The right email marketing tactics can make the difference between a memorable PR campaign and one that falls flat
Most people assume email marketing’s role to be limited to driving sales and marketing. However, emails can very much be used to build awareness about your brand and gain the trust of your consumers.
Email marketing tactics for effective PR campaigns include creating a distinct brand identity, personalizing communication, targeting your audience, constructing a clear subject line, crafting engaging content, sharing important announcements via emails, and designing mobile-friendly emails.
In this article, you will find seven strategies that can help you create an impactful PR campaign that enables you to increase brand awareness and customer retention consistently.
7 Email Marketing Tactics for a Successful PR Campaign
1. Create a Distinct Identity to Make Your Brand Memorable
Storytelling is one of the most effective email marketing tactics, as it transports your brand’s values, goals, and overall identity to your customers. Using emails, you can initiate a meaningful connection with your customer base and set your brand apart from other competitors in the market.
The first step in reinforcing your brand identity is to mention your brand name enough times to make it memorable. Your goal is not to overwhelm your readers but to give them enough visual clues to make your brand name synonymous with your products or services.
You can include your brand name in the subject of your email, the body of your content, the sign-off at the end, and even pictures of your logo. Other components that can further emphasize your brand identity include taglines, brand colors, a particular writing fashion, such as tone or vibe, and, most importantly, links to your website’s landing page.
Frequently including these components in your email trains your audience to associate particular words, colors, and logos with the identity of your brand, thus making you memorable.
My article on building a strong brand identity will teach you how to do it in even the most competitive market.
2. Use Personalized Content to Build Trust and Credibility
According to a study by Experian, communication through personalized emails delivers six times higher transaction rates. Here, personalization relates to using customer data to create tailored emails relevant to your audience.
Instead of opening your email with the phrase “Dear esteemed customer,” use their name, such as “Dear Sarah.” This is the easiest way of customizing an email and increases your email open rates by 10-14%.
You can go one step ahead by sending your subscribers welcome emails to acknowledge them when they sign up or birthday wishes paired with a discount coupon valid for their birthday month. If your product or service is used by a public figure who promotes it free of charge, you can send a thank you email to show your gratitude.
These forms of outreach strengthen your relationships, leading to customer retention.
FunnelTeacher.com’s founder Shailen Vandeyar says, “Personalizing emails is like knowing the secret handshake to get into a nightclub—it gets you in and keeps you there!”
3. Target Your Audience to Optimize Engagement
How frustrating is it to receive an email about a pop-up shop opening on an entirely different continent than yours? The answer is extremely frustrating.
When leveraging email marketing tactics, you need not think about your audience’s reaction to your email, but PR emails require you to think carefully about how your email will impact your customers. You could use different tools such as an SPF checker to ensure email deliverability by verifying sender authenticity and preventing messages from being flagged or blocked.
It is important for you to segment your audiences based on their interests, geographical location, age range, and other factors, as this helps you to target your audience accurately and prevents you from getting unsubscribes or, worse, landing in the spam folder.
4. Construct a Clear Subject Line to Avoid the Spam Folder
The subject line of your email is the make-or-break factor that helps the reader decide if they want to open the email, as that is the first thing they see. Stay away from overused words that sound like clickbait, and stick to phrases that will spark curiosity and excitement amongst your audience.
You must also avoid using misleading subject lines such as words like “URGENT” for non-emergency communications and phrases like “We’ve received your order” in an instance where no purchase has been made in reality.
5. Excite Your Audience by Crafting Engaging Content
Whether or not your audience engages with your email entirely depends on the content. The copy of your email must be relatable to your reader and reflective of your brand’s ambitions and goals.
Since relationship building and maintenance are integral to public relations, focus on creating content that invites your audience to interact and explore more about your brand.
You can start by sharing exclusive content in your emails that isn’t accessible on any other platform. This can include exclusive deals and offers, the option to pre-order a product, or even early access to an upcoming sale.
By giving out privileged information, you make your customers feel as though they are part of an exclusive community.
You can also use these email campaigns to send out invites for collaborations with various influencers, industry experts, or passionate people whose interests align with your brand. Venturing jointly with public figures creates a system where both can benefit. Your brand gains more credibility while also providing a platform for public figures.
Conducting interactive surveys is another way to learn more about your audience’s perceptions and expectations of your brand while fostering a sense of involvement and active participation. This depicts that you care what your customers think about you and proves to them that their feedback and opinions are crucial in shaping your brand.
Also, ensure that you’re avoiding all kinds of negative publicity by not having anything objectionable in your content. Stay away from topics like religion, cultures, and gender norms at all costs.
6. Share Announcements via Emails to Update Your Clients
Sharing important announcements and updates through email marketing tactics is a great way of showcasing how being part of your brand’s inner circle can benefit your customers. It paves the way for some exceptional PR opportunities where you can humbly showcase your achievements and treat your audience as VIPs with minimal effort.
The easiest way to entice your audience is to conduct product launches through emails. You can also promote various events by including a link to the event’s landing page, which consists of details like the location, timings, presence of professionals or celebrities, activities, or agendas.
You may also share any special titles, accolades, or awards that you receive, along with a thank-you message to your audience for their support and business. This portrays your commitment to being the best and makes the customer feel included in this collective victory.
During difficult times, emails can be an avenue for professional press releases and statements, which may also be sent to various media outlets along with your subscriber list to reach a larger mass.
7. Design Mobile-friendly Emails to Maximize Accessibility
In 2023, 55% of all emails were opened on a mobile phone. When you send an email that is not designed to be opened on a mobile phone, you increase the chances of a customer deleting your email or unsubscribing from your list.
To compose mobile-friendly emails, create a responsive email design that changes the email template based on the screen size on which it is being viewed. This enhances the user experience of your emails regardless of which device they are opened on. Ensure that your CTA buttons are bold and clear so that they are easily accessible, even on a small screen.
With these email marketing tactics, you can supercharge your email marketing campaigns and boost open rates consistently.
