If you’re not already leveraging the power of email marketing for your jewelry brand, you may be wondering why it’s important and how to get started. In this blog post, we’re going to discuss some of the basic principles of email marketing, so you can begin sending campaigns today.

Why Email Matters

First, you need to know why email marketing is so important for your jewelry brand. Above all, it’s one of the most direct ways to communicate with your customers. When you send an email to a subscriber on your list, you know it’s being delivered to his or her inbox and that your subscriber will see your email, regardless of whether or not he or she chooses to open it and click through the links.

With other forms of digital marketing, like social media and content marketing, we can’t guarantee who will see it, but with email marketing, we have full control over the delivery. Furthermore, we can personalize email marketing in ways that we can’t personalize other content. Based on our goals, we can send emails to specific segments of our subscriber list and even automatically populate our emails with the subscriber’s name and other information.

Frankly, your customers are expecting you to email them. According to new research from Harris Interactive, “81% of US online shoppers are more likely to make additional purchases, either online or in a store, as a result of emails based on previous shopping behaviors and preferences.”

So Do I Just Draft an Email and Click Send?

To get started with email marketing for your jewelry brand, you’ll need to sign up for an email marketing platform. Personally, I recommend Mailchimp for its ease of use and its free email marketing plan. With Mailchimp, any person – from a beginner to an expert – can make effective and compliant emails with Mailchimp. You’d be surprised to discover that some of the most high-profile brands are using Mailchimp with great success.

Build Your List

Before you can design and send emails on behalf of your jewelry brand, you need to build a list. You’re probably thinking, “Great! I can just send emails to all my past customers and everyone I know!” Unfortunately, that’s not the case. You’ll need to get permission from a person before you can add him or her to your email list.

Regulations for email marketing are very strict, and you’ll want to adhere to best practices – to maintain your brand’s solid reputation and avoid penalties. Luckily, Mailchimp makes it easy for jewelry business owners like you to follow regulations.

Through Mailchimp, you can access sign-up forms that you can add to your website. Or, you can connect your Mailchimp account to your Shopify account – and then post a clear call-to-action pop-up or prompt on your homepage. Promote your email newsletter on your social media profiles and consider offering something in exchange for an email signup, like a discount or other promotion.

You can also send individual emails to past customers, asking them if they’d consider signup up for your email newsletter and then providing them with the link to opt in. However, you cannot simply assume those past customers would like to receive emails from you and then add them to your list.

Look for Inspiration

One of the best things about Mailchimp is that the platform offers pre-built templates, so you can simply populate your information – without having to know code. However, if you’ve never sent an email marketing campaign before, you may be wondering, “How should my emails look?” To jumpstart your journey, subscribe to email newsletters sent by your competitors or by brands you admire. Note how often they send their emails and observe the design of those emails. For more examples of effective email campaigns, visit this page.

Create an Email Marketing Calendar

Unless you have a plan for when and how often you’ll be sending your emails, they’ll likely get pushed aside for other priorities. You can use Google Calendar or your favorite planning system to plan your emails a month in advance. Look at upcoming holidays, your product launches, or other significant updates you’d like to communicate to your audience. Then, mark them on the calendar. That way, you’ll know exactly what to send your customers. We recommend sending an email at least once a week, toward the beginning of the week, when your target customers are more likely to open emails and pay attention to what you have to say.

Get Sophisticated

Sending basic email campaigns is fairly straightforward, but email marketing can be as sophisticated as you’d like it to be. If you’re interested in experimenting with personalization, automation, and segmentation, you’ll likely need to consult the help of a professional. You’ll also want to be aware of email marketing analytics, which can help you understand how your emails are performing and what you can change in the future to boost your results.

Have you already been using email marketing for your jewelry brand? What do you like best about it, and what would you like to know about sending effective emails? Leave a note in the comments below, and we’ll consider addressing your issue in a future blog post.