Back to school marketing can be one of the most effective revenue generators of the year for businesses who take it seriously. It is not restricted to traditional businesses selling school supplies and clothing. Almost any brand may participate if they get the actual essence of return to school.
With an increasing amount of purchasing occurring online, back to school email marketing is an excellent approach to engage subscribers, generate sales, and maintain brand awareness. This article discusses some strategies for implementing great back to school email marketing that can help you achieve your goals.
Utilize a freebie that includes a bonus
It’s a well-known fact that giveaways can help you expand your email list and foster positive relationships between your audience and your brand. If not done appropriately, it can also serve as a tool to attract freebie seekers. There is an easy way around this; simply give away something linked to your business. Give free the ultimate school supply bundle if you sell school supplies. If you sell clothing, consider giving away a bundle of clothing to people in specified age groups.
The critical component is to add social sharing and a leader board. For instance, after a participant signs up for the contest, they earn points for each person they recommend, for each social media sharing, and for each time they like or follow you on social media. This way, they’re motivated to spread the word about the promotion and help you grow your subscriber base. Benchmark email has a variety of connectors that will almost certainly link to the software you’re using to run your giveaway.
Here’s how you transform it into the ideal back to school marketing campaign. Although only a few people can win, if you advertise the contest effectively, you can add hundreds or even thousands of bargain hunters to your mailing list. After the giveaway concludes, offer everyone who signed up a limited-time discount on all your products or just those that are back to school-related. A sizable portion of them will take advantage of it, resulting in additional revenue for your firm.
Educate + Promote
When it comes to back to school email marketing efforts, many firms focus exclusively on the sale. This has been demonstrated to work because individuals are in the mood to shop. There are numerous items to purchase in preparation for the new school year, which is why it is the year’s second greatest sales time, behind the winter holiday season.
Having said that, not everyone is certain what to get for their children or themselves. For instance, parents who are enrolling their children in school for the first time or transferring from elementary to middle school may be unaware of all they require. The same is true for college newcomers.
This is an opportunity for you to promote yourself as a customer-centric brand. Rather than merely announcing a sale via email, take the effort to learn what clients genuinely need. For instance, if you sell products aimed at younger children, launch an email campaign emphasizing “ten elementary school basics.” For college students, it can be “ten essentials for your new dorm.” You can include a description of the items in the email or link to a blog post that highlights the products and explains why they’re so critical.
Utilize haste
This email marketing approach avoids creating a false sense of urgency. Rather than that, it’s about genuine haste and snagging early bird deals. You may have had the pleasure of stepping into a store only to discover that the best goods have already sold out.
You’re emphasizing the fact that supplies are limited, they tend to sell out quickly, and school is just around the corner with your email campaign. You can take this a step further by specifying an end date for the sales campaign. Simultaneously, promise more savings to everyone who takes advantage of the offer before a specified period.
For instance, rather than simply sending a back to school marketing campaign announcing a discount, send one informing your subscribers about the sale and informing them that they can save 30% if they order within the next three days. After three days, the discount is reduced to 20%. It’s a good idea to test this with a subset of your list before rolling out the promotion to the entire list. Constant Contact and other email marketing solutions make it simple to deploy messages to subsets of your list.
Utilize discounts and sales to appeal to specific demographics
When the majority of people consider back to school marketing, they immediately think of younger students in elementary and middle school. Frequently, high school and college students are passed up for advancements. This is a mistake, as it represents an opportunity to offer a variety of items to the approximately 17 million pupils.
You can offer appliances, furniture, and electronics to college students transferring into a new dorm or apartment. It’s an opportunity for high school kids to sell clothing and electronics. Clothing and school supplies are required for younger kids. Rather than lumping everyone together in your back to school promotions, it’s critical to segregate them.
For instance, you may send a single email broken into portions. One section will include special discounts for younger children. Another will feature discounts for high school kids, and yet another would feature discounts for college students. The email will have four calls to action, each of which will direct recipients to a different landing page on your website. Create an eye-catching design for the email to pique people’s interest in what you’re offering. Sendinblue, for example, offers dozens of themes to get you started.
Make use of current events
Attention is the name of the game when it comes to back to school marketing. Your prospective customers are inundated with numerous promotions from various brands. What will set yours apart? A easy technique is to leverage current events to increase the likelihood of your emails being opened and read.
When implementing this method for your marketing, avoid controversial issues. Rather than that, find ones that have a positive spin and connect your marketing to them in some way. This is especially effective when you can incorporate an event occurring in the recipient’s city.
For instance, if your neighborhood NBA team is on a winning streak, you might emphasize how purchasing with you kicks off their own streak. Alternatively, if there was an inspiring national narrative of social good that occurred in a few cities, you can attach your advertising to that as well. The possibilities are virtually limitless. Spend a few moments searching for recent uplifting news stories and creating a promotion around them. Your back to school marketing will be more effective than everyone else is in the eyes of your receivers.
Conclusion
Back to school marketing efforts should be a priority for any firm that sells to consumers. Just because it is one of the most profitable times of year. This post offered a few high-impact email marketing ideas that you can implement immediately. In which it boosts the effectiveness of your back to school marketing campaigns.
It’s essential to concentrate on one or two techniques at a time. Many concurrent promotions will simply serve to confuse your subscribers. None of these are very challenging to implement, but they do need concentration and attention to detail. Begin with the one that appeals to you the most and watch your back to school marketing revenue grow.