How We Conduct Email Marketing Audits

Welcome to the next installment of our ‘How We Do It’ series, where we share the inside scoop to our digital audit process at MI Group, with a focus on email marketing. 

Did you know that for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment (ROI) is $42? 

Crazy Right? So you may be wondering, what is email marketing really?

Email marketing is a powerful tool that allows businesses to communicate with their audience directly through email. It enhances businesses with their marketing by providing a cost-effective way to reach and engage with customers, drive sales, and build brand loyalty.

Affordable Email Marketing Solutions :

There are numerous affordable email platforms suitable for businesses looking to kickstart their email marketing efforts. Some notable options include:

• Mailchimp
• Constant Contact
• Convertkit

Each offering user-friendly interfaces and essential features to get you started. However, at MI Group, we leverage a tool called Mautic. This platform stands out for its advanced capabilities and extensive customization options, allowing businesses to create tailored email campaigns that resonate with their audience and drive results.

Why Email Marketing Audits Matter: 

Email marketing audits are essential for identifying areas of improvement and maximizing the effectiveness of email marketing efforts. By conducting audits, businesses can ensure that their email campaigns are:

• Optimized for success
• Leading to increased engagement
• Generating conversions and revenue

Before delving into the nitty-gritty, consider this: How well do you truly comprehend your digital presence with email marketing? Our collective experience affirms that a comprehensive digital audit serves as a potential game-changer for your business. Now, let’s focus on unraveling the secrets behind how we do email marketing audits in our ‘How We Do It’ series.

Email Marketing – A Look at Your Current Presence

Despite what many believe, email marketing is not outdated. It’s actually one of the most effective marketing channels, delivering a high return on investment. Moreover, the idea that email marketing is spammy is untrue if done correctly. When emails are personalized, relevant, and provide real value to the recipient, they can drive significant engagement and positive outcomes for businesses.

Our Email Marketing Audit is designed to unfold in four essential parts: 

• Email Capture
• Email Outreach
• Email Automation:
• Email System/Software

Each part of our audit serves as a strategic pillar, offering profound insights and actionable recommendations to reshape your email marketing strategy.

Here’s how we use these components during an audit:

• Email Capture:
  • We strategically design and implement forms, pop-ups, and landing pages to capture email addresses effectively.
  • Our approach involves meticulous assessment of placement, design, and functionality to ensure optimal performance.
  • We provide tailored recommendations to optimize conversion rates and enhance the overall effectiveness of email capture elements.
• Email Outreach:
  • We segment email lists based on detailed criteria to ensure precise targeting and relevance.
  • Our email content is crafted with personalized messaging for each segment, maximizing engagement.
  • We offer customized strategies to refine targeting and improve engagement across segmented email campaigns.
• Email Automation:
  • We design automation workflows aligned with specific user actions or triggers, streamlining the communication process.
  • Our focus is on optimizing timing, frequency, and content delivery to enhance user experience and drive results.
  • We provide expert guidance to fine-tune automation processes, ensuring seamless communication with subscribers.
• Email System/Software:
  • We thoroughly evaluate the features, functionality, and performance of email marketing systems or software.
  • Our analysis includes assessing integration capabilities to ensure seamless operation with other tools.
  • We offer personalized recommendations for optimizing the client’s email marketing infrastructure, tailored to their specific needs and objectives.

As part of our comprehensive digital audit, we employ our Digital Snapshot Report for Email Marketing Observations. This report enables us to conduct a thorough examination of various aspects, including:

• Subscriber Acquisition: Identifying the absence of an option on the website for users to sign up for email updates, articles, tips, etc.
• Engagement Path Clarity: Evaluating the clarity of instructions or next steps provided after contact form submission.
• Email System Integration: Investigating the presence or absence of evidence indicating the utilization of a CRM or email software associated with the website.

Case Study: Client A

To exemplify our process, let’s delve into our recent email marketing audit for our wellness client, whom we’ll refer to as “Client A”. Our primary objective during this audit was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of their email marketing strategies, systems, and performance to identify areas for improvement and guide them towards enhanced marketing outcomes.

During our observations for Client A, we noticed:

1. Limited Email Capture Opportunities: We found that there was no option available on the website for users to sign up for email updates, articles, tips, etc.
2. Lack of Post-Submission Instructions: After contact form submissions, no valuable instructions or next steps were communicated to the users.
3. Absence of CRM/Email Software Evidence: There were no visible signs indicating the use of a CRM or email software associated with the website.
4. Missed Customer Signup Opportunities: Client A lacked opportunities for customers to sign up for updates or alerts.
5. Minimal Email Automation: We found no evidence of email automation after user interaction with the website.

Based on these observations, we tailored specific recommendations to address these shortcomings and enhance Client A’s email marketing strategy:

• Implement Email Signup Widget: Introduce an email signup widget on the website to facilitate user subscriptions and capture valuable leads.
• Setup and Configure CRM/Email Software: Establish and configure CRM or email software to effectively deliver email content to subscribers and customers.
• Implement Email Automation and Workflow: Develop and implement email automation and workflow systems to promptly communicate with customers and streamline engagement.
• Enhance Post-Submission Instructions: Add clear instructions and next steps for new contacts to the thank you page after contact form submissions.

Our recommendations are tailored to your business, guiding you on strategic actions to enhance your digital presence, engage your audience effectively, and drive measurable results.

Congratulations on gaining insights into our email marketing audit checklist! This is a checklist you can start implementing yourself. Need extra help? Schedule a consultation with MI Group or generate a FREE Digital Snapshot Report here!

Need extra help? Schedule a consultation with MI Group or generate a FREE Digital Snapshot Report here!

Stay tuned for more insights in our ‘How We Do It’ series. Next week, we’ll delve into SEO Audits at MI Group.