When it comes to email marketing, diversification is key. You can’t just pick one strategy for increasing conversions and expect it works every time, for every customer. Instead, you need to fight for every email subscriber with everything you’ve got.
User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful marketing tool that allows businesses to strengthen their brand and build relationships with their customers.
Combine it with the power of email marketing and you’ve got a winning deal!
But, how exactly can UGC boost your email marketing, and what makes it so powerful?
We’re here to answer all those questions, and more. The article below breaks down the secrets of UGC and the best methods for incorporating it into your emails and using it to boost your email marketing engagement.
Why is UGC so Powerful?
Let us first take a quick look at UGC and the power it has over your customers, whether placed in an email or elsewhere in your marketing campaign.
UGC is the type of content that:
- is created by real-life customers
- shows a product or service from the customers’ point of view
- realistically presents a business or brand
- is relatable and believable
UGC works so well because it shows your product or services being used by actual customers whom people can relate to. It shows what you offer, how it works, and what benefits it can bring.
This works wonders on prospects who are used to seeing tons of aggressive ads, with messages to buy from a brand they’re not sure they trust.
Simply put, UGC boosts a brand’s credibility and can be the main reason why a business or a customer decides to trust you.
How to Use UGC to Boost Your Email Marketing?
You know how important it is to make every email count. You need to give your email subscribers a strong reason to read it and ensure they’re happy with the content you provided.
So, you need to look for ways to boost your email content and add value over and over again. UGC can help you do it. Below, we’ll discuss how it can help you improve the results of your email marketing campaigns, win conversions, and boost sales.
1. Feature a Relatable Persona
The number one reason why a person or business will develop an interest in what you have to say is- relatability. They need to see that what you’re talking about in your emails is designed to help them:
- solve a problem they’re experiencing
- improve a segment of their professional life
- be more successful in what they do
- handle tasks more easily
This is why you need to build a relatable persona – something these people can relate to. And what better way to do it, than to find an actual person who used your services and showcase their experience?
To make this a success, you’ll first need to do research and find accurate data on your prospect and email subscribers. You need to learn about their pain points to address them. If you can’t do it on your own, you can pay for a research paper and have a professional gather and analyze the data.
Then, share a story from a person or business with the same pain points as your selected group of subscribers. Use it to show their feedback after they overcame the problem in question.
2. Send a Personalized Message
Personalization matters and is widely considered one of the key points for successful email marketing. A personalized email message speaks directly to the target customer and tells them ”This is an important message for you!”.
UGC can help do the following:
- make your email campaign more personal
- allow the subscribers to identify with the customers you portray
For instance, you can address the recipient’s pain points, issues, weak spots, problems, or situations they find themselves in every day. Then, show examples of your customers who experienced the same thing. Create a connection between them and ask the recipient to join the team of your happy customers.
3. Create a Visual Impact
Visuals are extremely important for building a strong brand. They’re also crucial for making content more memorable and effective.
The UGC you share in your emails should be heavily visual, to help you create a strong impact on the recipient.
Let’s say you’re selling a team management tool that helps companies run projects smoothly and organize their employees’ time. Ask your satisfied customers to send pictures of their team members using this software, with a comment on how it changed things for them.
Jamie Fry, the head of marketing at SupremeDissertations agrees: ’’An image will grab the email subscribers’ attention and speak a thousand words. It will make your email newsletter more appealing, noteworthy, and successful”.
How to Collect More UGC?
You can’t expect your customers to start making UGC spontaneously, without your initiative. You need a plan on how to secure a constant inflow of UGC that you can use in your emails.
But, what’s the best way to do it?
Simply, follow this formula to make it work:
- create a hashtag for UGC and ask people to use it
- portray the most creative UGC on your social media, website, and emails
- reward them with discounts, vouchers, or another form of compensation
This way, people will keep creating the content you need, while checking your emails and social media to see if you’ve portrayed them. It’s a win-win situation.
Final Thoughts
It may seem complicated at first, but using UGC in your email marketing is easier than it seems. All you need to do is inspire people to create UGC. Then, choose the best examples and insert them in your emails. Make sure they speak directly to your email subscribers and showcase your products or services.
We hope this article inspired you to spice up your email marketing campaigns with UGC. Start this practice ASAP and watch your email engagement soar.
