As a business, one of the best ways to connect with your customers is through their inboxes. One strategy that many marketers employ is email marketing. We've gathered our top 11 email marketing tips to help you.
Did you know that there are over 4.3 billion email users worldwide? That equates to more than half of the global population. That figure is expected to grow by 300 million in three years.
Email marketing is a cost-effective way to target your customers at the right time in their buying journey.
Are you unsure of where to get started? These email marketing tips teach you the ins and outs of growing your business.
1. Know Who You're Targeting
Creating an email marketing strategy won't get your business far if you don't understand your target audience. Your email message needs to be relevant to your customer's interests.
If you send your customers information that doesn't pertain to them, they won't be interested in learning about your business. They might even unsubscribe from your email list.
Each person that subscribes to your email list has different needs and wants. You don't like to send each subscriber the same message.
The best way to navigate this issue is with email list segmentation. Email list segmentation means dividing your list of subscribers into smaller groups. You can break up your list based on personal information like:
- Preferences for services or products
- Interests
- Gender
- Age
- Location
Once your lists are segmented, you can send relevant emails to each group instead of your entire subscriber list.
For example, say you run a clothing store. You'll want to create lists for customers interested in men's, women's, and children's clothing.
There are a few ways you can segment your email lists. They include:
- Purchase cycle
- Survey results
- Email activity
- Past purchases
2. Start Your Email With Value
Giving value to your customers is one of the most important things a business can do. Companies need to employ customer-centric practices that nurture their customers while providing value.
To provide your customers with valuable information, you need to know what they want. You also need to know how your product or service solves their problem. Understanding this information allows you to create an email marketing strategy that maximizes your efforts.
You can add value to your emails through some of the following ways:
- Offering tips, DIY guides, recipes, and similar information
- Showcasing success stories and case studies
- Giving them discounts, giveaways, freebies, and more
- Highlight ebooks or blog posts that target their pain points
While email marketing aims to make sales, you don't want every email you send to be a sales pitch. If you don't give your audience any value, you'll decrease the likelihood of making a sale. You might also lose subscribers.
Successful companies focus on creating long-term relationships with their customers. Focus on improving customer retention, and sales will follow. Giving value to your subscribers is one of the essential email marketing tips we can emphasize.
3. Send Emails on a Consistent Schedule
Knowing how often and when to send emails is critical when growing a business. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days to send emails.
It's best to issue your emails between 10 AM and 11 AM eastern time. That way, you hit your east and west-coast customers while they're awake and checking emails.
Depending on your product or service, sending emails over the weekend isn't ideal for sales. If your customers are primarily businesses, they won't check their emails over the weekend. You also shouldn't send out emails after 6 PM.
We recommend sending out two to five email campaigns each month. However, your customers might respond favorably to receiving more or fewer emails from you. Experimenting with quantity and frequency is essential to determine the sweet spot for your customer base.
4. Write Brief Emails
Having your customer open your email is the first step. The next one is getting them to read it. You want to capture your customer's attention at the beginning of the email. This is one of the essential email marketing tips you must not ignore.
Your messaging should be concise, clear, and to the point. Your customer should get the message right away and act on it. You want whatever you're offering your customer to be tempting enough that they head to your website for more information.
Some ways to keep your emails brief while still getting your information across include:
- Write only what you need to convey your message
- Include one call to action (CTA) in each email
- Use bullet points to share more information
Including more than one CTA in an email might confuse your reader.
5. Purge Uninterested Subscribers
Unfortunately, not everyone who signs up for your email list will be interested in your content forever. Your customers shouldn't have to go through multiple steps to unsubscribe from your email list. Giving them an easy way to opt out of your emails would be best.
The easiest way to do this is to include an "unsubscribe button" at the bottom of your emails. Some email clients, like Gmail, will add an unsubscribe link by your sender address.
You want to be on good terms with your email subscriber list, even if they're not reading your emails. You don't want subscribers to report you for hiding an unsubscribe button from them or making it difficult to opt out.
Improve your deliverability by making it simple for people to unsubscribe. You can also purge your email lists by reviewing recent email campaigns.
Look for users who haven't opened your emails in a long time. You can remove them from your lists.
6. Personalize Your Emails
Your emails should create a unique experience for your customer. One of the top email marketing tips is to personalize your emails. You can accomplish this by personalizing the subject line and greeting.
When users sign up for your email list, you have the option for them to enter their first name. Don't use their name more than two times throughout your email. Your email will sound unnatural, and using it that often is unnecessary.
You can also add details, like your picture and name to your emails. Businesses must add a personal touch to their correspondence so customers don't feel like talking to a robot.
You can also hyper-personalize the emails you send out. To achieve this, you'll need to use the following tools and information:
- Data
- Automation
- Analytics
- Consumer insights
Using these methods, your emails will feel more natural and less like a sales pitch. One tactic is sending out a "we saw you looking" automated email after a customer views a product. You can also issue an email when they have an abandoned shopping cart.
7. Write Compelling Subject Lines
A good subject line will tell recipients why they should open your email. If you want your customer to take action after reading your email, include that in the subject line. You don't want your subject line to be too gimmicky, or your email won't get opened.
If you can, include your recipient's name in the subject line. The subject line should also be between 30 and 50 characters.
You can also include emojis to add visual interest. Don't include too many, or your email might appear unprofessional.
Another thing to remember is to add a sense of scarcity or urgency to your subject line. Use language that lets your audience know why they need to act immediately.
Avoid using words that are spam triggers. These words include:
- Buy now
- Free
- Save
- Cash
- Quote
You should avoid using exclamation points and all caps in your subject line. These can trigger spam filters as well.
8. Avoid Purchasing Email Lists
Building an email subscriber list from scratch can take a lot of time. In addition to creating an online form, you must convince your customers to sign up for your email list.
There are companies out there that sell pre-built email lists. It's challenging to discern where these companies sourced the subscribers on the list. Additionally, these subscribers might not be interested in your products or services.
Using a pre-built list means you're not only shelling out a lot of money. You risk the chance of your subscribers unsubscribing right as you start emailing them.
Creating an email subscriber database of those interested in what you offer is essential. Even if your subscriber count stays low for a while, it's better than buying random subscriber lists.
9. Make the Most of Your Preview Text
Your email's preview text is just as important as the subject line. You can add extra lines of text that provide your audience with more information.
Your preview text should include relevant information that supports your subject line. You can incentivize your reader to open your email without overdoing it on your subject line.
10. Don't Forget About the Holidays
Your email marketing strategy should include all major holidays. However, the holiday season isn't limited to Christmas, Black Friday, Thanksgiving, and Halloween.
Depending on your audience, you can create entertaining email campaigns that target other holidays, like Father's Day. If your email audience is primarily in the United States, you can create email messages for the Fourth of July.
You can also segment your email list to group people who celebrate different holidays together. Some of the holidays you can target with your business include:
- St. Patrick's Day
- Lunar New Year
- Hanukkah
- Mardi Gras
11. Reuse Successful Email Campaigns
If you have a successful email marketing campaign, don't try to reinvent the wheel. Repeat your success with new subscribers and those who didn't make a purchase. Applying this tip will help you learn more about your customers and increase sales.
Many email marketing tools, like Autosponse, will allow you to resend your emails. You can reissue an email campaign to those who didn't open it the first time.
This tip enables you to test various elements of your email. You can swap out your call to action or use a different image. Please make the most of a campaign when it's already been successful.
What Are the Benefits of Email Marketing?
You will see numerous benefits when you implement the email marketing tips we just reviewed. Email marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing strategies when done correctly. You can easily stay in touch with your customer base while improving your sales.
Cost Effective
Email marketing costs less than other traditional types of marketing. You don't have to worry about postage or print costs. You also don't have to spend money on advertisements or billboard placement.
Many companies invest some of their marketing budgets into email marketing software. Email marketing software typically has an annual or monthly charge. However, there are options for free tiers that give you access to some of the software's features.
Even if you spend money on email marketing software, the cost is significantly less than other marketing methods. You can also scale what you pay for the software based on how many subscribers you have.
You'll also save yourself time with email marketing. You or another employee won't have to devote much of your work day to emails.
Email marketing software allows you to automate your emails based on customer activity. This can include signing up for your email list, purchasing, or viewing a product.
Collect Relevant Information
Staying on top of how your customers view your business is essential if you want them to purchase and engage with your brand. Email marketing is an effective tool for doing this.
For example, you can send surveys to your subscriber list to get customer feedback.
Improve Your Sales
Email marketing can help your business grow its sales. It also has a great return on investment (ROI). Some companies get back $42 for every dollar they spend.
Email marketing allows you to encourage your audience to make a purchase or take another type of action. Your audience will likely buy from your company since they signed up for your newsletter.
Email marketing can also automate your sales process, increasing your sales. For example, you can send automated emails to prospective customers you want your sales team to connect with.
Establish Your Business as an Authority
You want to appear as an expert in your industry to your customers. Customers signed up for your email list because they want to hear what you say. Sending them relevant content will keep them engaged.
Increase Traffic to Your Website
Your email marketing campaigns will include CTAs and links that lead your customers to your website. Your recipients' clicking on your links will increase your website's traffic. It'll also improve your search engine optimization (SEO).
Email Marketing Tips: Frequently Asked Questions
Are you still curious about email marketing? We've gathered answers to the most commonly asked questions to help you get the most out of our email marketing tips.
What's Email Marketing?
Email marketing enables businesses to share information with their customers. This information can include:
- Upcoming sales
- Business updates
- New products
Email marketing can promote your brand, content such as ebooks or webinars. A promotional email marketing campaign can include three to 10 emails issued over a few weeks.
You can also send out informational emails. Informational emails include:
- Announcements
- Newsletters
Businesses can also issue re-engagement emails to customers who haven't been active on your website lately.
Is Email Marketing an Effective Tactic?
Email marketing is an effective way to target your customers directly. For example, you're not posting information on your website and hoping your customers see it.
With email marketing, you're sending information directly to your customer. Even if your customer doesn't open the email, they'll still see your company name and subject line. You're increasing brand recognition, even for those who don't open your communications.
What Are the Five T's?
Email marketing includes "Five T's." The Five T's include:
- Test: Test out various aspects of your campaigns, like subject lines
- Teach: Show your value to your customers by providing them with valuable information
- Target: Personalize your content to your audience
- Tease: Make the most of your subject line
- Track: Evaluate the results of each campaign
How Do I Get More Email Subscribers?
As we mentioned earlier, don't purchase an email subscriber list. There are a few ways you can grow your email subscriber list:
- Get customer emails when they buy from you
- Add a pop-up sign-up form to your website
- Promote your email list through social media posts
- Host sweepstakes, giveaways, or contests
Remember that you need to include a line item letting your customers know you'll use their email to send promotional items and news in exchange for their email addresses. You want to be as transparent as possible to keep your unsubscribe rate down.
How Do I Evaluate the Data From My Email Campaign?
Email marketing software provides data on the email campaigns you issue. There are a few stats you should pay attention to.
One of the first stats to review is your click-through rate. This refers to how many of your recipients clicked the links in the email.
The click-through rate is how many clicks the campaign got divided by how many emails were sent. That number is then multiplied by 100 to get the percentage.
Another stat to monitor is your conversation rate. The conversion rate includes information on who:
- Opened the email
- Read it
- Took action
This figure is calculated by taking how many people completed the action and dividing it by how many emails were sent.
You'll also want to pay attention to your bounce rate. If an email bounced, that means your recipient didn't receive it.
How Can I Manage Email Bounces?
One of the last things you want is a high bounce rate on your email campaigns. A high bounce rate could have your account flagged as being a spammer.
There are two different types of email bounces:
- Soft Bounce: The email server was down, or the recipient's inbox was full
- Hard Bounce: The email can't be delivered
Various things can cause a hard bounce. A shutdown domain, an invalid email address, or a typo can result in a hard bounce. No matter the cause, email addresses that are hard bounces should get removed from your database immediately.
If you have a single soft bounce, it's not a big deal. If the email address has multiple soft bounces, you should remove it.
How Do I Stop People From Unsubscribing?
Instead of thinking about how to stop people from unsubscribing, you should consider why they would want to unsubscribe in the first place. That's why sending your subscribers relevant content that gives them value is critical. You don't want to issue emails solely focused on making sales.
You want to forge long-term relationships with your customers. Leverage email marketing to its total capacity.
How Long Should an Email Be?
Most people spend under 30 seconds looking at an email. Use that as a guideline when drafting marketing emails. If it takes longer than 20-30 seconds to read, cut down on your text.
Ensure that the vital information, including your CTA and links, is at the top of your email. If your recipient scrolls through your email, you want them to get the essential information immediately.
Why Should I Hire a Marketing Agency for Help With Email Marketing?
Marketing companies like Binary Glyph Media have experience creating successful email marketing campaigns. Partnering with a marketing agency can provide you with the following benefits:
- Higher conversion rates and sales
- Goal-driven marketing campaigns
- Increased ROI
- Full-researched and designed campaign ideas
- More time for you to run your business
Follow Our Email Marketing Tips to Increase Your Sales
Hopefully, our email marketing tips have given you a basic understanding of this type of digital marketing. Email marketing can be used in various ways to convert your leads into paying customers. It's essential to know how to use it to your advantage.
Binary Glyph Media will create a comprehensive email marketing strategy that helps your business increase its sales. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about our services.