Five ways to get the most out of your email marketing strategy
More than a virtual mailbox, email has become essential to our online life, as it is one of our primary communication tools and works as an identification system to access most digital platforms.
It is estimated that more than 4 billion email users are enabled worldwide. Also, some studies say that most workers check their mailbox every six minutes, which backs up the fact that email is the most reliable channel when measuring a strategy’s return on investment (ROI), according to Nielsen’s 2020 marketing report.
These statistics make email a vital medium to consider in your digital strategy, so if you want to take advantage of it, these following best practices will surely be helpful.
1. Personalize your messages
Personalization is not only about greeting the user by name but also about understanding their interests and desires. To achieve this, you may think that it is enough to rely on data such as their purchase history, geographic location, and other clues that they leave while interacting with your brand; however, if you want to strengthen ties, tell them explicitly that you wish to provide the most satisfactory experience possible, but to achieve this, you need to get to know them a little better.
Tip: ask your customers directly. Remember that good communication is key to healthy relationships, including commercial ones. Therefore, it is best to ask users about their interests and offer them different subscription options according to their content preferences and regularity, facilitating segmentation and opens/clicks tracking. Also, inquire about whether your content benefited them. You can do this through ratings or by asking open-ended questions.
Say you own an educational app, you could ask users what their medium and long-term learning goals are via short forms and, based on this, recommend the best route they can take to reach their goals.
2. Strengthen the bond with your audience
Email connects brands directly with their audiences, from prospects to regular customers, so it is perfect for checking in on all conversion funnel stages, reviewing their status, and formulating action plans for each audience type according to their level of brand awareness and the interaction they have had with it.
Tip: reward brand loyalty. Data analysis can reveal who interacts the most with a brand or who buys frequently. Email is the perfect way to thank them and interact with them according to their needs. For example, you could offer an exclusive discount to people who have shown interest in a product or service you provide and explain why they should get it. Cashback is also a valued option, or why not create a tutorial on the uses of your products?
3. Implement (re)engaging techniques:
Think of fresh, updated content that extends your brand reach beyond the need it initially satisfies. For this, you must deeply understand your target audience and your brand’s industry and continuously get updated on trends, as well as the state of the art.
Tip: provide exclusive content to subscribers. Brainstorm to create a mind map about your brand, then make content pills with these ideas to conjure users’ curiosity. You can include expert opinions, real cases, tips, Q&As, etc. Let’s say you have a bookstore — you can share a list of reasons why people should read more and send it in periodic doses to your subscribers, along with your supply’s hottest titles.
4. Invest all your creativity — there are no limits:
Each email is a blank canvas on which we can explore all of our brand’s visual possibilities and exploit its personality to the fullest. When we combine quality content, refined design, and the right amount of interactivity, users will have a memorable experience, translating into high brand recall and eventual conversions. If you don’t know where to start, there are many online tools that make this job much more manageable (I’m mentioning some of them later on).
Tip: prioritize responsive design. Appearance isn’t everything, but when it fails and compromises the overall user experience, you’re in trouble. So, make your layouts look flawless on all devices by following these basic principles:
● Try writing your email in one column when distributing the information; having two or more of these may lead to disarrangement of the elements.
● Ensure that the email does not consist entirely of images: they may not always load. If you use them, set the ALT (alternative) text in the HTML code.
● Design buttons and links with an appropriate size. The average email open rate on mobile reached 78% in 2021, according to emailMonday; on that account, calls to action should be large enough to be easily tapped with a finger.
● Test again and again. Some helpful online tools, such as Email On Acid, show you how an email will look on different platforms and devices.
● Use media queries if you code the email yourself; they will make it adapt to the screen size based on the device used. You’ve also got powerful tools like Good email code, Can I email…, and Email-comb that will be good friends when diving into the challenging and fascinating world of coding.
● Don’t cram your email with too many elements. This may distract and overwhelm readers, who will end up leaving because they won’t know what to pay attention to.
5. Make your email irresistible to open, but be patient with users.
Some advertising types may be invasive, fleeting, and not always targeted to us. With email marketing, users already know our brand and choose to receive our messages because they are interested in what we have to offer. Just do not keep sending emails without the recipients’ consent or aiming to spam; this can be very counterproductive to any brand. Well planned, email marketing can be 40 times more effective than social media in acquiring a new customer, as stated by McKinsey.
Likewise, users check their inboxes with the sole intention of reading their messages, convinced that they will find content created specially for them and somehow beneficial. They’ll put all their attention on that task, so how do we catch it?
Tip: your subject line is your cover. Just as we judge a product by its packaging, the first thing we look at in an email is its subject line. Competition for recipients’ attention is rough, so these short words must be punchy enough. Email on Acid and Hubspot propose some strategies to create successful subject lines:
● Use the Fear of Missing Out (FMO) to your advantage:
“Limited time only: Extra 25% off + FREE gift”
● Hit a pain point and then present its solution:
“Struggling with a business decision? I made you a 1-page framework to help.”
● Social proof — everybody’s doing it; why not you?:
“See what our clients are saying…”
● Asking questions (whose answer is inside the email):
“Are you taking advantage of this?”
● Adding moderate humor doses:
“What to Do When You’re the Sweaty, Smelly Guy at the Gym”
● Emojis (moderately too):
“🍓 Berry impressive summer recipes”
Keep in mind that, even after making sure of all the above, there will always be someone who will want to unsubscribe from your messages, and that’s okay. It’s impossible to make 100% of people fall in love with your brand. You don’t want to waste time and effort with users who don’t add value, so always give them the option to leave if that’s what they really want to do.
Finally, if you’re still unsure about your campaign’s success, experience it yourself. Get out of your creator role and read your emails as any user would or as you would do to any other brand. Also, always test with other people, as it is very likely that another pair of fresh eyes will find something that yours had ignored the whole time.
