In the age of social media, email may seem like an outdated way to reach customers. When done correctly, however, it can be a powerful marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. So why should you want to succeed at email marketing?
For one thing, emailing customers directly gives businesses a chance to forge a personal connection. Unlike social media posts, which can get lost in the feed or not be shown to your audience due to social media platform algorithms, emails go straight to people’s inboxes. This ensures that your message is actually delivered to your customers.
In addition, emails can be highly targeted. This makes it easy to send messages that are relevant to each individual customer. As a result, businesses that make use of email marketing can enjoy increased engagement and conversions.
As you can see, email can be a great way to reach your target audience and boost your business—but it’s important to follow best practices to ensure success. Here are some tips for how to do just that.
1. Create a catchy subject line.
Email marketing success often depends on creating a catchy subject line. After all, the subject line is what will determine whether or not someone opens your email. So how can you make sure that your subject lines are catchy and effective? Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Use keywords that are likely to grab attention. For example, if you’re promoting a new product, you might use words like “new,” “revolutionary,” or “game-changing.”
- Consider using puns, jokes, or pop culture references.
- Keep it short and to the point. A subject line that’s too long or rambling is likely to be ignored.
- Include a call to action in the subject line. Something like “Act now!” or “Limited time offer!” can encourage people to open your email right away.
- Add an emoji if it aligns with your brand to do so.
Whatever approach you choose, make sure your subject line is aligned with the rest of your email content. With a little creativity, you can write email subject lines that are sure to grab attention and boost your open rates.
2. Keep your email content brief and to the point.
These days, everyone’s inbox is overflowing with emails. As a result, it can be challenging to get people to actually read the messages that you send. That’s why to succeed at email marketing, you need to ensure your email stands out from the hundreds of other messages in someone’s inbox.
One way to increase the odds that your email will be read is to keep the content brief and to the point. People are more likely to read an email that is concise and easy to scan, so avoid long paragraphs and superfluous information. Instead, focus on getting your message across in as few words as possible. In addition, make sure to include a clear call to action, so that people know what you want them to do after reading your email.
3. Use images sparingly.
Images can be a valuable addition to an email. Photos or illustrations help to grab the reader’s attention and convey information quickly. However, aside from slowing down load times, there are a couple of other reasons to limit the number of images you include.
First, images can increase the size of your email, making it more difficult to send and receive. In addition, many email providers block images by default, meaning that your recipients may not even be able to see them. Finally, including too many images can make your email look like spam, which can lead to it being filtered or even deleted. So when it comes to adding images to your emails, remember less is more.
If using images, make sure they are sized correctly in accordance with your email provider’s size recommendations. Emails are read on a phone or desktop, so no need to have an image that’s sized for a billboard—which can also make your email undeliverable.
4. Personalize your emails whenever possible.
It’s important to personalize your emails to make them even more effective. One way to do this is to segment your list so that you’re sending different messages to different groups of people. This ensures that everyone is receiving information that’s relevant to them. You can also use merge tags to insert each recipient’s name into the email, which helps create a more personal connection.
5. Test different email formats and designs until you find what works best for you.
If you’re like most people, you probably have a few go-to email templates that you rely on for your marketing campaigns. But what if one of those emails could be performing even better? Testing different email formats and designs is a great way to find out what works best for your audience so you can succeed at email marketing.
By trying out different layouts, images, and call-to-actions, you can figure out what grabs your subscribers’ attention and gets them to take action. And the best part is, it doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. A/B testing is a great way to test out different versions of an email with a small group of people before sending it to your entire list.
6. Send regular emails, but not too frequently.
With the average person receiving dozens (if not hundreds) of emails every day, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. One way to increase the likelihood of your emails being seen is to send them on a regular basis—but be careful about sending too many. By keeping a consistent schedule, your recipients will know when to expect an email from you, and they’re more likely to open it when it arrives.
However, if you start sending emails too frequently, you run the risk of people unsubscribing. The key is to strike a balance: send enough to stay top of mind, but not so much that you become a nuisance. With a little trial and error, you’ll soon find the perfect cadence for your email list.
Email can be a great way to reach out to your customers and increase sales, but it’s not as simple as sending out a single blast to your list and hoping for the best. You must make an effort for your email marketing campaign to be effective. Luckily, following these tips will put you on the path to be able to succeed at email marketing for your company.
Feel like too much to take on? At Holland Adhaus, we can help you with every step of the process, from creating an effective message that will grab your customer’s attention to ensuring that your email is properly delivered and looks great on all devices. Let us help you get the most out of your email marketing campaign!
Nick Tatoian
Digital Content Specialist, Holland Adhaus
Nick is always looking to work with others to create an all-encompassing strategy.
