Email marketing is still one of the most effective forms of promotion available to small businesses of all types. You have a dedicated audience you can reach who’ve already indicated they’d like to hear from you frequently.
According to studies by Statista, around 319.6 billion emails get sent each day. The number will hit around 376.4 billion by 2025. While not all emails are business related, many are. With so many messages flooding the average inbox, how can you stand out from the crowd?
Working to improve your email marketing strategy is a smart first step to higher return on investment (ROI). Here are the top ways to improve your email marketing efforts and gain maximum results with your target audience.
8 Email Marketing Tips to Drive Results
1. Segment Your Lists.
No matter how many people are on your mailing list, there will be some differentiation between your customers. Some may just want information while others are ready to buy. For example, if you run a hair salon, you may have clients who like their hair highlighted and others who only want a cut and dry.
Know who your buyer personas are and separate your subscribers into lists. Send targeted information specific to the needs of each persona.
2. Build Relationships.
Customer relationship management (CRM) should be one of your top priorities if you want to keep the clients you have and build momentum. Customer churn hurts your ROI over time. Surveys show around 83 percent of consumers want to hear from the brands they like via email.
However, you must create a good customer experience and send people things they want to read. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time and theirs. Good CRM is about knowing what your buyers want and how to best deliver it to them.
3. Offer Information.
Know the pain points of your customers. What problem are they facing that drove them to your website and mailing list in the first place? Most people subscribe because they want a lead magnet, such as an ebook. Or perhaps they want to know when new articles go up on your blog because they found another one helpful.
Make sure you have rich content in your newsletters customers can’t find anywhere else. While it’s ok to revamp blog articles and share them in your email campaigns, people should also sometimes get something unique from your messages.
4. Ditch the Noreply Address.
In a very impersonal world, people want to feel they’re talking to a real person and that the brand knows who they are and what they want. Get rid of the noreply address and replace it with a general email for your company.
If a personality drives the brand’s image, go ahead and sign your emails with the founder’s name and email address.
5. Go Mobile Friendly.
Adobe reported around 85 percent of people use their smartphones to check email. One way to make sure your message reaches people is to create mobile friendly messages. Your email should respond to any screen size and operating system.
Be sure you check your email on different devices to see how it appears. Are clickable elements working? Do images and headlines resize for readability? Is anything too large or too small?
6. Revamp Your Subject Lines.
Your subject line is the first thing users see when they open their mailbox. You have an opportunity to grab attention and stand out from the crowd. Don’t try to use clickbait style headlines. Instead, define what is inside the email.
For example, you might write, “Check Out Our Newest Product Arrivals.”
Use active verbs and descriptive phrases so people know exactly what they’re getting when they open your message. While you might entice people to click on your email with vague phrasing, they won’t appreciate it if the email doesn’t pertain to them.
They may be reluctant to open further messages from you in the future. It’s much better to be specific and have fewer opens with a higher clickthrough rate.
7. Engage Your Users.
From the moment the user opens your email, you must engage them and draw them into a conversation. Explain why the message is important to them and how you’re going to change a problem or fix something for them.
Use beautiful imagery and skimmable text to keep them interested. Don’t forget you can also include videos and animations to keep the person scrolling through your text.
Use a pattern of presenting the problem, the solution, and the benefit of choosing you over your competitors.
8. Pay Attention to Stats.
Nearly every third-party email provider gives analytical information. You can see who opened your emails and their response. You could even ask for feedback and take a poll or conduct a survey.
Pay attention to how many opens and how effective your emails are. Anything that isn’t working should be thrown out on your next message and anything that is can be repeated. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and try new things.
Embrace Personalization and Interaction
Put yourself in the shoes of the average person. Amidst a sea of email ads is one message that meets their needs perfectly. Which company are you most likely to buy from? Which message would you open and which would you skim past?
Take the time to get to know your customers and engage them on social media and through other mediums. The better you know them, the better you can solve their pain points.
Eleanor Hecks
Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. She was the creative director at a prominent digital marketing agency prior to becoming a full-time freelance designer. Eleanor lives in Philadelphia with her husband and pup, Bear.