Outbound Email Marketing For Beginners [Guide & Examples].

Outbound email marketing is a great way to get your brand’s name in front of a lot of people, but it’s important to do it effectively.

Most people don’t know where to start with outbound email marketing, let alone what the dos and don’ts are.

I’ve got you covered. In this article, I will discuss what outbound email marketing is, the dos and don’ts, and the best practices for success. I will also give you examples of emails you can send in an outbound campaign.

What Is Outbound Marketing?

Outbound marketing is when a company engages with potential customers through different marketing channels. It is also called ‘interruption marketing‘ because it interrupts what people are doing to get their attention.

TV commercials, radio ads, print advertisements, tradeshows, cold call, and emailing people are all examples of outbound marketing.

The goal is to get your message in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

Outbound email marketing differs from inbound email marketing. We will talk more about the inbound and outbound email marketing differences later.

Benefits Of Outbound Email Marketing.

Despite not being the trendy marketing choice, outbound marketing has been around for a long time. For good reason, it has a lot of benefits. Here are a few of the advantages of outbound email.

Never Buy an Email List!

I will mention it numerous times throughout because it really is important. Do NOT buy email addresses from the internet!

Email addresses must be obtained with permission from the people who own them, and sending emails to people who didn’t give you their expressed permission is potentially illegal. Not complying with privacy laws can cost you a lot of money. In 2022 companies paid over $1.2 BILLION in GDPR fines.

Another reason you should never buy an email list is that it’s ineffective and can lead to high bounce rates and spam notifications, which can cost you money and get you banned by your email service provider.

The best growth is by building relationships with potential customers through honest, respectful marketing. By following these tips, you can start reaching out to new customers and grow the right way.

Inbound Email vs. Outbound Email Marketing.

Inbound email marketing is a way of getting people to come to you, rather than you having to go out and find them. You do this by providing interesting and valuable content that attracts their attention. Once they’re interested, you can offer them something in return for subscribing to your mailing lists, such as a free ebook, video course, or webinar.

Outbound email marketing is the process of finding people who might be interested in what you have to offer and then convincing them to buy it. You do this by sending out emails to a large number of people (usually through a mailing list) with the hope that at least some of them will be interested in what you’re selling.

Inbound and outbound email marketing differences.

What are the differences between inbound email and outbound email marketing? Inbound email marketing differs from outbound in several ways, most notably audience engagement, reach, speed, and cost.

Audience.

Inbound email marketing is when you send emails to people who have already shown interest in what you have to offer. Outbound email marketing is when you send emails to a large list of people, even if they haven’t shown any interest in what you’re selling.

Engagement.

Inbound email marketing targets potential customers that you already have a relationship with. Outbound email marketing targets anyone you can send a message to.

Reach.

Outbound email marketing lists are typically much larger, while inbound email marketing lists tend to be smaller. So you can potentially reach a lot more people using outbound email marketing.

Speed.

An inbound email marketing list takes longer to build than an outbound email marketing list. An outbound email marketing list can be obtained more quickly, and you don’t have to build it from scratch. If you purchase an email list, it will be quicker still (But DONT!).

Cost.

Inbound email marketing is typically cheaper and has a better ROI. Outbound email marketing is more expensive because the more emails you send, the more it costs. It also doesn’t result in many customers; therefore, the ROI is much lower.

Inbound and outbound email marketing strategies are both valid ways of increasing brand awareness and marketing your business to new customers.

The Dos and Don’ts of Outbound Email Marketing.

Here are some dos and don’ts:

Outbound Email Best Practices.

As well as the dos and don’t mentioned above, there are some best practices in outbound email marketing that can help you get the most out of this marketing tactic.

Never Buy Email Lists.

It’s crucial to have a healthy open rate for your outbound and inbound email campaigns, and if you buy someone’s information rather than getting it from a previous interaction, then you’ll notice your emails’ performance begin to drop.

In addition, GDPR requires that every European recipient agrees before you contact them. When you purchase an email list, there is no guarantee that the people on that list will have consented.

So never buy email lists!

Beware CAN-SPAM.

CAN-SPAM legislation is a crucial set of rules that all email marketers must follow. One key rule is to never use “no reply” or a similar phrase as your email sender’s name (for example, “noreply@yourcompany.com“). When you do this, it prevents recipients from responding and even opting out of further emails, which they are legally allowed to do at any time according to CAN-SPAM guidelines.

By having your automated emails come from a first name (like bob@yourcompany.com), you’re more likely to get customers who will open them. Plus, it keeps you compliant with email regulations.

The FTC has the authority to issue fines for violating CAN-SPAM regulations.

“Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $46,517, so non-compliance can be costly”.

Federal Trade Commission

Make It Personal With A Signature.

Hubspots free email signature generator will help you craft a winning email signature.

A great reason to include an email signature is that it allows for personalization. People are more likely to open and read an email if they see that it came from a real person instead of a marketing department or machine.

Sanitize Your List Frequently.

Subscribers who never open your emails bring down your open rates and make your outbound marketing strategies stats look worse than they are.

Remove subscribers from your outbound email list who haven’t engaged with your emails in a while so that your email open rate is more accurate. You can do this by gradually moving them to a less frequent email list based on their level of engagement.

For example, if you have a daily newsletter, you could move subscribers who do not open your email for two consecutive weeks to the weekly email. And then, those subscribers would be transferred to the monthly newsletter if they don’t open 4 emails in a row.

Keep The Message Above The Fold.

When an email is first opened, the top part of the email that is visible before scrolling down is known as “above the fold.” Recipients of outbound emails shouldn’t have to scroll down to see the main content. Kevin George does a great job of explaining this concept.

In 2010, the Neilson Norman Group found that 80% of web viewing time was spent above the fold. In 2018, however, their newest research discovered that number had dropped to 57%. Although this is a decrease, people still pay attention more closely to what they view without scrolling.

Greet By Name.

Personalization builds trust. By personalizing your outbound email greetings with each potential customer’s first name, you will immediately make a good impression and grab their attention. Thankfully most email marketing tools today allow you to configure the greeting of your emails so that it automatically sends with the name of the people on your contact list – ensuring everyone is receiving a personalized version of the same message.

For example, Mailercloud makes it easy to add custom HTML tags to your emails;

Adding personalization tags, such as {{name}} in the subject line will help improve opens, clicks, and conversion rates. Also, other useful tags might be {{age}}, {{city}} or any others.

Not More Than 650 pixels Wide.

A good user experience is important. If your design is irritating, users will close your message without reading it. If your email exceeds 650 pixels wide, it’ll be cut off, and readers will need to scroll back and forth to read the full email–which nobody likes doing. To avoid this annoyance (and dropped conversions), keep your template within 650 pixels width for easy readability and a better overall user experience.

Offer Name In Subject Line.

By offering an incentive in your email subject line, a lot more people open it. A few examples of bait that usually works well are “Free shipping when you spend $15 or more” and “Get a free t-shirt with 7 days trial”. Having said that, too many emails related to offers and deals might cause people to unsubscribe from your list entirely.

5 Emails You Can Send in Outbound Email Marketing.

What type of emails should you send? Before I answer that question, let’s talk about three important elements that you should keep in mind every time you send out an email to your list.

Hook – the attention grabber. The thing that stops them from scrolling and makes them want to open your email. A leading question or a believable but outlandish claim about a well-known problem your audience is likely facing is a good hook.

Story – is the bulk of your email message. This is where you tell your audience more about what’s going on and how your product can solve their problem. It should be engaging and relatable, giving them a reason to keep reading. Your story is always leading towards your big solution, the ‘Offer’.

Offer – this is a call to action (CTA), instructing your reader to do something. Visit your website, or download a free copy of your eBook. Whatever the action is, you want your call to action to be clear, visible, and enticing.

Now, let’s look at five different types of emails you can send in an outbound email marketing campaign.

1. The Crowd Puller.

Your objective with this type of email is to first, grab your readers’ attention. Pique their interest with an interesting story. Build desire for your product or service by creating a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out). Finally, get them to take action with a clear CTA. Encourage the reader to do something specific, like downloading a document or clicking on a social media link.

The AIDA marketing framework is excellent for crafting these outbound emails. The letters in the acronym stand for attention, interest, desire, and action.

2. Life Before & After.

Another powerful framework for creating outbound emails that convert is the BAB framework. BAB stands for Before – After – Bridge.

Show your reader their reality before your solution. Paint a picture of the problem you are presenting as if it is happening to them. The key here is for your readers to identify with the character in the story and the problem they are facing.

Now, you describe to them how wonderful their world would be after their problem is solved. Finally, offer them your solution as the bridge between where they are and where they want to be.

3. The Big Compliment.

Who doesn’t love a compliment? We all do, and that’s what makes compliments a great way to grab someone’s attention.

Here, you are going to give the reader a compliment (nothing too over the top). This is your ‘hook’ that will get them to stop and take notice. You will then paint a picture of a well-known problem that they can relate to, the ‘story’, and finally tell them about your product as the solution to that problem, the ‘offer’. In this case, your CTA should direct them to get more info.

4. It’s Worse Than You Know.

‘You know there is a problem, but it’s worse than you imagined’. This time you are going to use a methodology called PAS – Problem, Agitate, Solve. Your task is to make your reader believe that the problem they are aware of is worse than they thought. Then, explain why you or your product are the only logical solution to that problem. Creating value by saving them time and solving their problem.

For example, your reader knows that their website needs to comply with GDPR and CCPA legislation. Agitate or worsen the problem by giving them statistics on how many companies have been fined for not complying. Now solve their problem. Offer your product or service that will make this problem go away for them.

5. Big Opportunity.

Finally, outbound email marketing can involve sending out emails that highlight big opportunities for your customers. This might include upcoming events, new products or services, or other developments that can help your customers achieve their goals.

For eCommerce products, a good example of this is the ‘Back In Stock’ email. With this email, you are trying to create a sense of urgency to get your reader to take action immediately. The product will be something they recognize, and the CTA will be to buy it now.

Whether you’re just starting out with outbound email marketing, or looking for ways to improve your current campaigns, these are some of the most important types of emails to focus on.

How To Get Started With Outbound Email Marketing.

Before you kick off an outbound email marketing campaign, you are going to have to put a few things in place. Here’s what you need and how to get started.

In order to start sending outbound emails, there are a few things you’ll need;

1. A New Domain to Send Your Outbound Emails.

Why do you need a new domain for outbound email campaigns?

Even if you have carefully chosen your email list, there’s always always a chance that some people could mark it as spam. If this often happens too often, the domain connected to your email account could be blacklisted, and your sender’s reputation downgraded.

Using your primary domain for email marketing is not a good idea. It’s hard to keep your sender reputation high when you’re sending outbound emails from the same domain as your primary one.

Use a new domain name for your outbound email campaigns to maintain your sender reputation and separate your email marketing activity from your core business emails.

Tips for your sending domain:

i. Pick a name that is similar to your main domain. For example, if your business domain is ‘frenchiecollars.com,‘ you could get a new domain called ‘myfrenchiecollars.com‘.

These two names are easily recognizable as being the same brand.

ii. Pick an email service provider that allows you to send a lot of emails every day. Most email hosts set a limit on the number of emails you can send per day. Also, make sure that the email host you choose allows you to send emails to people who don’t know who you are (cold lists).

iii. Configure your SPF and DKIM records to make sure people know it’s you who is sending the email. A lot of people forget to do this, and their emails get blocked by spam filters.

Having these records set up will make it more likely that your emails will find their way to people’s inboxes and not their spam folders.

iv Wait until your domain is properly warmed up You want to build credibility as a trusted sender in the first week of having your new outbound email address.

Here is an example of how you can warm up your email list;

In week one, only send emails to people you know, like colleagues and friends In week two, set up a few dummy email accounts on different email platforms and hold two-way conversations with those accounts In the third week, manually send out a few emails to well-qualified leads, ones that have the best chance of being interested in hearing from you If you follow this process, you are less likely to be flagged by spam filters.

Alternatively, use a cold email tool.

2. Targeted Outbound Email List.

Any inbound and outbound email marketing campaign’s success depends largely on your list’s quality Make sure you target an audience likely to be interested in what you have to say by segmenting them according to their interests, demographics, or past purchase behavior.

3. Email Autoresponder.

An autoresponder is a must-have tool for any successful email marketing campaign It allows you to automate the process of sending and managing your emails, saving you time and ensuring that every message gets delivered to the right recipient at the right time Additionally, good autoresponders have features like segmentation, conversion tracking, and A/B split testing to help you improve your campaign and get the right emails in front of the right potential leads.

4. Compelling Outbound Email Messages.

Once you have all the necessary tools in place, it’s time to start creating email messages that engage your recipients and drive better results.

If you are not sure what types of email you should be writing, go back and read this section again, Types of Emails You Can Send in Outbound Email Marketing.

Craft personalized messages that speak directly to your audience and use engaging subject lines that immediately grab their attention Additionally, it’s important to A/B test different elements of your campaign to optimize your results over time Testing and adjusting your email campaign is important, and it’s easy if you have a good email marketing autoresponder.

If you’re ready to get started with outbound email marketing, then follow these steps and use the tools and tactics outlined above to create a successful campaign that engages your audience and drives results.

Summary;

Wrap Up.

Outbound email marketing seeks to reach as many people as possible (shotgun approach), while inbound email marketing is more targeted (laser-like) and only reaches those who are likely to be interested In order to be effective with outbound marketing, you need the necessary tools and strategies in place, such as an email autoresponder and a targeted outbound email list Additionally, it’s important to craft personalized messages that resonate with your audience and use engaging subject lines that immediately grab their attention By following these steps, you can create a successful outbound email marketing campaign that engages your audience and drives better results.

There you have it I hope this article answered all the questions you had about outbound email marketing.

Do you prefer to use outbound or inbound email strategies? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.