If you want to make the most out of your email marketing campaign, then it is imperative that you avoid some of the biggest mistakes that most people make. You need to do this while simultaneously adopting the best practices. If you need some help with that, or if you want to make sure that your campaign brings the biggest and best results, then this is the guide for you.
Best Practices for Email Marketing
1. DO: Determine who Your Campaign is Going to Target
2. DO: Set Goals for your Current Campaign
3. DO: Decide what Kind of Email you Want to Send
4. DO: Utilise Tech
5. DO: Create a Great Subject Line
6. DO: Keep your Email Body Short and Sweet
7. DO: Collect Data
8. DON’T: Bombard your Audience
9. DON’T: Use too Many Images
10. DON’T: Forget a Call to Action
11. DON’T: Forget to Add a Physical Address
12. DON’T: Sell your Email List
13. DON’T: Send the Same Email to Every Subscriber
DO: Determine who Your Campaign is Going to Target
Before you even begin to get started with your email marketing campaign, it is imperative that you determine who you want to reach. You will need to build a list that includes people who have a keen interest in your product or your service. Now you may be wondering, how do you get their emails in the first place? There’s a very simple solution here. Simply invite them to subscribe to your newsletter, in exchange for a discount code or money-off. Most of the time this strategy will work and although you will be giving them money off, you will soon find that you end up generating more sales opportunities in the future and this is something that money can’t buy. Remember that 33% of marketers send out weekly emails and that 26% of businesses send out emails multiple times per month. If you break every email down into a sales opportunity, you’ll soon see why this can be such a valuable approach to take.
DO: Set Goals for your Current Campaign
4 billion people view their emails every single day. If you’re not utilising a solid campaign, then this is a huge audience that you are missing out on. That being said, an email marketing campaign isn’t much use if you are not setting goals. Some of the most common goals that people seem to adopt would be trying to attract new subscribers. You can do this by letting your audience know about your company and the various services that you have to offer. This will help you to build a solid relationship with them. You might also want to set the goal of increasing engagement. Regardless of what you want, you need to make sure that you are setting goals, or you will never know if your campaign is working. By setting goals, you can also make tweaks that go on to benefit you in the future.
DO: Decide what Kind of Email you Want to Send
Are you looking to promote your company? Do you want to launch some new services? Maybe you just want to push some new sales that you intend to put on in the next few weeks. Either way, you have to know what type of emails you want to send out, so you can structure them properly. The body content and title for an email that is advertising a sale is very different to the content that would be used to advertise the launch of a new service, for example. With 37% of brands increasing their email budget by the year, it has never been more imperative for you to be clear and structured with your campaign because if you aren’t, then you may end up sending mixed messages to your customer base.
DO: Utilise Tech
One of the best ways for you to try and create a great email campaign would be for you to make sure that you are using the tech that is available, to your advantage. These tools can include analytics software, integration tools and even automation templates. You can also utilise workflows to make sure that your emails are promotional, professional, and catered to the needs of your audience. Some software allows you to queue up emails so you can have them sent out on a weekly basis without having to initiate them manually. All of the points listed here are integral to your campaign, and by working efficiently, you can be sure to turn your email campaign into a successful marketing strategy. Studies have shown that 77% of marketers have seen a positive growth in their email engagement after utilising tech and tools, so make sure that you are mindful of this and that you use it to your advantage where possible.
DO: Create a Great Subject Line
The first thing that any subscriber is going to see when they get an email from you would be the email subject line. A great subject line is going to draw the interest of your reader, and it is also going to lead them to open the email as well. If possible, you need to give this some serious thought and you need to make sure that it’s perfect before you go ahead with your email blast. Just make sure that you keep it nice and short where possible. Studies have shown that the best email lines are up to 41 characters long. It’s also important that you keep everything straight and to the point. Make sure that you tell your readers what they should be expecting when they read their email. There is absolutely no need for you to be vague or even misleading. Honesty is the best policy. You also need to try and personalise your subject lines. Simple things like adding your reader’s name to your subject line will ensure that you engage them and that you draw their attention. On average, a good action or response rate is 10%, so if you’re getting less than this, try and adopt this strategy.
DO: Keep your Email Body Short and Sweet
Make sure that your email is both short and sweet. Nobody wants to read a wall of text when they open an email. Keep your email short but not too short to the point where you cannot get your message across. There are some tips that you have to keep in mind when you write the body of your email if you want to stop your campaign from having a high bounce rate. To begin with, you need to make sure that you have a solid hook right from the get-go. This is where you can capture the attention of your reader and it will also get them interested in your message. While writing a short email is the way to go, you have to make sure that you do not pitch your offer immediately. This will make you look somewhat aggressive and it will also turn off your readers as well. Tell them a personal story as this will help you to appear human and it will also help you to establish that emotional connection with you as well.
DO: Collect Data
It is imperative that you realise that the collection of data and analytics is the best way for you to make your future campaign more successful. Additionally, you also need to follow up on your initial emails if you know that they have been opened but no action has been taken. Adding information that you may have previously left out is also a good thing to do, so make sure that you keep that in mind. It’ll help you out a lot when it comes to your future mailings.
DON’T: Bombard your Audience
Sure, following up on your email list will show that you are both invested in your business and your subscribers. That being said, if you send out too many emails, then this will turn your readers off and it will also ensure that your emails get left in the spam folder too. One good way for you to make sure that you are not making a mistake with your emails would be for you to wait a total of three days after you have sent out the initial blast. Once you have sent your second email, then wait three weeks before you send another one. If your reader responds to your email, then you can, of course converse with them. By following the rule of three, you can make sure that you send out three emails, over three weeks. This is a great way for you to ensure that you are making the most out of your campaign.
DON’T: Use too Many Images
It is imperative that you do not overuse images. It’s very common knowledge that most emails are opened up on mobile devices. A lot of this comes down to the limits that occur with data usage. A lot of people even go as far as to disable images on their phone, so it doesn’t drain their data too much. If you know that the general success of your email depends on using images, then it may never be read by your audience and this will work against you. On top of this, images can take a very long time to load and the last thing you want is for your user’s attention to wane as your email loads up.
DON’T: Forget a Call to Action
Make sure that you don’t forget to add a CTA. A call to action can be as simple as having your audience click on a link that then leads them to your site. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how great or how engaging your site is because if you do not have any kind of actionable link, then this can lead to your campaign failing. A single email is never going to be enough for you to tell your customers about what you have to offer, so make sure that you remember this and that you also take the time to ensure you’re always setting yourself up for that next stage in the sales process.
DON’T: Forget to Add a Physical Address
You should not forget to add a physical address to your email. This helps to add a lot of legitimacy to your campaign, and it helps you to show that you are serious about what you do. Just make sure that you do not add your own home address because if you do, then this will make it much more difficult for you to keep your privacy. If you want to work around this, then make sure that you add a valid PO box.
DON’T: Sell your Email List
Selling your email list is illegal and it can also lead to a lot of lawsuits and fines. This is the last thing that you want, so make sure that you avoid this. Keep all of your email lists secure and also make sure that you are putting your customers first. If you can do this, then you will soon find that you can safeguard their data as well as your reputation.
DON’T: Send the Same Email to Every Subscriber
If you have a clothing website, you may not want to send emails about a baby sale to people who are aged between 16 and 21. You may however, want to target people between 18 and 29. If you can be selective about who you send your blasts to and why, then this will help you in the long run, and it will also help you to make sure that you are doing everything right. Your open rate will be higher, and your bounce rate will be lower too. If you haven’t done so already, then it is a good idea for you to create a personality for the segmented customer groups you have so you can make sure that you are always targeting the right people with the right emails.
So, if you want to make sure that you are making the most out of your campaign, then this list of do’s and don’ts should help you to get the results you are looking for. If you need some help with your campaign, then don’t be afraid to hire a reputable marketing agency as they can help you to make all of the right decisions while taking some of the stress off your shoulders when it comes to your campaign.