Email marketing can be daunting if you’re new to it. Assuming you make it past the spam filter, you have a couple of seconds to make an impression or you’re sent to the trash. Despite this, email marketing is actually one of the most successful marketing techniques, offering a return on investment of 4,300 percent. Around 74 percent of consumers prefer to receive commercial communications via email, and 66 percent of U.S. online consumers, ages 15 and up, made a purchase as a result of email marketing messages. That’s a lot of bang for your buck. To help you achieve this level of success, we’ve come up with the following tips for you to get more opens and more clicks with your email marketing campaigns.
1. Choose an effective subject line
Your subject line should be original, yet straightforward. It should pique your target market’s interest while communicating why they would want to open your email. Trick of the trade: Use numbers, they grab attention and let people know what they’re in for. “6 tips? I can skim through that in a breeze!”
2. Demand attention
Crafting an email that looks professional and is on-brand is very important. Choose a layout and image that make your email stand out. Trick of the trade: Test your email on various devices. On average, 48 percent of email is opened on a mobile device, and over 70 percent of mobile purchasing decisions are influenced by promotional emails. So make sure the content in your email is responsive and looks good on all devices.
3. Benefit the subscriber
What is the subscriber getting out of opening your email? It could be a word of advice, a sale or promotion, or an invitation to an event. Many companies make the mistake of creating marketing pieces that are too feature-focused. You can’t always know which features are most appealing to your audience and it could be different for everyone. Rather, the focus of your marketing should be the benefits your company or your products bring to the customer.
4. Earn your subscribers’ trust
Don’t overwhelm them with emails. Not every email should be trying to sell them something. Offer help or advice, and be concerned about the growth and improvement of their business, not just yours. One goal of email marketing is to establish your brand as an industry thought leader, meaning your company is who they turn to for all of their promotional needs. Once you’ve earned their trust, they’ll engage more with your brand.
5. Persuade subscribers to act
How will your subscribers know what you want them to do unless you TELL them? Do you want them to view a new product? Buy something during a sale? Register for an event? Always include a clear and convincing call to action. Trick of the trade: Adding the same link several times in the email increases the chances of it getting clicked.
6. Track your success
We can speculate all we want, but there is no average subscriber. Some emails are going to be successful with some people and not with others. Measuring the open and click-through rates with your subscribers is the best way to determine what works for you and what doesn’t. You can even run A/B split tests by sending sample groups of your subscribers slightly different emails to see which ones get a better response.
According to a census conducted by digital marketing research firm, Econsultancy, companies that use an email service provider are more likely to be satisfied with their email marketing than those who do not.
SAGE’s Email Campaigns module makes email marketing easy! With ready-to-send, pre-populated campaigns or customizable templates, you can boost your sales, drive traffic to your website, stay in front of your clients and prospects, and track your success with just a few clicks. Plus, you get 25 free email sends each month so why not try it out?
Visit ourwebsite to learn more about SAGE Email Campaigns and get started!
Editors Notes: This post was originally published in September 2014 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
