7 Ways to Improve Your Email Marketing Results

When the Internet was new, everyone loved hearing that distinctive “You’ve got mail!” But how about now? Do people feel the same way? Is email marketing still a worthwhile tactic for businesses?

The simple answer is: ABSOLUTELY!

Email marketing has a 3800% (yes, that’s two zeroes) return on investment (ROI), and brings in $38 for every $1 spent. And when you adopt marketing automation – to make your life 10 times easier and to ensure every segment of your databases getting the personalized emails in the proper response time that they deserve – you’re off to the races. For examples, studies have shown that:

• B2C marketers who leverage automation have seen conversion rates as high as 50%
• Email marketing technology is used by 82% of B2B and B2C companies
• Automated email messages average 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click-through rates than “business as usual” marketing messages.

We’d say that it’s definitely worth making email marketing an integral part of your marketing strategy!

Here are 7 ways that you can see big gains in your email marketing this year:

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1. Personalize the email to each recipient.

Personalized emails get higher open and click-through rates, period. Personalizing the beginning of your email message can help to engage the reader enough to get them to at least begin to read your offer. Simply having the first name personalization increases your click-through rate from about 5.8% to about 7%.

HubSpot’s email tool is a great way to quickly and efficiently handle the personalization you need. This tool works in tandem with your HubSpot contact database. When creating an email, you have the ability to personalize an email with a personalization token. This token looks into the contact record of the person receiving the email and is able to pull that information from the contact record and place it into your email.

For our best digital marketing tool summary, check out our blog post here.

2. Segment your email list.

Another way to personalize your emails, segmenting your email list will gain you higher open rates and click-through rates. Segmenting your recipients enables you to send more relevant content. Your recipients are interested in different types of offers – content, news, or special events. Give them what they want for a win-win situation!

Here are some examples of segments you can create (may vary depending on what email platform you use).

• Subscribers who opened any of my last five campaigns.
• Subscribers who didn’t click in my last campaign.
• Subscribers who recently purchased a product.
• Subscribers who live in a certain location.
• Loyal customers who spent more than $500 in my integrated e-commerce store.

3. Invest in your subject line.

Don’t overlook the importance of a powerful subject line. One of the most important lines of your entire email, your subject line is what will draw people in or what will turn them away.

Remember to keep your subject line short; keep it under 50 characters (the sweet spot on the desktop) or about five to seven words.

Need some inspiration? How about using a question, a command, a cliff hanger, or a list?

For best results, customize and personalize email subject lines and experiment with emojis. Emojois are everywhere. They make communicating fun and add a visual to your message! Using emojis in the subject line is a great way to stand out in the inboxes of your recipients.

Got a great subject line? Now come up with one more! A/B test your emails with different subject lines, tracking the one with the preferred results and then revise. Make sure your message is getting opened by the right people.

4. Have one clear call-to-action per email.

Integrate effective calls-to-action (CTAs). There should only be one call-to-action in each email.

The first step in creating that call-to-action? Decide EXACTLY what it is you want your recipient to do.

If your recipient doesn’t know what you want them to do within seconds of opening your email, whether that’s visiting a page, calling a phone number or completing a form, they will most likely delete your email.

Nothing says you can’t repeat that one clear call-to-action within the email several different times, though!

5. Test multiple deployment times.

Experiment with sending your emails on different days and different times of the day. When do your messages get the best open rate?

Here’s another place where segmenting your recipient list is a good idea. Divide your list into two to three equally sized groups, and send the same copy of your email during different times of the day (morning, afternoon, and evening). Try this test for a few different mailings.

When you’ve narrowed the time of day down to morning, afternoon or evening, break your next email into several different times with that time of day. For example, if your evening open rates were significantly higher, break your next email into several different times in the evening to find your best-performing time.

There is also a day or days of the week which yield better results with your recipients. Experiment similarly with your emails to find the days that are the most popular days for your subscribers.

Statistically, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the most popular days to send email, but these days of the week are already oversaturated with messages that might be overwhelming your subscribers. If you want your emails to be opened, try sending them on Mondays and Fridays.

Don’t be afraid to send emails on the weekend, either. You may find that this is the perfect time to catch your readers with some time for your content.

6. Suppress your unengaged subscribers to avoid sending graymail.

You may be sending spam without knowing it. Well, graymail anyway. Graymail refers to bulk email messages that aren’t technically spam because the recipients gave you their information, but the fact of the matter is, they get your emails and don’t touch them.

Stop sending graymail. Start suppressing your unengaged subscribers. That way, your open rates will increase, and inbox providers will see that you’re responding to subscriber behavior.

7. Brand your emails.

Your emails should reflect your consistent branding. Since subscribers already know your brand, it’s important to make your business recognizable so they can quickly associate an email with your business. Consistent branding of your emails will also help you build familiarity with potential customers.

How do you brand your emails? Here are a few ways:

• Add your logo to the top of an email.
• Customize your colors to match the colors on your website or in your logo.
• Choose one or two fonts and then use them consistently across your website and emails.
• Use a consistent voice that reflects the type of service or product you offer.

 

The bottom line: Email is still king when it comes to the most effective marketing tactics around. But don’t do it just to do it – put some effort into it, and we promise you’ll see great returns!

If you ever need any help with your email marketing strategy, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to assist you!

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