While display and keyword ads may have taken over the social media platforms, still, you can never undermine the power of effective email marketing campaign strategies.
Email campaigns are still the champion when it comes to a surefire ROI. In fact, on average, you can earn $51 for every $1 you pay for email marketing according to Data & Marketing Association. In this sense, it exceeds the performance of other digital marketing strategies such as SEO and PPC.
Yet, it is still crucial to understand that email campaigns should also undergo a makeover that suits best for what the customers need and can actually respond to nowadays.
What may have worked years ago, may not be as effective today.
If you have been applying effective strategies to your email marketing campaign but the results continue to be unsatisfactory or perhaps you are in midst of working on your first email marketing campaign, then you can consider these email marketing tips.
1. Create a Personalized Message
Truth be told is that we are more inclined to pay attention to emails that speak to us on a personal level than to those which are clearly sent out in bulk for marketing sake.
So, does this mean that emails should be delivered individually?
Well, Not exactly.
Personalization implies that you design your email messages with a touch of customization based on the subscriber’s field data recorded during their initial confirmed opt-in in your subscriber list.
Marketers often use specific information as a reference for personalization such as geographical location and past purchase
Another simple first step towards a personalized message is addressing the email to the subscriber or customer. Instead of saying “Dear customer” change it to “Dear Ryan”.
Leveraging the subscribers first name is a preliminary step to a meaningful customer experience that leads to conversion.
Why it works
It all boils down to human psychology.
Take the cocktail party effect for example. In a party with a huge crowd, people would typically be invested and take interest in a conversation when this one magic word is mentioned –their own name.
Likewise, people are naturally drawn to content that tells a story that reflects their personal needs and experience.
By applying these methods on personalization, marketers and business owners have seen a significant increase in their sales.
As a matter of fact, according to a study conducted by Experian,personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates.
2. Apply Segmentation in your Subscribers List
In line with personalization tactics, another handy email marketing campaign tip is segmenting your subscribers.
82% of marketers have reported a significant increase in the open rates by mail personalization which generally applies email list segmentation.
Segmentation is the process of classifying your email subscribers into varied segments or groups based on a set of criteria which could include demographics, browsing history, email engagement, etc.
By tailoring the content of your email marketing campaign to each of the segments, you can have higher probabilities of achieving conversion.
There are different segmentation strategies that could fire up your email marketing campaign based on subscriber data such as the following:
- Amount Spent
- Business Industry
- Geographic Area
- Lead Magnet Type
- Membership Expiration
- Personal Interests
- Psychographics
- Purchase Frequency
- Survey Response
- Website Activities
Why it works
Imagine receiving a one-size-fits-all email that doesn’t apply to your location, age, or preferences.
That would be utterly frustrating, isn’t it?
Customers are most likely to engage in content that has something to do with their interests and their personal background.
This has been proven time and again, as segmented campaigns tend to have 14.37% more opens and 64.78% more clicks compared to non-segmented campaigns.
Moreover, marketers who used segmented email campaigns were found to achieve about a 760% increase in revenue.
3. A/B Test your Email MARKETING Campaign
You may feel like you have drafted the perfect email marketing campaign for your subscribers, but nothing is written in stone unless it is fully tested.
The email marketing A/B test, also known as a split test, is done in order to maximize the performance of an email marketing campaign.
Marketers would send two different versions of an email to evaluate which version produces the best results.
This email marketing strategy allows you to collect substantial information and understand your audience well.
In conducting the A/B test, you should decide what to test first. It is best to test one email campaign component at a time to ensure accurate results. You may focus on the following variables:
- Body Text
- Call to Action
- Headline
- Images
- Layout
- Length
- Personalization
- Subject Line
- Style
- Visuals
- Word Order
Why it works
Campaign Monitor never shies away from testing and was able to have a whopping 127% increase in click-throughs. This is due to the fact that A/B testing is primarily a conversion optimization tool.
It provides insights into the most effective approach to maximize audience engagement supported by actual data.
It leads to essential upturns in designing your email marketing campaign that increases email open, click-through, and ultimately high conversion rates.
4. Send Trigger-based Emails
Making use of a trigger-based email campaign is another effective email marketing campaign tip.
Trigger emails are automatically delivered to customers based on their behavior or activity while visiting the website.
Most of the websites that gain the highest conversion rates use trigger emails. In research conducted by Epsilon, trigger emails have 95% higher open rates compared to traditional email.
A popular type of trigger email is the “Welcome” emails that are sent to new subscribers as a form of foot-in-the-door tactic.
Other forms of trigger-based email that marketers use include the following:
- Early Activation
- Milestone Email
- Onboarding emails
- Reactivation Email
- Real-time Triggers
- Remarketing Email
- Transactional Email
Why it works
The best thing about trigger emails is that they optimize customer experience by providing options and information that influence their decisions.
As a marketer, you can benefit even more when you make use of automation.
According to Forrester, trigger-based email marketing campaigns are capable of generating 4x more in revenue and 18x more in profits. This remains true as the very goal of this type of email marketing strategy is to maximize customer engagement.
One example is when customers visit your eCommerce website and add items to their shopping cart only to leave them on the cart without completing a purchase.
There could be many factors affecting their indecisiveness on whether to buy the items or not.
But with the use of a trigger email that may include a discount or free shipping fee on the actual products, complete with a direct link to the shopping cart, customers are more likely to proceed to the checkout counter and complete the purchase.
5. Make sure your emails are mobile-friendly
Designing a mobile-friendly email marketing campaign is simply non-negotiable.
According to Campaign Monitor, there is an increase of 30% in email opens using mobile devices from 2010 to 2015.
And in 2019, Litmus acquired data that 41.9% of email opens happen via mobile devices, followed by webmail (39.9 %), and desktop computers (18.2%).
If you are new to making a mobile-friendly email, you’ll certainly ask how exactly it is done. Here are some email marketing tips on ensuring that your campaigns fit the convenience of mobile device users.
- Apply a responsive email design (RED)
- Compose shorter subject line and pre-header text
- Put emphasis on the call to action
- Avoid menu bars and keep a single-column template
- Test your emails on multiple devices
Why it works
Considering the continuous increase of users that rely more on their smartphones compare to desktop or laptop computers, mobile-friendly emails are expected to have higher open rates and click-through compared to emails that are not optimized for mobile devices.
Despite creating an email that has the highest content quality and the best marketing tactic, it could all go down the drain if the campaign is not well-suited for a mobile view.
Other Methods to Consider
A successful email marketing strategy should lead to responses from the recipients and eventually to an increase in revenue. Regardless of how amazing your email marketing campaign is, it could still fall short of what is expected if your message is not actually reaching your target.
How can you ensure that your efforts are not going to waste? You can use email verification services to make sure that your email list consists of fully valid and deliverable email addresses.
Email verification is a vital tool for companies that send mass emails as part of their marketing campaigns. Email verification service providers conduct an address-by-address analysis of each email on an uploaded list. This type of service can also come in the form of a hosted software.
How Does It Work?
The process of verifying the legitimacy of an email address can be measured by several combinations of metrics and algorithms. Email verification service providers will use several validation techniques depending on their internal database and proprietary algorithms.
Email verification service providers remove improperly formatted email addresses, verify DNS entries, remove role-based accounts (info@, admin@, etc.), filter out disposable email addresses, detect spam traps, and more. By the end of the validation process, you will be left with a clean, fully deliverable email list ready for marketing and business requirements.
Conclusion
Email marketing strategies are ever-evolving depending on the general behavior of consumers.
Even though these email marketing tips have long been proven to satisfy the marketing and sales goals of many eCommerce and business owners, many are still utilizing outdated strategies that are less effective for today’s audience.
For example, according to SuperOffice, 20% of B2B companies’ email campaigns are still not mobile-friendly and 89% of marketers do not segment their database.
By failing to optimize your email marketing campaign, you are missing out on a number of benefits that will ultimately increase your business revenue.
Boost your email marketing strategies today by applying these email marketing campaign tips to get ahead of your competitors and win the loyalty of your customers.