No matter your business, email campaigns remain one of the best marketing tools for connecting with potential clients and getting the biggest bang for your buck. Email success rates are more than impressive and outperform every other form of social media out there.
For every dollar invested in building your email strategy, you can earn an average ROI of $44. That’s almost ten times higher than conventional wisdom dictates is a successful goal.
Why Email Marketing Campaigns Work
Unlike social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, email reaches your intended audience directly. With social media, your message is at the mercy of platform algorithms that control when, where, and how often your message gets displayed.
Email connects you immediately with identified markets and, according to Forrester Research, is successfully delivered 90% of the time. Even better, emails are recipient-based, meaning recipients have opted in to your marketing in some way. The audience has already expressed an interest in your products and services.
Sending any old email isn’t enough, however. With a few simple steps, you can optimize your campaigns to improve open and response rates.
Use Quality Email Lists
If you collect and create your own email lists, you have a high quality method to reach your potential clients. Still, you should use software metrics to determine whether your emails are valid and landing in inboxes. Weed out the ones that are going nowhere.
An email verification tool can help make your campaigns more efficient. These services scrub bad and invalid emails from your list that can negatively skew your success metrics.
Create Compelling Subject Lines
The subject line is the first thing recipients see, so make it compelling and interesting. Avoid the cliché sales pitches like, “Buy Now!” or, “Great Opportunity Inside!”.
Not only is this approach a turn-off, spam filters are more likely to identify the email as junk. Say what the email is about in a short, descriptive manner, such as: ”Studies Show X Improves Your Life”.
Provide Concise Content
Emails are not blog posts or newsletters. Treat them as brief notifications that link to more detailed content. In general, readers scan emails quickly. Therefore, don’t clutter them up with too many images or overly wordy text.
Also, always include some kind of call to action (CTA) that prompts the reader to click, whether it’s a sign-up for particular notifications, a link to funnel traffic to your website, or download important content.
Use Email Automation
Email automation software makes your campaigns more efficient and boosts client interactions. Use it to schedule regular emails, facilitate a series campaign, or notify your sales staff when certain CTAs require follow-up. Automation can assist in developing relationships beyond simple notifications.
Keep Mobile In Mind
Format your emails for reading on mobile devices. Today, at least 53% of emails are opened and read on mobile phones. Keep any email media at a maximum width of 650 pixels, use clear headings for easy categorization, and ensure your CTAs are easily find and click.
Review, Revise, and Optimize
Use email analytics software to measure your success. You can’t identify issues or fix problems if you don’t know what they are. For example, high bounce rates might indicate you need to improve the quality of your email addresses. Low open rates might mean your subject lines need work.
Email metrics allow you to experiment with different ideas and determine which ones work best for you. Whatever success metric you focus on will help you get your message out in the best way possible.
Think of your emails as a key component in developing client relationships. Carefully crafted messages will help you gain new clients and keep existing ones coming back for more.