Email marketing is considered by many to be the poor relation in marketing in this Web 2.0 world that we now live but when implemented properly email marketing can be a very effective marketing tool. The problem is that we are all constantly being bombarded with spam and this tends to lead us to disregard email as a communication medium.
To make matters worse ISPs in their never ending attempts to prevent spam from reaching their customers can block emails that the customer may actually want to receive. ISP’s and anti-spam software used to look for phrases in the subject line or body such as “Weight Loss”, “Cheap Rolex”. The good news, at least in terms of ISP’s, is that now much of the work is around identifying IP addresses of spammers and blocking those. Here are 12 tips to help improve your email marketing.
1. Plan Your Campaign
Don’t just rush in headlong into typing up your message. Think about who it is aimed at, are they existing customers or potential customers? Depending upon where in the buying cycle a reader is will affect what kind of message will have most impact upon them. Set objectives for what the email is supposed to achieve e.g. increased phone calls, increased hits on a particular page on your website, increased sales etc.
2. Subject Line
This is your only opportunity to stand out from the crowd. Your subject line should give the reader a reason to open your email. Most email inboxes contain 50-75% of spam so you need to give the user a reason to open your email. Do not just say that it is your company’s “Monthly Newsletter”. Give the user a reason to open your email such as “Save 10% on your Next Order with this Email!”
3. Use the Preview Option
When an email arrives in a users desktop inbox then they will often get a notification on their desktop that will show them the subject line and a little bit of what the email content is about. I know from the way that I use email that when this notification appears I glance at it, if it grabs my attention I will click on it to see what the full message is about or just ignore it. Most bulk email programs such as Dot Mailer and MailChimp give you an option to fill out this preview, so take advantage of this opportunity to give the reader a reason to open the email.
4. Templates
If you are using a bulk email program then you will almost certainly have access to a variety of templates that you can use to make your emails more interesting. It is worth the small cost of getting an email template designed for you so that your branding in your emails matches the branding on your website. This helps to reinforce your brand awareness and build trust with your readers, which in turn is likely to lead to more conversions.
5. Personalise Your Message
If you can personalise an email by including the user’s forename in your introduction then that will help. If you can also include the forename in the subject line that is even better, this will help your email stand out in the user’s inbox. While most users are aware that the personalisation is automatically generated it does still indicate that you view your readers as less of a number and more of a person.
6. Put Key Information First
Think of your email as being like a newspaper. A newspaper always puts the most important news on the top of the front page. Your email has a purpose, be it to tell people about your new service, offer a discount code or provide news updates. The truth is that the further down your email your key message is the fewer people will see it. Just like the way more people will read the front page of a newspaper than will read page 30.
7. Avoid Rich Media and Attachments
While it may be tempting to include your new sales video in your email you would be wise not to do so. Many ISP’s regard video inside emails or attachments as a potential security risk and may label your email as spam with the reader never even knowing that you sent it. Instead include a link in your email to the page on your website where they can view your video or download the documents.
8. Keep Your Message Short
People are busy, we all have a million and one things to do and next to no time to do it in. If your email cannot be read in under a minute then it is probably too long. Think about using your email as a way to drive traffic to your website where the user can gain more information. This also gives the user an opportunity to explore your website more deeply. Break text up into short paragraphs and use headings to subdivide the page, this is more visually appealing to a user than a long block of text and will encourage the user to read further down your email.
9. Proofread Your Email
Do not just type it and then send it. Spell checking is a good start but also re read it and, if possible, get another person to read a draft of the email. A clean pair of eyes will often spot mistakes or ambiguities in your text that you did not know existed.
10. Test Your Email
Send test versions of your email and check how it looks on different devices. Remember that many people now check their emails on their smartphones, so make sure that you provide users with a great user experience when they view your email on mobile.
11. Use Split Testing
This is most applicable to those who have large subscriber lists. Segment a proportion of your list into two groups (ideally each group needs 1000 members) and send each group a different version of the email and then decide which version has the most success and send that email to the remainder of your list that was not in either group.
12. Measure Your Success
This is key to creating a successful email campaign. Look at your open rate and click through rates and compare them with your previous emails and also with industry averages. Try to work out what has been successful and unsuccessful. If your open rate is high then you know that you used a good subject line. What was different about this subject line to others that you have used? Look at not just the number of clicks that the links in your email have received but also where on the page the links were placed. Look for patterns in behaviour such as links nearer the top of the email receiving more clicks than those at the bottom. This sort of data is all very valuable in helping you to make your next email more successful.
Email marketing has been around for a very long time in internet terms and I believe that it will be around for a very long time to come. Take advantage of the benefits that it can offer to your organisation. If you follow these 12 tips then you should see an improvement in your email marketing efforts and improve the quality of the emails that your users find in their inbox.