Images Magazine Digital Edition February 2019

www.images-magazine.com FEBRUARY 2019 images 23 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT to be more ad hoc and produce emails as and when you need to send out a campaign. ■ Benchmark This service offers the most visually pleasing email templates. It has hundreds of simple, elegant designs that are easy to customise. Its functionality is limited with only very basic features, but it just tops Mailchimp and Zoho’s usage with 14,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers. Benchmark is the ideal software to make a striking impression and communicate to your customers in a contemporary way. ■ FreshMail On the surface, FreshMail does not match the heights of other providers with free plans only available for up to 500 subscribers. But where it differs is that emails can be customised and designed using several templates using a mobile/tablet app. Customise on the go and create aesthetically pleasing campaigns anytime, any place. ■ MailerLite MailerLite offers simple drag-and-drop templates for up to 1,000 customers free of charge. As well as unlimited sends, the tools provided in MailerLite are comprehensive compared to the others mentioned in the list: personalising, segmenting, A/B testing and some automation features are all available in the free plan Andrew Langridge is from ETrader, one of the industry’s leading suppliers of websites to garment decorators across the UK. www.etraderwebsites.co.uk The PCIAW Summit in June offers a line-up of speeches from some of the most experienced people in the workwear, PPE and corporatewear sectors and will cover a wide range of topics, such as women in PPE, corporate social responsibility and Fairtrade, and buyers’ views. One important talk we’ll be covering is the topic of Brexit with Adam Mansell, CEO of UK Fashion & Textile Association. Adam has recently been appointed to the new Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board, which will aim to increase creative industries’ exports by 50% by 2023. PCIAW is proud to have him on board as a speaker at the summit and believes his background makes him essential to cover the topic of Brexit. During a time of so much uncertainty, it’s no surprise that Brexit is one subject everyone is looking forward to hearing about – and discussing. How is Brexit affecting our industry? What future does the workwear, PPE and corporatewear sectors have with all these upcoming changes? What’s going to happen to trading now that it’s likely to involve so much more paperwork? Part of the reason why PCIAW was formed was so that our industry has a stable entity to turn to during uncertain times and that we can all come together to have a voice. Adam will be discussing this in more detail and answering any questions you have. The Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide Summit will take place in London in June and tickets are available now. For more information, visit the PCIAW website. E mail marketing should be one of the main components of your business’s online strategy to engage with both new and existing customers. The average open rate for an email campaign is 20-30% and is five times more likely to be seen by your customers than messages shared on social media platforms. Here are six services that allow you to produce free email campaigns. ■ Mailchimp The industry-leading software for email campaigns, Mailchimp is recognised worldwide. Ideal for small businesses, it offers a ‘forever free’ package (up to 2,000 customers/12,000 emails), which includes basic features and drag-and-drop templates. A great choice for small businesses, the free version also allows segmenting, so you can tailor your message for different types of customers and their behaviours. ■ Zoho Like Mailchimp, the Zoho ‘forever free’ package offers up to 12,000 emails to 2,000 customers and hundreds of templates to customise. Where Zoho stands out is the A/B testing that is included in the free plan: test different subject lines for each campaign and monitor them with Zoho’s concise and in-depth analytics. Recommended for users looking for a more analytical and scientific approach to email campaigns. ■ EmailOctopus An interesting option, EmailOctopus offers a free of charge ‘Shrimp’ plan where you can send unlimited emails to up to 2,500 customers. It offers plenty of templates and great value for customers looking to produce a larger number of email campaigns. However, there is a compromise: the functionality is basic and there is no automation (it’s for paid customers only), so be prepared Email marketing services PCIAW: HOW IS BREXIT IS AFFECTING THE INDUSTRY? Louise Joy is editor of director-e. The Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide (PCIAW) is a trade body for the professional clothing industry. If you have a question for PCIAW, please email editorial@images-magazine. com with PCIAW in the subject line. www.pciaw.org