If you have a leaky faucet in your house, dripping probably isn’t something you’re overly fond of. If, however, you’re a farmer, a gardener or a marketer, dripping is a beautiful thing.
Some plants require constant, measured amounts of water delivered at regular intervals in order to thrive and produce the intended results. That’s the idea behind drip irrigation systems. They don’t overload plants with too much water (which would cause root rot and kill the plant). Instead, they dole out just the right amount of moisture to ensure that the plants flourish and produce. This approach isn’t right for every type of plant, but it’s highly effective in the right situations.
That’s the same principle behind drip email marketing campaigns. They can build brand awareness and keep your company in front of potential clients. It’s important, however, that you execute them properly. Here are a few tips.
Dripping isn’t for everyone. Just because you have an email address doesn’t mean you should constantly send someone information. Use your customer relationship management (CRM) system to identify customers who have indicated a genuine interest in your products or services. These could be individuals who have requested information or downloaded a white paper or special report from your website. The more you can target your drip campaigns to people you know are looking for more information, the better.
Adjust your message. One of the most irritating things about a dripping faucet is that the sound never changes. Don’t do that to your customers! Sure, there are elements that should be consistent within the campaign, but don’t send the same message over and over. Bring up a different aspect of how your product or service can help. Talk about customer problems (and solutions) from a slightly different perspective. Keep it fresh.
Automate your campaign. Framers and gardeners don’t manually turn on their drip irrigation systems. They have them on a timer. You can do the same thing by automating your processes so that emails go out at regular intervals. You can be working on other things while your messages go out on their own.
Don’t be a total drip. This relates back to the first tip. Not everyone will want to receive your emails. That’s OK. Don’t send them to everyone. Do your best to identify who might really want this information. And always give recipients the ability to opt out. And if they do, make sure you honor that request immediately.
Sometimes it’s OK to be a drip. Just make sure you do it right.
BTW– below is a great infographic that provides some helpful information about drip campaigns in a single image. You can see this image full size (and read another helpful post about drip campaigns) here.
