Starting a digital business (or keeping it running) is sometimes not as easy as it is made out to be. It takes a lot of effort to get the ideal results that everyone expects, and one way to make it possible is by using the free tools that are available. In this case, we are going to focus on email marketing and all it has to offer.
Digital marketing actions to make businesses thrive through the internet are numerous. During 2022, one of the most successful ones for people all over the world is email marketing. This system of direct contact with potential customers generates a very high return on investment and, the best thing about it is that sometimes you don’t have to invest any money at all.
Thanks to the use of free tools, it is possible to have a system that works and stays in place for a long time. The main one, of course, is the use of free online mailing, which will be the basis for the rest of the system to work properly. There are some very good options in this case, and we are going to go over which points to look at to get the best results.
Email marketing software
The first free tool that we will see (and that is mandatory for the whole action plan to work) is the email marketing software. This is the space that the brand will use as a centre of action to send all the communications that need to be fulfilled to potential customers.
The important thing when choosing is to look at the features offered. There are some that give a limit of up to 20,000 subscribers and around 80,000 emails to be sent each month. In this way, you will have enough capacity to enjoy a large group of subscribers without having to pay a single dollar for it.
It is also important to make sure that you have a powerful editor to give a better presentation to each email sent. For those who do not have a computer yet, it is very important to look for user-friendly software that allows anyone to use it, even if they do not have advanced technical knowledge.
Free images
The visual aspect of all communications is very important for capturing the reader’s attention. Although it is not compulsory to include images, it is worth having some for occasional use. It is never advisable to fill the body of the email with images because this generates the opposite effect, creating a feeling of rejection in the customers’ brains.
Thanks to the existence of free image banks, it will be possible to get hold of some that identify with the brand and that can fulfil the objective of the work without paying anything. It is important that during this process we maintain a visual standard, where the colours and elements used follow a similar pattern. A good representative in this case is Pixabay.
Another important detail related to images is that very large images should not be used because they increase the size of the email and make it difficult for the recipient to visualise it. So, what can be done in these cases is to reduce the size of the selected images in tools that serve this purpose for free, such as Tinypng.
After the image has the correct dimensions, you only have to import it into the email marketing software to insert it into the newsletter editor and continue the work process.
Emoticons
Another visual addition that is very positive to create closeness and break the monotony of words in an email are emoticons. Only with them is it possible to establish a unique visual identity that stands out from other emails received and allows you to capture the attention of those on the other side of the screen.
The most usual when working with this type of resources is to include them in the subject line, as it is the first thing a person will see when receiving the email, and it should be as attractive as possible. With the ones available in Emojipedia, you will surely find the ones that best represent the brand and are useful for each communication to be sent.
Animated GIFs
Animated GIFs have become an excellent way to add movement to digital communications, making them entertaining. At this point it must be clear that its success depends on the type of audience you have, because it is a resource that does not fit in all types of communication and can generate a counterproductive effect in certain cases.
In any case, as with images, you have to make sure that the content has the right weight so that it does not interfere with the true value of the email and the final effect you want to achieve is lost. An excellent GIF bank is Giphy, and you can select the ones that work best for each case for free.
Graphic compositions
Another good resource to work with emails and make them attractive is the use of graphic compositions, such as banners. These designs can be specially oriented to the brand and thus achieve a more visual and differentiating approach.
On a site like Canva, you can do this type of work without having to be a professional in the field, as they have hundreds of free templates available. Either way, you can always apply modifications to make the designs customised and clean.
Videos
Videos are one of the visual resources with the most potential in digital marketing, but that doesn’t mean that they are suitable for any scenario. Although there are many brands that take advantage of them occasionally, it is necessary to be clear that playing them from an email is often complicated.
The good news is that there are already email marketing editors that allow you to get a screenshot from a URL inserted with a YouTube video. In this way, email recipients will know that it is a video and can click on the image to be directed directly to the video. As for free tools to get high quality videos, Lumen5 is the best alternative.
In all of this, the important thing is to test and evaluate what is most interesting for the potential client in order to exploit it in the following communications. To do this, it is important that the email marketing software used has statistics.
