Many businesses have email marketing as part of their digital marketing mix. The email copywriting (or content) stage is usually considered part of the marketing process, and not a direct sales stage. The truth is that creating and sending a series of emails can be a lucrative business. So how much should you be charging for email marketing?
This article will examine the various components that make up the cost of running an efficient email marketing campaign, and how much you should be charging for each.
Cost of Developing New Material
With any new marketing campaign, you’ll have to bear the costs of developing new material. This includes paying for content creators, graphic designers, web development experts, and other contractors that you’ll need to bring on board for the duration of the project.
The good news is that you can get a head start by developing content in advance for later use in your marketing campaigns. This can be a tedious process, and one that can be difficult to orchestrate. But the benefits are numerous and can make a dramatic difference to the effective marketing of your product or service.
Cost of Designing an Email Template
As the name would suggest, the email template stage is also a critical one. When you send the same email to multiple recipients, you’ll need to design it to fit their needs. You’ll also need to decide on the look and feel of the email, including the header and the body copy. This includes picking the right template, the right colors, and the right graphics.
There are numerous tools that you can use to help make the process easier. You have the option of using a drag and drop email builder, like MailChimp or HubSpot, or using a template-based service like Constant Contact or Unbounce. These services are fully integrated into your email marketing software of choice, so you won’t need to manually create your templates.
Cost of Setting Up Email Campaigns
Setting up your email marketing campaigns is both an art and a science. You can learn more about the process and different strategies in the following guides:
- An Introduction to Email Marketing (PDF) by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4.8 stars on 11 Reviews)
- Marketing Campaign Strategy (PDF) by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4.8 stars on 11 Reviews)
- Email Marketing (PDF) from the American Association of Advertising Agencies
- Email Marketing: Build and Grow Your Business with Effective Campaigns (PDF) by the American Association of Advertising Agencies
Once you’ve set up your email marketing software, you’ll need to determine how much you should be charging per email. There are a few critical factors that you need to take into account:
Number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs)
This is the total amount of unique people that you send an email to on a monthly basis. The ideal number is between 100 and 500. If you’re sending more than 500 emails per month, then you may want to consider raising your prices. On the other hand, if you’re sending fewer than 100 emails per month, then you may want to consider lowering your prices. The more emails you send, the more you’ll earn.
Conversion Rates (CPV)
This is the percent of people who’ve taken the desired action (i.e., made a purchase, filled out a form, signed up for a newsletter, etc.) after receiving the email.
Getting conversion rates above 1% is excellent. To put this in perspective, a popular blog post can generally expect to earn around $500 or more per month from affiliate sales alone. So if you can get a conversion rate of 2%, then you’ll be making $1,000 a month from the same post! (And if you can get a 5% conversion rate, then you’ll be earning $2,500 per month.)
Cost Per Action (CPA)
Like most other marketing initiatives, you’ll also need to determine how much you’re willing to spend to get each action you want. So if you goal is to get 10,000 people to sign up for your email list, then you’ll need to set a cost per action (CPA) – the cost you’ll incur to get that action – for your email campaigns. This is usually calculated by multiplying your monthly email budget by the conversion rate you’ll need to expect to achieve that action.
Knowing how much you should be charging per email is an essential part of getting started. That way, you can determine how much you need to spend on each task – developing new material, designing the email template, etc. – to achieve your overall marketing objectives.