If managing your inbox seems like a tall task, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. On average, working professionals receive 120 emails every day (Campaign Monitor), and we check our emails every 37 minutes, or 15 times a day (Harvard Business Review).
That deluge of messages affirms that email marketing isn’t going away. HubSpot recently reported that email marketers are sending 27% more emails now than they then did pre-coronavirus.
Why the bump? Because email marketing gets results. This from WSI: “Email marketing remains an extremely powerful tool for nurturing leads, promoting consistent engagement, building customer relationships, and driving lead conversions.” Email enables you to reach your customers at a more personal level than other marketing tactics. Email also ranks highest in ROI among digital marketing channels, along with SEO and content marketing: Personalized email messages have an ROI of 122% (Instapage).
Like any element in your digital marketing program, a well thought-out strategy is essential to ensure that you get the results you want. Since your market, marketing methods, and technology are continually changing. Your strategy needs to shift to keep up with emerging trends.
Here are six email marketing tips summarized from WSI to help you get it right.
Build a clean list.
Avoid buying lists. Doing so can lead to emailing people who don’t know you or your business, which is a waste of time and money. “Instead, organically build a clean list made of people who have already shown an interest in your brand and have signed up to receive your emails. Create sign-up buttons and CTAs on your forms and throughout your website and your blog, give the option to subscribe through social media, and ask new clients and prospects directly if they would like to be added to your mailing list.”
Send the right content to your subscribers.
“Good mail content includes welcome or thank you emails, blog newsletters, surveys, and order confirmations. To know if you are sending the right content, review your analytics and study your target personas. If necessary, segment your lists and customize your content to suit each segment.”
Improve deliverability and open rates by sending emails at the right time.
While it’s different for every business and varies depending on your list segments, content, and objectives, there are some general rules. For example, 10 AM is a perfect time to send emails, and Tuesday appears to be the best day of the week. Thursday and Wednesday come in second and third respectively.
Test everything you do.
From the effectiveness of subject lines to content to design – test everything. Try various options (one at a time), test deliverability and open rates, and then make changes, as necessary.
Automate drip campaigns.
“A drip campaign is a series of emails automatically sent out to your audience, with each email being after the audience performs a specific action. Drip campaigns save time, nurture relationships to keep brands top of mind, and can provide value and increase sales.”
Track and measure.
“You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Data analytics enable you to test the effectiveness of your email tactics and adjust them as needed. Check industry benchmarks for variables such as open rates, but also analyze your data and make that your primary baseline.”
A few additional trending email tips to help you gain even more traction.
Make their day.
Birthday emails are capable of generating roughly 342% more revenue/email than a regular promotional email. [Experian]
Get personal.
Personalized subject lines can generate approximately 50% higher open rates than standard subject lines. [Oberlo]
Keep it short.
A study by Boomerang found that emails between 75 to 100 words get the best response rates.
These are some of the ways our team at Shamrock adjusts our email marketing approach to better connect with our prospects and clients. If you’d like help with your email effort, reach out to discuss at emoriarty@shamrockcompanies.net.
