15 Awesome Email Marketing Tips
Email marketing is a critical part of your marketing strategy.
No news there, right?
But where people and brands struggle is getting beyond the basics of email marketing and into the next level stuff.
You know the email marketing tips and strategies that can help boost your open, click, and conversion rates.
That’s the good stuff that really makes a difference between a successful email and one that gets archived never to see the light of day again.
In this post, we want to give you some of those really actionable email marketing tips that help move you beyond the basics and help you see some real results.
Ready to dig in?
1. Understand your numbers
One of the best features of having so much data about customers at our fingertips today is it opens up a lot of opportunities to see where your readers are responding.
To benefit, know your numbers and what they mean. That way you can craft a strategy that impacts them in a positive way.
2. Always be testing
See email marketing tip #1. The advanced data you can get from your email service providers allows you to experiment with the content you send out.
Always test from the simple things like headlines to the more complex including offers, coupons, and even design style.
3. Send at the right time
When it comes to scheduling your emails to go out, don’t pick a time at random and call it a day. There have been many studies, including this one from CoSchedule, that have figured out the best days and times to reach your customers.
It might not seem like a big deal, but even a small lift in the number of people who see your emails can result in higher open and click rates. So why leave it to chance?
4. Include multiple call to actions
You know what you want your readers to do, right? But are you both telling them and giving them plenty of chances to actually follow through?
The standard marketing advice is to often include a nice shiny call to action button at the bottom of your email. But try featuring a number of different ways for your readers to click including images, buttons, and text links.
5. Think about your design
Of course, the copy of your email matters, but let’s face it, the look of your email should too. Having an email template design that is visually appealing, on brand, and jumps out to your reader can go a long way.
Don’t forget to make your designs mobile responsive too.
6. Get your readers involved
An easy and effective way to do that is through interactive content. Content that gets your readers to actively engage with tends to see higher click through rates. Plus, people love it.
Use scratch-its, smash-its, spin-its, and pull-its and other kinds of kinetic emails to engage your readers and get them to click. Seeing the bonuses and prizes they can get through interactive emails will plant a positive feeling in their brains that can only mean good things for your brand.
7. Send survey emails
All too often, brands aren’t creating multiple email campaigns. Remember, you can get a ton of information from your customers through your email, all you have to do is ask.
That’s where the survey email comes in. It’s one of the many types of emails you should be sending to your readers. This doesn’t have to be complicated, even 3-5 question 30 second surveys can provide you with tons of great information on the things that are going to matter to your readers. From there, you can craft emails that promote those messages.
8. Utilize white space
Have you ever opened the email app on your phone only to discover a giant wall of text staring at you? Yea, that’s not great.
Most people, when they see that, are going to close the app — or worse, delete the email. When about half of all emails are opened on mobile devices, you have to take that into account when writing copy. One way to do that is to make sure there is plenty of white space that invites the reader to keep scrolling.
9. Don’t forget about email capture forms
The actual emails are no doubt the biggest part of email marketing, but you also have to get people on your email list. That’s why your sign up forms should be a really important part of your overall email strategy too.
Figure out the best places to put these capture forms on your site. Use pop-ups and slide in forms to target readers, grab their attention, and entice them to get on your list with a great offer.
10. Segment your audience
This is one of the most common email marketing tips you’ll find but lots of brands still aren’t doing it. Segmenting your list has a ton of benefits for your brand:
- Makes it easier to personalize content
- You can run new tests and trials on specific segments
- You can identify your 1,000 true fans and early adopters
- Makes it easier to see where your readers are signing up
And so on.
Even if you have a small list, you can start segmenting and glean some great insights.
11. Reward loyalty
Loyal customers are a magical thing in business. But all too often marketers are spending most of their focus on finding new customers versus getting current customers to come back for more.
When you segment your list (see what we mean) to highlight your current customers, you can use your emails to give them special treats. Send them discounts, coupons, and special offers — and don’t forget to make those emails interactive!
12. Reactivate readers
It doesn’t matter how amazing you are at email marketing, there will be a point in the life of ever email list where a percentage of readers have fallen away. This happens for a number of reasons; they aren’t interested anymore, your emails might have gone to spam, they’ve just forgotten to click.
Use reactivation emails to get some of these unengaged readers back into the fray. You can use a coupon or discount or simply ask them if they want to be unsubscribed.
Plus, with a cleaner list, you’ll have more accurate stats too.
13. Give your copy a boost
It never hurts to review your email copy every few months. Sometimes, things get stale, or a joke that tied in with a particular pop culture event is now yesterday’s news.
Take this time to also really think about not only your messaging but how the people on your list are reading it too. Today, a much more casual and friendly approach is what is getting on people’s radars, if your emails feel a bit stuffy, now is a great time to tweak your copy and give it a refresh.
14. Use psychology
You don’t need a PhD in psychology to understand how to best use it in your email marketing. In fact, we’ve got a whole guide on it.
Understanding the basics behind the motivations of your readers and how to trigger responses can go a long way in getting some real results from your email list.
15. Set up your email calendar in advance
There are a few days every year where a perfectly themed email can land. We’re talking about New Year’s Day, the 4th of July, and Black Friday to name a few. But in your industry, there might be other days that you can send out a great email and grab your readers attention.
The last thing you want to do is scramble the night before a holiday email trying to come up with something clever. So make sure you put these dates in your calendar now to get a head start on coming up with a killer idea.
Final thoughts
These advanced email marketing tips should be enough to get you started in your next strategy meeting. As you move beyond the basics, think about what you can do to keep improving your emails and engaging your readers.
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