What is Forwarding in Email Marketing?
Forwarding in
email marketing refers to the action where a recipient of an email shares or sends that email to another person or group. This can be done manually by the recipient or through built-in forward features provided by email marketing platforms.
Why is it Important?
Forwarding plays a crucial role in
email campaigns as it helps to extend the reach of your marketing messages beyond your initial mailing list. It can lead to increased
brand awareness and potentially new subscribers. When recipients forward your email, they are essentially endorsing your content, adding a layer of trust and credibility.
How to Encourage Forwarding?
Encouraging recipients to forward your emails can be achieved through several strategies: Call-to-Action (CTA): Include a clear and compelling
call-to-action encouraging recipients to share the email with friends or colleagues.
Shareable Content: Create valuable, engaging content that recipients find worthy of sharing.
Forward-to-a-Friend Links: Many email marketing platforms offer a "forward-to-a-friend" feature. Use these links to make forwarding easy and trackable.
Incentives: Provide incentives such as discounts or exclusive content for those who forward your emails.
Tracking Forwarding Activity
Tracking the forwarding activity helps in understanding the effectiveness of your email campaigns. Most email marketing platforms offer analytics tools to track
forwarding and sharing activities. Metrics like the number of forwards, new subscribers from forwarded emails, and engagement levels can provide insights into how well your content resonates with your audience.
Best Practices
To maximize the benefits of forwarding in email marketing, consider these best practices: Mobile Optimization: Ensure your emails are
mobile-friendly since a significant portion of emails are opened on mobile devices.
Personalization: Personalized emails tend to be more engaging, thus increasing the likelihood of being forwarded.
Clear Formatting: Use clear and simple formatting to make it easy for recipients to read and share your content.
Legal Compliance: Ensure that your emails comply with
email marketing laws and regulations to avoid penalties and maintain trust.
Challenges and Solutions
While forwarding can greatly enhance your email marketing efforts, it also comes with challenges: Loss of Tracking: When emails are forwarded manually, tracking data can be lost. Using built-in forwarding features from your email marketing platform can help mitigate this issue.
Content Control: Forwarded emails might end up in the hands of unintended recipients, potentially diluting your message. To counter this, always craft your content with a broad audience in mind.
Spam Filters: Overuse of forwarding features or including too many links can trigger spam filters. Maintain a balance and ensure your content is relevant and valuable.