Email marketing remains one of the fundamentals of success within the digital marketing industry. Yet, many sales teams make a few key mistakes that end up costing them.
Research indicates that 15 percent of marketers don’t even track their open rates. Many don’t know what an acceptable open rate is for their industry either. Yet, there are simple, direct things you can do right now to improve your email campaign’s success.
#1: List Segmentation Is Critical to Any Success
Every subscriber to your email list is unique and has his or her own needs. When you address their needs directly, you increase your click-through rate. That’s why list segmentation is essential. Your emails need to be tailored to your target audience. Divide your list into smaller and more targeted groups. Create customized emails for each of those groups.
For example, break your list into groups based on demographics, where they signed up to receive your emails, or by their title. Use the information you have from your subscriber list to break it down. This is a key form of customer-focused marketing.
#2: Remain Mobile Friendly
Your emails must be mobile-friendly. That is, when a customer opens them on his or her smartphone, they should be immediately visible fully. They do not want to have to slide their screen back and forth to read it. It’s best to test this out before sending them out to your target list. Sometimes, images resize improperly, for example, creating a problem for easy viewing.
#3: Be Direct, To the Point, and Short
Email is not the place to write a lot of content or to provide significant information. You want them to click to get that information instead. That’s why they shouldn’t be more than a few paragraphs in length long if that.
Your goal with an email is to give them a reminder and a nudge to come back to you. You can write something worthy of that click in just 100 or so words most of the time. Remember, most people have a limited amount of time. They won’t read a lot of text, but they will click if the short message is interesting.
#4: Mind the Preview
To go along with the short message, remember the preview that most email solutions offer. For example, when you receive a message on your phone, you may get an alert. That alert provides two or three lines of text. If you hover over the email in your inbox, you see just a few lines of text. Make this the most compelling part of your email.
For example, get to the point right away. “John, thanks for picking up our latest video. I’m sending you along with a free guide to your product.” That’s going to get them to open the email to read more.
#5: Amplify the Subject Line
Like the preview, that subject line must bring them in. There is plenty written on what to include in subject lines, but don’t stress yourself about it. Instead, consider these simple rules:
- Add their name to the subject line. According to HubSpot, this is one simple way to boost your click-through rate.
- Consider an emoji — this is a newer way to increase your brand awareness, too.
- Incorporate some level of emotion
- Eliminate sales tactics here. Sales techniques are best left to your landing page.
- If your brand allows it, incorporate some simple humor into the subject line
Here’s an example. “Hey John, here’s what we learned from that BIG mistake we made.”
#6: Test and Test Again
View every email marketing campaign as worthy of spending some extra time testing to ensure it is going to deliver the results you want. An A/B split test can provide some of the best results because it gives you information about how your likely customers are going to respond.
To do this, split up your email subscribers into various groups. Then, send several versions of your emails out, one to each group. See which ones convert the best. That’s the style and format most likely to engage your audience.
#7: Ensure Every Campaign Has a Dedicated Landing Page
Where do you want your customers to wind up when they open your email and click the link? A common mistake is directing them to a basic landing page. While this may work, it’s best if the landing page is updated and designed specifically for that email marketing campaign. When the content of your email matches the content on your landing page, telling the same story and engaging your readers in the same way, you increase the likelihood that they will respond to you. It’s a simple investment of your time that can make a significant difference in the results of that campaign.
It’s Time to Make a Few Changes
It’s easy enough to get started. Implement these steps into your next marketing campaign, or adjust before your next email goes out, so you can capitalize on its performance.
