Introduction
In the current digital climate, it’s important to stay connected with your students and their parents. Email marketing is a great way to do this. But if you don’t know how to build a teacher email list for effective email marketing, you might be missing out on a valuable opportunity for your school. Here are some tips that will help you create an effective email list of teachers:
Identify your audience and what they need
The first step in building an effective email list is to identify your audience and what they need.
- Who are your students?
- What do they want to learn, or what are their challenges?
- How can you help them learn it?
Once you’ve identified the needs of your students, it’s time to start thinking about how you can address those needs through email marketing. In addition:
- Define how often they will receive emails from you (weekly/biweekly/monthly).
- Decide on a length for each message (one paragraph or several paragraphs).
- Determine which days of the week are best for sending out emails (for example, Monday through Thursday).
Create a clear and consistent call to action
- Make it clear what the email is about. Your email should be about one thing and one thing only. It should have a clear call to action that drives home that purpose in every sentence, paragraph, and image.
- Use a consistent call to action throughout your emails. You don’t want to confuse readers by asking them different things at different times (e.g., subscribe vs buy now). Consistency builds trust with readers so they know what they can expect from you when they open an email from you!
- Don’t use too many different types of calls-to-action in each email–this will make it harder for people on mobile devices who may miss them altogether if there are too many options available at once!
Know the value of your emails
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your audience, and it can be used to build relationships with them. When you have a personal connection with a customer or client, they feel like you understand them. That in turn builds trust–and when people trust you, they’re more likely to buy from you!
In a professional tone
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your audience, and it can be used to build relationships with them. When you have a personal connection with a customer or client, they feel like you understand them. That in turn builds trust–and when people trust you, they’re more likely to buy from you!
Ask for parent feedback.
When you ask for feedback, be sure to give parents the opportunity to provide it. If a parent wants to share her thoughts about your class or school, she should be able to do so easily and quickly via email. A simple survey can help you gather information about how well your emails are working and what information parents want from you in the future.
When it comes time for parents to fill out these types of surveys, make sure they know exactly what they’re signing up for by providing an easy-to-understand explanation at the top of each form (see our example above). You’ll also want to make sure that each question is relevant so that responses are useful; don’t ask open-ended questions unless they’re relevant–and even then! A good rule of thumb is: if there’s more than one answer option on any given question (e.g., “Which days do YOU prefer me sending emails?”), then don’t use that question at all because no one will know what answers are appropriate until after submitting their response(s).
Identify the Best Tools
- Use a tool that is easy to use.
- Integrate the tool with your website.
- Track conversions and engagement with the email list, so you can improve the effectiveness of future campaigns.
- Manage all of your contacts in one place, so they’re always available when needed (and not lost in an inbox somewhere).
The benefits of email marketing are numerous, but it’s important to keep in mind that there are also many potential pitfalls. If you’re new to the world of email marketing, here is some advice on how to avoid some of the common mistakes.
Understand the Importance of Privacy
It’s important for teachers to understand the importance of privacy. What does privacy mean? And how can you protect it? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a government agency dedicated to protecting consumers, defines it as “the right to control access to and release of personal data.” In other words, your email list should be used only by authorized people who have permission from you or your school district. This means that if someone doesn’t have permission from either one of those entities–and they want access anyway–don’t give it! If you don’t have a formal privacy policy yet (and even if you do), don’t give out information about students unless there is an explicit reason for doing so.
Choose a Template That Meets Your Needs
Once you’ve chosen your preferred email marketing platform and template, it’s time to customize it. If the template is easy to use, then this process will be much easier than if it isn’t. If it comes with pre-designed elements (such as headers and footers), then these should be edited as well.
The next step is to make sure that your new email marketing list can integrate with other systems such as Google Analytics or Facebook Ads Manager so that you can track the performance of each campaign individually.
Include an Opt-Out Option in Your Signature
Opt-out options should be clearly visible and easy to use so that parents can easily remove themselves from the email list. They should also be included in the footer of every email so that parents don’t have to hunt for them. Lastly, opt-out options should include a link to the school’s privacy policy–this will show parents that you value their privacy and are transparent about how you collect and use their information.
Send Personalized Emails to Teachers on the List
It’s a good idea to send personalized emails to teachers on your email list. In addition to including a friendly message and call-to-action, you should also include something in the email that is relevant to that teacher. For example:
- If you’ve recently published an article about how teachers can use technology in their classroom, including a link with instructions on how they can download it (or even send them an attachment).
- If there’s been some sort of change or update with one of your products or services, let them know what it is so they don’t miss out!
Give Teachers a Way to Contact You Directly
- Make it easy for teachers to contact you.
- Provide a phone number or email address that is easily accessible on the website, and make sure it’s clearly visible on all pages of the site.
- Be responsive when teachers do reach out via email, phone, or social media channels like Twitter and Facebook Messenger (if available).
Include Links to Resources for Teachers
Another great way to build your teacher email list is by providing links to resources for teachers. Teachers are always looking for new ways to help their students, so why not connect them with the latest tools and techniques?
- Include links that provide information about relevant topics such as:
- Learning management systems (LMS)
- Student assessment tools
- Teacher training resources
- Professional development resources
Conclusion
Email is a great way to communicate with teachers and parents, but it’s important that you do it well. You can’t just send any old email and expect it to be effective. You need to understand your audience, create a clear call to action, ask for feedback from parents/teachers, and offer resources for them as well.
