will instantly get a very good idea of your values and understand what to expect from you.

6. Promote any sales or schemes

Last but not least, if you’ve got a current or upcoming flash sale, referral scheme, or discount offer, let everyone you email know about it. Even if you only get one more referral or purchase from it, it’s worth it, because it doesn’t cost you a single cent. 

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Hue & Tone Creative: Your partners in email marketing

Worried your email signature’s going to start looking more clumsy than qualified? When it comes to creating professional, slick, and stylish designs we know what will get your audience ticking. Contact the team at (336) 365-8559 or hannah@hueandtonecreative.com to see how we can collaborate. 

Organizing an event is no easy feat -- it’s time intensive, resource intensive, and financially intensive. So, if you’re investing your efforts into pulling an event together, you’ll want to make sure you’re squeezing every bit of benefit out of it as you can.

If your attendance levels aren’t as high as you’d hoped, hopefully, this four-stage email marketing plan will help you hit your event’s overarching key performance indicators (KPIs).

Phase #1: the invite

First things first, you need to pique peoples’ interest, and to do this, you need to feed them with the facts that will benefit them. What will they come away knowing that they don’t know now? How will this information benefit them? And what do you have to offer that others don’t? 

And, of course, as with any email, this all needs to be said in as few words as possible; easier said than done, we know.

The template 

Hi [insert name],

Do you want to build your business’ brand awareness? Attract more people to your site? Overtake your competitors? And increase that all-important profit margin?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes?

Then you NEED to come to our next event: [insert event name].

This event is being hosted by [insert speaker’s name] and he/she brings a whole load of knowledge to the table. He/she’s:

• Reason #1 (e.g. number of years’ experience)

• Reason #2 (e.g. qualifications)

• Reason #3 (e.g. big brands they’ve helped)

Interested? Here are the details:

• Date:XX/XX/XXXX

• Time:XX.XX

• Duration:XX hours

• Location:XXXXXXXX

To secure your spot today, just RSVP to this email and let us know how many of you will be joining us.

Thanks,

[Company X] team

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Phase #2: confirmation 

This one doesn’t need to be long at all, but don’t leave people guessing; let them know - right away - they’ve successfully signed up to your event. It’s a nice added touch, shows your professionalism, and saves them accidentally signing up twice.

The template

Hi [insert name],

Thanks for signing up for our [insert event name]event!

We’re really looking forward to meeting you there and we can’t wait for you to see what we’re all about. 

We’ll touch base with you again soon, but if you need anything from us between now and then, get in touch with our team at [insert number].

Thanks again,

 [Company X] team

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Phase #3: Keep them keen 

Once you’ve got a bunch of people on board, let them know they’ve not slipped off your radar – and, as an added bonus, arm them with even more valuable information. We suggest sharing content like a blog article or guide that is relevant to the topic(s) covered in the event.

The template

Hi [insert name],

It’s only one week until our [insert event name]event - eek! We hope you’re as excited as we are for the big day.

To give you a flavor of what’s to come, we’ve put together a free guide on [insert event topic(s)]for you - just click hereto read it.

See you very soon!

Thanks,

[Company X] team

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Phase #4: the reminder

The fourth and final stage of your pre-event build-up is your reminder. This one is important because, let’s be honest, everyone’s human and we all forget things now and then - especially at work when we’ve got to-do lists as long as our arm! So, give your attendee list a polite prod the day before. That’s how you can ensure your event is fresh on their mind.

The template

Hi [insert name],

We can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

To save you crawling through your emails, here’s all the info you need to get to the venue:

• Location:XXXXXXXX

• Time:XX.XX

• Duration:XX hours

• Directions:XXXXXXXXXXX

See you tomorrow, 

[Company X] team

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Hue & Tone Creative: Let’s work together

If you need help with your email event marketing, presentation graphics, branding, business cards, or more, that’s exactly what we’re here for. Get in touch at (336) 365-8559 or hueandtonecreative.com to see what exactly we can do for you.

According to Salesforce’s benchmark study, welcome emails (42%) are the third most popular type of email sent by businesses, trailing only to newsletters (66%) and promotional content (54%). Of the marketers who send them, three quarters rated them as highly effective.

But why are they so important, we hear you wonder? If done right, they engage new customers straight away by prompting recipients to start the next stage in their customer journey -- and they also provide a means for you to follow up on any value propositions you promised (a new customer discount, for example). 

One last important thing to note before we dive right in with our templates, are these six golden rules: 

1. Send your welcome email ASAP

2. Remember to stamp your branding on it

3. Include social links to encourage further engagement

4. Track your email analytics and act on any concerning metrics

5. Keep them short and to the point

6. Only use personalization if you’re 100% confident your data is correct
   

Now, on to what you came for, the all-important templates to get you going…

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Example 1: Product Purchase

Hi [insert name], 

Thanks for choosing Company X for your Product Y needs - we’re so happy you chose us!

We’ve been delivering our goods to customers - like you - for X years now, and we can’t wait for you to see what all the fuss is about.

As our welcome gift to you, we’d like to offer you 15% off your next purchase with us. To claim your discount, simply enter the code WELCOME19 at checkout.

And if you want to keep up-to-date with our activity (including exciting giveaways!), don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Thanks again, 

[Company X] team

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Example 2: Service Sign-Up 

Hi [insert name],

Welcome to the team!

We’re delighted to have you on board and we can’t wait to start supporting you with our [insert service name].

The next steps are super simple:

1. Your dedicated service manager will be in touch soon to talk you through the set-up process.

2. Our Finance Team will invoice you on every [insert date] of the month.

3. If you have any questions, our customer service team will be available on [insert phone number] between [insert hours and days].

It really is that easy. 

For regular updates, news, hints and tips off our experts, don’t forget to check into our blog every now and then, and if you’re feeling social, why not hit us up on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram? 

Thanks again, 

[Company X] team

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Example 3: Newsletter Sign-up

Hi [insert name],

Thank you for signing up to our monthly newsletter.

It’ll land in your inbox on the second Tuesday of every month, and it’ll be brimming with useful tips, guides, videos, resources, and more.

If, at any point, you have any feedback on our newsletters, we’d love to know what you think at [insert email address].

To hear more from us, head over to our social profiles and give us a follow:

[Social media icons]

Thanks again,

[Company X] team

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Example 4: Event Registration

Hi [insert name],

Congratulations, you’ve successfully signed up to our [insert event name] event - we already can’t wait for you to join us on the big day!

Just so you have them handy, here are the details:  

• Date:

• Time:

• Location: 

Don’t worry, we’ll send a reminder email over a few days before, just to be safe. 

If you have any questions between now and then, you can reach the team on [insert number] or [insert email address].

And so the countdown begins!

See you soon,

[Company X] team

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Hue & Tone Creative: Marketing in Greensboro and Beyond

Need a hand writing or designing your very own welcome email? Then look no further - we’ve got you covered. To discuss our email services and more, contact us on (336) 365-8559 or hannah@hueandtonecreative.com.

Want to learn more about our favorite email marketing platform? Check out this post.

Email marketing can help you engage new customers – in addition to helping you sell your products; email marketing will help you enhance your brand awareness and build trust with new prospects. Once you’ve engaged a customer, it can even help you build brand loyalty.

For businesses of any size, email marketing is a no brainer. If you have a small marketing budget, it’s an easy way to connect with a lot of customers at once. In addition to being low investment, it drives traffic to your website and it’s the channel most customer prefer. 

As your company grows you can also scale your email marketing efforts – making it a useful tool no matter what stage of growth your business is at. 

One study from Marketing Sherpa reports that 72% of consumers prefer to receive promotional messages through email (source).

You can send a wide variety of different emails to your marketing list, but if you’re just getting started with email marketing, there’s a few types of emails we suggest you start with. These four types are all great to engage both new customers and old leads. 

1. Welcome email

This is your first chance to get your newfound relationship off on the right foot. Your welcome email should include key components like:

• A thank you message for choosing your brand

• Links to your social media channels to encourage additional engagement

• A discount or deal that’s exclusive to new customers (this not only demonstrate a token of appreciation, but it will give them a nudge to browse your products or services again)

As with any type of email, your welcome email should be kept short and sweet to ensure the recipient isn’t overwhelmed with information. We suggest sending this initial email within 48 hours of signing up or making a purchase - the sooner the better though. Often, people will actively check for your name in their inbox after a sale’s been processed, so any later can look a little lazy!

2. Regular newsletters

Newsletters are an excellent way to naturally maintain contact with customers – it’s a great way to share useful information while also ensuring your brand remains at the forefront of their mind.

Your newsletter could include content like:

• Blogs relevant to the product/service they took out

• Company updates

• Competitions/giveaways

• Teasers: if you’ve got something new coming out

• Testimonials: to reaffirm you’re a good brand to be with

Your newsletters should be consistent. Don’t send three in one month and then go silent for the next four. Decide how regular you want to start sending them - weekly, biweekly, monthly or quarterly. Try to stick to the same date and time too, that way people can start to expect (and hopefully look forward to) your updates.

3. Promote your products 

Existing customers present a potential gold mine of up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. If they’ve already purchased from you there’s a good chance they already enjoy your brand, so it’s a waste not to play on that.

It’s really important you don’t go overboard with these kind of emails though. If you do, you run the risk of recipients unsubscribing and losing all chances of reaching out to them. 

Your promotional emails should:

 a)     Be clearly targeted
b)     Focus on quality, rather than quantity
c)     Outline why this product is suited to them
d)     If possible, offer an additional incentive - i.e. a discount

4. Ask for a review

If you never ask there’s no chance you’ll get what you want, right? 

Reviews are key to your success. The majority of prospects will peruse your reviews before making their final decision, so the more high-quality testimonials you have to your name, the more chance you have of attaining new leads. 

For existing customers, reviews provide an open platform to air opinions, and show that you a) care what they think, and b) are looking to continually improve and evolve your offering for them.

 Don’t be too keen with your review request though. To make sure it’s meaningful, give the customer chance to actually use your product or service first. Equally though, make sure you don’t leave it too long, if you do, you might slip off their radar before you land in their inbox. We suggest waiting a minimum of about 2-3 weeks before prompting someone for a product review, but no more than 2 months. 

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Hue & Tone Creative: Email Marketing in Greensboro, NC

Whether you need help building your overarching email strategy, putting words together, or branding your template, we’re your go to experts. To start or improve your email strategy today, get in touch with our team at (336) 365-8550 or hannah@hueandtonecreative.com.

Let’s talk email marketing.

Tip: Make sure to pick an email marketing platform that is mobile compatible. An estimated 50-60% of emails are now open on a mobile device.

First off, what is it? When we reference email marketing we’re referring to bulk email sending (typically sent using email marketing software). These emails usually include ads, request business, or solicit sales/donations. In addition to increasing sales, they also help to build trust and brand awareness.

Email marketing is both efficient and cost effective, so no matter what size your company is, it’s a great way to stay in touch with clients and follow-up on potential client leads.

There are a ton of email marketing platforms to choose from -- so, in all honestly, selecting a platform is often about personal preference. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a few of the major players:

• IContact is an email campaign service that helps small businesses to larger senders. Their personal coaching, and award winning technical support sets it apart from other tools.
• Constant Contact (the most used platform in terms of customers) makes editing simple as 1, 2, 3. With the ability to drag and drop content into customized templates, you can create customize each template best for your consumers.
• Campaign Monitor Campaign Monitor is geared towards larger companies. It integrates with a ton of apps, and allows you to easily manage multiple accounts.

Other popular platforms include AWeber, SendinBlue, Benchmark, GetResponse and Vertical Response. But our personal favorite? MailChimp! MailChimp is a great choice for small business. It’s low cost and seamlessly integrates with popular web platforms like Squarespace and Wordpress. More than 12 million people and businesses are using MailChimp, and they send out over a billion emails a day!

There’s a few key features MailChimp has (though a lot of the other platforms do as well) that you should consider when shopping around:

1. Automation. Sending an onboarding series of emails? Need to introduce new subscribers to your business or organization? This feature is great for creating and sending out automated messages, without the headache! A certain behavior, like signing up, will trigger an email or series of emails to be sent -- without you having to do anything.

2. A/B Testing. This feature tests two different emails against each other to see which content performs best. Which subject line lead to higher open rates? Which image worked best? Both of these questions (and more) can be answered by this feature.

3. E-Commerce features. You can easily connect your online store to MailChimp, where you can set up product recommendations, track online orders, and analyze purchase data. These are powerful features especially for small retail shops or individual makers.

4. Advanced Analytics. This is the easiest way to track your performance! Monitor sales, subscribers, and revenue. Most importantly, you can integrate Google Analytics to learn even more about your campaigns.

5. Segmentation. Nothing can turn people off faster than receiving content they don’t care about. By using segmentation, you can break your email lists into different groups. For example, “potential customers” and “existing customers.”

Feel ready to pick a platform? Good! Because next week we’ll be back with more information on how to design your first (or a much better) campaign. We’ll go over things like how to design an eye-catching template, what kind of content to include, and how to write a solid subject line.

Not sure what platform will work best for you? Let us help you decide. Shoot an email to hannah@hueandtonecreative.com with your top options and we'll help you decide what's best!