Email marketing is an ever-evolving medium. With regular market updates, changing design trends and customer behaviour, as well as market statistics, as a marketer, you need to make sure that you are up to date with developments and master the art of running an email marketing campaign by implementing and adapting to changes.
A recent study has revealed that almost 30% of email deliverability problems that were faced by marketers are either because the marketing goals were not defined well or the business was not using the right tool. It doesn’t matter how much time you or your marketing team spend on the design of the email, or its copy and coding, in the end, if the strategy is not leveraged to the right audience, you’re going to find it near impossible to nail your targeted ROI.
Additionally, another 35% of marketers said that the biggest problem they face during email marketing campaigns is the poor quality of data and often inadequate staffing to really develop and deliver what’s required. That’s exactly why outsourcing your email marketing needs, whether that’s for template design or to completely manage a campaign or campaigns, is often considered to be a smart move. If your business is short-staffed or you have great ideas but not the technical support to deliver your amazing email content, it’s possible to outsource tasks from email template designing and coding to managing a complete campaign and auditing email programs.
However, here are 9 tips that you should constantly bear in mind when you’re planning, designing, and delivering a successful email campaign.
Make sure you have a well-defined goal.
Email campaigns can be conversion-oriented or content-oriented. Conversion oriented emails are more inclined towards achieving a desired ROI, whereas emails with content oriented goals are created to help drive the reader towards your desired action and generally consist of trigger-based elements built in the design and copy.
For example, your engagement email will not directly aim to sell but your promotional email will heavily lead the reader directly towards making a purchase.
Build, clean and segment a healthy email database Once you have defined and created the goals for your campaign, you’re going to need to be sure that you are sending it to the right audience. Without this, you can’t expect to reach your conversion aims. We always recommend that your email database is segmented on demography and customer journey to help you deliver relevant emails to your customer’s and potential customer’s inbox. Doing this religiously will really enhance your campaign open rates and performance.
Communicate the correct message
Managing to get someone to open your email is a big task in itself. It completely depends on your subject line and your pre-header text. If your subject line is intriguing and delivers just enough information, your first step to getting your email opened is achieved.
Your subject line should give the context of the email but not give away the content of the mail. Your copy also needs to be balanced with the design. What do we mean? If your design is heavy, make sure you keep your copy minimal and vice versa. The main purpose of an email copy is to direct the customer to the CTA.
Design for the content
Many email marketers feel that the more simplified your design is, the more beneficial it is for both the creation and the readers consumption. However, there re a raft of marketers who also want to incorporate complex rich media to enhance the look and feel of their campaigns. Your aim is to find that sweet spot between these two apparently opposite formats and create an email that not only delivers on brand and identity but also supports your content.
The all-important ‘Call To Action’!
For a Call To Action that actually encourages conversion, there are 2 things that should be kept in mind. First is the copy. You should ensure that this is actually action-oriented and we recommend that you write it in the first person. Secondly, make sure the colour of your CTA button is in stark contrast to the background, this will help your button stand out from the email, helping your readers to identify that an action is required.
The right time is always the right time.
Send times seriously make a huge difference.
Different blogs, books, whitepapers and email systems will undoubtedly tell you different ideal time bands to send emails, but the fact of the matter is that, in order to determine the right send time for your message and your business, you will need to analyse the demographics of your subscribers, their location, profession, or customer behaviour, and use this to help you determine the right send time.
Check, then check again.
One step that many people miss is to make sure your email is optimized to view on most devices. It has been said that out of all the email opens, at least 46% are opened on mobiles, which is why it’s so important that we should deliver emails that render properly on mobile phones.
There is a little more to this though. We always recommend the use of alt-text for images used in an email. This helps insure that even in case of low Internet connections or your reader having their images turned off, the message of the email is delivered effectively. This is why the idea of an image only email is a big no-no.
Follow up, but don’t over do it.
Sending emails to remind your customers about a purchase that was interrupted, a similar product that has a price-drop, or new product and service launches can be powerful tools to help you increase your sales. Relatable offers and promotions make the email experience personalised and can enhance the relationship between your customer and your brand.
However, the same thing, if overdone, can certainly annoy your reader, and the chances of landing in the ‘Spam’ folder are high. While it’s definitely important to follow up and let your customers know you care, you mustn’t forget to also ‘give them a break’
Get automated.
Creating an email calendar or even better, automating your email campaigns, not only saves resources, but also helps assure uniformity in your send pattern. For those of you who worry that automated emails come across as impersonal, don’t forget that you can always monitor your customer journey and leverage personalised and relevant content.
Test, analyse, change and audit.
No email campaign is complete without A/B testing; it can be done for the subject line, copy, design, CTA, and any other part of your email to ensure that you deliver the most preferred content to your readers.
Auditing your email program and analysing your email metrics will help you rectify your mistakes and enhance your email delivery and performance for future email campaigns.
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably wondering if you can improve your email marketing. The answer... probably, but lets find out!
Contact us on enquiries@theoceanagency.co.uk to find out how we could help you captivate your audience