Each year, the number of email users grows at an astonishing rate. it is expected that by the end of 2022 there will be more than 4.2 billion users. What these numbers show, aside from email still being one of the preferred forms of business communication, is that email marketing is still a very effective way of reaching potential customers, if not essential to gaining success. the best of a marketing strategy.
Considering the fact that more than 293 billion emails are sent every day, it is inevitable to ask the question. In a sea of emails, how can you make your business stand out from the crowd and get more sales through higher open and click rates?
1. get personal, but have your limits
There is no doubt that email personalization is a great tactic that has proven to have incredible benefits in your email campaigns. According to invesp, compared to non-personalized personalized promotional emails, they have 29% higher unique open rates and 41% higher unique click rates. the benefits go even further. Epson research says that 80% of customers are more likely to buy from a brand that offers a personalized experience.
While it’s great to become familiar with the relationship you have with your customers, you have to be careful not to cross the line. excessive use of names will only make you look weird in the eyes of your customers and damage your reputation.
This is where having the correct customer data can be of great help. for example, another option for personalization is to use general user data, such as dates of birth.
Experian research found that birthday emails drive 342% more email revenue, 179% more unique click rates, and 481% more transactions than promotional emails. This sounds like a pretty good reason to include personalization emails in your email marketing strategies, right?
But don’t forget that personalization is more than just mentioning each customer’s name in the email. there are many other ways to do this and it’s up to you to try and see which option works best for your mailing list.
2. keep your subject lines short
47% of email recipients open the email based solely on the subject line, and personalized emails are 22% more likely to open. This shows that subject lines are extremely important to the success of your email marketing campaign. however, the statistics show that care should not only be taken with the content, but also with the number of characters used. in fact, email subject lines with 6-10 words have the highest open rate. Another stat that works in your favor is that subject lines with a sense of urgency or uniqueness give you 22% higher open rates.
what appears to be a simple phrase can, in fact, take a long time to create the right one. Subject lines can make or break the success of your campaign. so the next time you find yourself crafting one, keep in mind that the more you have less, the better chance you have of having a successful campaign.
3. choose the right time to send email
Timing is everything when it comes to the success rate of your email campaigns. You are surely looking for an improved open and click rate, so choosing your timing wisely is an element to focus on. one more reason is that loyal users may want to engage with your content (share with friends or on social media, etc.). With that in mind, you should use all the tools you can to determine the best time for them.
There is no single time to send. A big factor to consider here too is the type of business you own. here is a table to help you find the perfect time based on your type of business:
On average, 51% of businesses are currently using automation, which is no surprise: there are countless marketing automation tools that can help you run advanced multivariate tests to find the ideal time to send messages to your users. . In return, this will save your business a lot of time and resources and allow you to focus on the important aspects of your email marketing strategy.
With the help of tools like these, you can incorporate AI delivery, which basically means that the automation software itself learns what resonates best with your audience by tracking their actions. It takes a certain period (from the moment users enter your email list) to intelligently decide when users engage with your app the most based on past behavior. consequently, users will receive your messages at the ideal time. This type of email optimization can definitely save you from spending time and resources on the wrong email marketing strategies.
4. give gifts
promotional gifts can not only significantly increase the number of subscribers, but can also increase your income. You may be skeptical as to why you should give something away for free, but this type of promotional content is what many subscribers like and are willing to give you their email address in return. freebies like templates and tools are the most popular, with a click-through rate of 26% to 66%.
5. send mobile optimized emails
Imagine sending an email that looks this good. but the moment you open it on your phone, the images are not displayed and the layout looks bad. as a result, your subscribers cannot interact. this situation can seriously affect the success of your campaign.
here are some quick design tips that will help your marketing strategy avoid upsetting your subscribers:
- create one column emails
- put important elements centered in the text
- have an easy to tap call to action button
- use larger font size
- show small images
80% of internet users have a cell phone and this number is expected to increase over the years. That’s why you should never leave your email marketing strategy without a mobile-optimized design. Regardless of where subscribers check their email, make sure you always send high-quality emails.
6. segment your subscribers
Segmenting your email lists speaks more directly and intelligently to your users. gives them the right information at the right time. if you do it right, the results will be sure. In its research on the power of segmentation for marketing campaigns, Optimove found that target groups with up to 150 customers had an increase of at least $1.90 per customer. groups of more than 1,500 had a maximum increase of $0.90. this shows that the smaller the group, the greater the range of possible campaign outcomes.
According to the lyris Email Optimizer Annual Report, businesses using email segmentation saw a 24% increase in sales. subscribers want to receive content relevant to their likes and dislikes as it creates a seamless customer experience. With this in mind, it’s crucial to properly segment your lists to maximize your engagement.
some quick and easy targeting strategies to help you in the process:
- Segmentation on demographics: One of the basic ways you can segment your list is by demographics (gender, age, location, income level, position in the company , etc. ). If you are a clothing retailer, knowing the gender of your customers will be essential information. On the other hand, if you are a b2b software developer, demographics such as company position will be of great value.
- Email engagement targeting: This may sound basic, but it really has a huge impact on your overall results. the main metrics here are open rate and click rate. With this type of segmentation, you can designate active and inactive users (for example, someone who hasn’t opened your email in 90 days). After creating this segment, you can target your inactive users by crafting a specialized re-engagement campaign.
- Segmentation on previous purchases – This is another simple but effective way to optimize its orientation. You can start by sending recommendations of similar purchases that these users have made. Let’s say someone has purchased a hair product on your site. you can make an educated guess as to when this product might be out of stock and send an email to the same user suggesting they reorder early.
- targeting based on position in the sales funnel : A valuable way to personalize your messages is to segment users based on where they are in the sales funnel. the point is that you can’t target users at the bottom of the funnel with the same message as those at the top. if they are at the bottom, a group of new subscribers, you should send more general messages that offer a range of products or features. however, if they have already signed up and engaged with your content, you can use that information, determine what interests them, and target them more specifically.
7. re-engage with inactive customers
You will lose about a quarter of your subscribers each year if you don’t put in the effort to send engaging and relevant information. Email list deterioration is inevitable, but you can avoid it to some extent. So how do you keep your subscribers active, or put another way, how do you get inactive subscribers active again?
Before you do this, you need to define what inactivity means to you:
- what does being inactive mean to you and for how long? In particular, are you inactive for a period of 3, 6 or 9 months? think about what your subscribers are no longer doing that fits your inactivity criteria. they don’t log in as much as they used to, or maybe they haven’t bought anything in the last month?
- Think of all the actions your subscribers do or don’t do that fit your inactivity criteria. for example, many companies try to engage with their subscribers as much as possible. this gets to the point where they send too many emails and subscribers don’t find them relevant. Also, never underestimate the power of good email design. If your emails are not user-friendly and mobile-optimized, there is a risk that your email will be marked as spam, deleted, or even not opened.
When it comes to the right strategy, you need to answer the questions above and then you can focus on creating the re-engagement campaign. there are many creative ways to run recovery. some opt for the “we miss you” type of campaigns, as well as discounts and promo codes, or maybe even both.
Recovery campaigns are often not that easy. But keep in mind that businesses that invest in reactivation campaigns in their email marketing see a return of $28.50 for every $1 spent. this means that recovering inactive subscribers is more profitable than acquiring new ones.
Whatever your strategy, you may send a certain number of emails and your subscribers won’t return. in this case, it is best to simply ask them about their email and preferences. let them decide if they still want to receive your emails. a clean email list is better for your email marketing success than wasting resources on subscribers that won’t come back no matter your strategy.
conclusion
The most effective way to find out what works best for your business is to always test your email campaigns. this will save you typos, bounces, and other types of problems that could have been avoided if you had sent test emails before the official one.
Also, it’s important to note that testing isn’t something you need to do once in a while, but continually on the fly. testing different variations of the same email campaign will give you a lot of insight into how your subscribers are responding. you will know what works well and what needs to be improved in your next campaigns.
Having so many possibilities that lead to growth and success is what makes email marketing such a challenging and exciting process. it is an excellent foundation for creating well-planned strategies that will lead to higher sales, if executed correctly. Putting a substantial amount of effort into communicating with your subscribers on your way to becoming loyal customers is what will put you in front of your competition.
If you need help choosing the right email service provider, improving your email engagement metrics, or guiding you through the IP warm-up process, don’t hesitate to contact Alite International. we have been working with multiple large organizations to support their email marketing strategies & your move towards full marketing automation. email me at ljubica.nikolovska@alite-international.com