Every day, 205 billion emails are sent and received. Inboxes are fit to bursting. It's safe to say email is a tough game, but there are still ways to win.
1. Expert copy
If your copy isn't up to scratch, your click-through rate is going to sink way down. So it's very important to hire copywriters that are capable of creating expert copy for your marketing emails. Consumers are used to receiving marketing emails, in fact, they're sick of receiving so many. In order to stand out in their inboxes, your copy has to be clever, engaging and more importantly persuasive, convincing readers to hit your call to action button.
Keep the copy is short and succinct, making it easy for users to scan and digest the message quickly.
For extra points, add personalization to your email copy. Fifty-three percent of marketers say continuous, personalized contact with existing customers results in moderate to significant revenue impact.
2. Beautiful design
Like your copy, your design must also make it easy for readers to scan your email. Why? People are busy. If they feel bombarded by too much information, they'll switch off. Make your design clean and simple. Use blank space. This makes it easy for users to scan the page and also makes products stand out. Use a simple, grid pattern that is easy to follow and allows the products to become the main focus.
Your emails are an extension of your brand, and they should look that way! Design your emails to fit in with the rest of your branding and marketing collateral. This will make them more memorable.
3. A/B testing
A/B testing is a technique for finding out what email marketing messages your customers best respond to. It's great for improving not only your CTRs but also your conversion rates.
You start by deciding what you want to focus on, for example, open rates, click-through rates and so on. Then you create two emails: Email A and Email B. Email A will differ slightly from Email B in order to test which email achieves the best results.
So let's say you want your campaign to focus on improving open rates. The best thing to A/B test here would be subject lines because subject lines ultimately determine whether a user will click on your email or not.
Email A has the subject line: Hey [NAME]! Here's 70 percent off!
Email B has the subject line: Huge savings this weekend only!
Email A is sent to 50 percent of your list and the other 50 percent receive email B. Then you simply add up the results at the end to see which subject line resulted in more opens.
If you want to find out more about A/B testing, I recommend you check out this beginner's guide from Kissmetrics.
4. Catchy subject line
If you don't hook people with your subject line, that's it. You've missed your chance.
In order to improve your open rate, and your marketing campaigns as a whole, you need to put a lot of effort into your subject lines. Think of them as a sort of "elevator pitch" for your brand or promotion.These subject lines are interesting for lots of different reasons. The first one creates mystery and intrigue. The second and third both use puns to catch your attention; with Asos going one further and adding in a promotion.
Creating a catchy subject line is all about thinking outside the box and asking yourself, "Would I click that?"
5. A catchier call to action
If your subject line needs to be catchy, then your call to action needs to be even catchier. The subject line is just the first hurdle, but when a potential customer clicks your call to action, the finish line is in sight. Your call to action (CTA) is the entire reason you send your emails in the first place, so give it the attention it deserves. CTAs need to stand out on the page. A great way to do this is with an engaging line of copy and a colored call to action button.
Another vital trait of a successful call to action is clarity. Make sure your readers are clear on where the call to action button will take them.
6. Be responsive
You can't go anywhere these days without seeing people glued to their smartphones — and I'm not judging, I'm one of them! Mobile devices are an integral part of our everyday lives and if you want your email marketing campaigns to be successful, you need to realize that.
Responsive design is an absolute must. Especially when you consider that 67.2 percent of consumers use a smartphone to check their email, and 71.6 percent of consumers will delete emails if they don't look good on mobile!
7. Utilise automation
Thanks to the internet, we now live in a world of instant gratification. But, unfortunately for brands, this means consumers are more demanding than ever. Put simply, they want what they want, when they want it — and they want it pretty fast.
By utilizing automation, you can please your customers 100 percent of the time — even if you're not in the office! Automated responses are great for keeping customers in the loop, for example, letting customers know that you have received their query and plan to respond to them in a certain number of hours.
You can also use automation to further enhance your user experience. A good example of this is letting customers know when something they like has become available. Or, you could use automation to improve your service by asking customers to post reviews about the products they ordered.
The ways in which you can utilize automation in order to run a successful marketing campaign are practically endless. If you're interested in email marketing automation, be sure to download this free eBook: Complete Guide to Email Marketing Automation.
Final thoughts
It doesn't matter how many different social media platforms pop up each year, email is still a major player in the marketing world — because it works.Email marketing is a great way to connect with your customer base, and hopefully, with these seven tips at your disposal, you'll be on your way to running more successful email marketing campaigns.
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