Four Ways to Achieve Email Marketing Success (So You Get More Conversions)
With so many making use of email marketing, it’s tough to stand out from the crowd. Here are four ways to achieve email marketing success.
Email marketing is dead!
You’ve probably heard more than a few people say that over the years. They point to falling open rates and claim you’d do better to invest your marketing money elsewhere.
And they’re right…to a point.
Ineffective email marketing can be a time and money sink. You could spend a huge amount on campaigns that get you no clients.
However, if you do it right, email marketing is still a very valuable tool.
About 99% of people check their emails at least once per day, with some checking as many as 20 times. And you earn more money from the people who spend via your emails. Up to 138% more per customer, in fact.
Email marketing isn’t dead. It’s just a tool that so many have misused or misunderstood for so long that it’s easy to think that it’s dead.
How do you ensure your emails don’t get consigned to the spam folder?
These four tips will help you create campaigns that convert.
Tip #1 – Focus on Mobile Responsiveness
Think about the devices that you use to check your emails. The majority of you likely use your smartphone or tablet at least once per day.
That goes for your clients too. In fact, over 50% of email opens come from mobile devices.
However, mobile users aren’t always the most patient bunch either. If your email doesn’t display well on a device, over 70% of users will delete it within three seconds. Shockingly, about 15% may even unsubscribe from your list. That means your email ends up doing more harm than good.
The simple message is that mobile’s crucial when creating an email marketing campaign. Any emails you send out need to display correctly on every device possible.
There are a few things that you can do to make your emails more suitable for mobile devices:
- Keep subject lines short so that users can see what the message is about.
- Limit the email’s width to 600 pixels so that the recipient doesn’t have to keep scrolling around.
- Remember that big images take a long time to download. Use small optimised images to account for mobile download speeds.
- Test the email on a range of devices before sending it out. An email that displays well on an iPhone may not display as well on a Samsung phone. There are several services online that can help you to emulate a range of mobile devices.
Creating emails for desktop users only is an outdated model that actively loses business for your company. Design emails with both desktop and mobile users in mind to improve open rates and conversions.
Tip #2 – Personalise the Message
Generic emails all get the same response.
If you’re lucky enough for a user to open the email in the first place, they quickly send it to the trash folder. If the message doesn’t speak to them, they have no time for it.
Personalisation is one of the keys to success in email marketing.
The stats bear this out too. Something as simple as using your name rather than a company name when sending can boost open rates by 15% to 35%.
Click-through rates increase by 14% with personalised emails while conversions go up by about 10%.
Your clients don’t want to feel like they’re getting the same message as everybody else. The more personalised your emails, the more conversions you get from them.
There are several ways to personalise an email beyond using your own name when sending it. These include the following:
- Send emails on special occasions. For example, you could send a “happy birthday” email with a discount voucher.
- Provide follow-up emails that relate to any recent purchases. A how-to guide for an item with offers for other products works well here.
- Segment your lists so that you can send automated emails based on where the customer is in your funnel. This ensures that customers at the bottom of the funnel aren’t receiving introductory content. It also means that you’re not launching straight into a sales pitch to someone who wants to learn more about you.
- Show or hide sections of content in your email based on tags or fields each contact has.
This makes your emails more effective because it ensures they speak directly to the recipient.
Tip #3 – Work on Your Subject Line
Your conversion rate is the most important metric when it comes to email marketing. However, you’ve got to convince the recipient to actually open the email before you have a chance at converting them.
This is where your subject line becomes extremely important. The average office worker receives up to 90 emails every day. The number’s likely less for personal accounts. However, it gives you an idea of the amount of competition you face when vying for somebody’s attention.
A poor subject line leads to the recipient skipping past your email and moving onto the next one.
Beyond keeping it short for mobile users, there are several other ways to make your subject line more appealing:
- Create urgency or spur curiosity. For example, the phrase “Act Now!” suggests a limited-time offer that the reader has to see. Or, you could ask an interesting question related to a recipient’s pain points.
- Build personalisation into the subject line. If you can use their name, your email speaks directly to them.
- Remember that you’re making a promise to the recipient with your subject line. Don’t claim they’re going to get or see something that you don’t deliver in the email. If you don’t deliver, you damage the trust between you and the recipient. This could lead to them unsubscribing from your list.
- Use numbers to make your message more direct. For example, “Join the 50 people who’ve signed up to our webinar” is more effective than “Sign up for our webinar.”
First impressions count when it comes to email. Your subject line is your first chance to show the reader what you have to offer them. Focus on making it as enticing as possible then deliver on the promise to encourage click-throughs.
Tip #4 – Split Test Different Email Types
Modern email offers so much more flexibility than the emails of the past. You can now build images into your emails and essentially create a mini-webpage.
The question is, should you?
As mentioned above, image-heavy emails may actually lead to lower conversion rates. The prettiest email in the world doesn’t mean much if recipients can’t see it correctly.
However, a plain text email may not appeal to the more visual-inclined recipient.
Your goal is to figure out which type works best for your email strategy. Split testing is a great way to do this. Create two emails based on the same offer. One should offer a plain text account of the offer while the other focuses primarily on visuals.
Run the campaigns side-by-side and analyse the results. Any good email service should provide the key metrics, such as open, click-through, and conversion rates.
Use them to determine which type of email your audience responds to.
Your split testing doesn’t have to end there either. Once you’ve settled on a type, conduct further tests related to content. Try different subject lines, action verbs, and calls to action.
The goal is to keep testing the email to see what works and what doesn’t. This allows you to refine the email so that you maximise conversions each time you run a campaign.
Split testing may require a fairly heavy initial investment. However, it allows you to keep optimising your emails over time. This optimisation leads to improved ROI, which means you get more and spend less with each subsequent campaign.
Build Your Email Strategy Today
Email marketing is as effective today as it’s ever been.
That’s assuming that you do it well. Just sending out a bog-standard email to your entire list doesn’t cut it anymore. You need to refine your strategy and adapt it to suit the current market.
These four tips help you to do exactly that. Create emails that display well on all devices and personalise wherever possible. Craft a subject line that stands out from the rest of the junk in the recipient’s inbox.
And finally, split test different emails to see which works best for you.
Automation Agency can help you with several of these tasks. Plus, we can help you to create an automated email campaign that saves time and money. Just send a task to our Concierge Service to find out more.
And if you’re not a member of the Concierge Service, you may need to find out if we’re a good fit. Chat to our Right Fit Chatbot to figure out if we can help you.
