How to Produce Valuable Email Marketing Campaigns

Content Marketing

How many unread emails do you have waiting for you in your inbox? 100? 300? 1,000? What makes you click on some and not others?

Email marketing continues to drive results for those that utilize it wisely and can break through the clutter. Below are six tips to help you cut through the chaos and reach your target customer in their [potentially] overflowing inbox.

Six Tips For Creating Successful Emails Marketing Campaigns

Be Concise And Clear In Your Subject Line

It has been reported that nearly a third of readers will decide to open or not open an email based on the subject line alone. According to a study conducted by MailChimp, email subject lines that are short, descriptive and personalized often perform better than cheesy, longer ones. MailChimp also recommends the use of emojis, but only one at a time (per email). You want to be clear about the purpose and scope of your email and create a sense of urgency. Are you having a sale that is only for 24 hours? Are you offering a contest with an incredible prize? Brainstorm ways to entice your subscribers!

Also, consider testing subject lines through A/B or Multivariate campaigns to better understand your subscribers and what resonates with them. To conduct testing, develop multiple versions of your email campaign and keep each component identical except for the subject line. Then, randomly select parts of your subscriber list and sent the email to them. Compare the results and see what subject line did the best. What made that one different than the others? The more you do this, the better you’ll understand your subscribers and what their preferences are.

Consider Segmenting Your Email Lists

Emails are often not a ‘one size fits all’ type of effort. Constant Contact found that In fact, 56 percent of people who unsubscribed from a business or nonprofit list did so because the content wasn’t relevant.

Depending on what kind of product, service or offering you provide, it could be beneficial to vary the types of email lists you offer to ensure more relevant content is getting to your subscribers based on their specifics interest or personas. A persona is a fictional representation of your target customer, based on demographic data, online behaviors, buyer history and more.

In a test conducted by HubSpot where they switched to persona-based email segmentation, they saw a 16% increase in email clickthrough rates.

Be Relevant And Helpful

Develop content that your readers will find meaningful. Consider sharing ideas that address the concerns or problems that arise while doing your work and interacting with customers. For example, do you sell a product that requires customers handle some home maintenance on that product? Provide tutorials or best practices on how to do this process effectively. Does your company have a meaningful mission or story that your customers may not know much about? Consider showcasing that story in an email with some ‘behind the scenes’ elements such as mockups, employee videos and more.

You can also share articles or blog posts that are pertinent. If your client sells lunch boxes or lunch accessories for children, consider sharing delicious recipes that kids love, or fun ways your customers can get their kids in the kitchen! Provide information on websites and other resources where readers that check out for more information. Generating or providing useful and relevant information is a critical way to ensure your emails are more likely to be opened, because your subscribers will come to know you improve their inbox in some way – with meaningful stories or practical information.

Keep It Simple & Mobile Friendly

A clean design beginning with a main header image followed by the main content is most effective. Content ‘above the fold’ is a priority because the majority of the recipients won’t see your main message if it is not viewable when your email is first opened. Consider working with a designer to produce several different branded templates that can be utilized for any type of email you’re sending. These templates should include your logo, customized colors, consistent fonts and should showcase your brand voice you style.

Also consider how your email looks not only on desktop, but on mobile as well. According to HubSpot, launching a mobile-responsive email design can increase unique mobile clicks by 15%. With that in mind, it is generally better to limit the width of your design to be sure it will display well.

Test Campaign Timing

Testing your email campaigns on various days and times is a critical component in identifying a successful campaign strategy. Research shows Tuesdays and Thursdays are typically the best days to send email campaigns in terms of open and click-through rates. Consider who your customers are and what their lifestyle is like. Does your target audience consist of mainly busy working mothers with school-age kids? Perhaps sending an email at 3:15pm is not ideal then, given she may be picking them up or driving them to after-school activities.

A few ideas to get you started include targeting your customers when:

When they first wake up, or are heading to bed
They are commuting
May have time to take a break and check their email during lunch

Encourage Subscribers To Share Your Newsletter

Encourage your subscribers to share the newsletter with others. Share a call-to-action with your email subscribers in an effort to have them forward your email to family, friends, colleagues and more. By doing that, your company will have visibility by an expanded network of prospective customers. Be sure to include a ‘subscribe’ button so the recipients of the forwarded emails can easily opt-in to your future newsletters too.

With all of that said, it’s also just as important to ensure that you are sending email campaigns that are error-free, feature the correct link. Follow the checklist below: