Were you amazed by the very possibility that over 300 billion emails are flying around the world every day? Now, do you know that by 2025 we are looking at an increase of over 376 billion daily emails?
Isn’t that mind-blowing?
Still, despite the boom in social media and messaging apps, email holds its ground as the most reliable and widely used communication channel.
But let’s be realistic: Email marketing is not the same as it was five years ago. Email marketing strategies that worked then will most likely not work the same now.
Remember that good old generic mail could catch your eye? But now it has changed. Nowadays, it is all about personalizing, customizing and sending the email in a way that will speak directly to your audience with relevant and engaging content.
So, why do top marketers still put so much trust in email marketing?
Because it gets the results—big time.
Here’s the best: for each dollar spent on email marketing, you might get anything between $42 and $56. That is not only good; it’s awesome! Email marketing stands way above all other types of online marketing channels. And when you go deeper into personalization and segmentation, the number gets better. Personalizing subject lines boosts open rates by 26%, while segmented campaigns increase revenue by an eye-popping 760%.
Isn’t that impressive?
With more than 4 billion email users worldwide an expected number to rise to 4.6 billion by 2025-email marketing helps you communicate with your audience effectively. Whether you are curious about the ‘personalized’ emails flooding your inbox, or maybe you just want to improve your marketing efforts, gaining insight into effective emailing strategies is a breakthrough.
To help you out, we’ve put together some email marketing strategies you can use to improve your campaigns and make them a powerful marketing asset.
5 effective Email Marketing Strategies to Improve Your Click-through Rates
Turning a blind eye and just sending an email won’t help you bring the desired result. To drive ROI from your email marketing efforts, you need to make a strategic decision rather than working day and night for it. Let’s make email marketing work for you using these email marketing strategies.
1. Personalisation
The first effective email marketing strategies is Personalization
Personalizing your communication does not mean you are going to send individual emails to each subscriber. It means making your audience feel like they’re receiving a message from a friend. As long as you achieve this, they’ll open your emails and respond to your requests.
Think of it: as if you’re calling out to someone standing far away, they’ll only pay attention if you call them by their first name. That’s exactly how personalization works in email marketing. Addressing your email audience by their first name grabs their attention and motivates them to read your email.
Stats say “Email subject lines that are personalized with the audience’s first name can drive you 10-14% higher open rate than the simple plain subject line”.
But using their first name isn’t the only way to personalise: There are other ways that go beyond just the audience’s first name.
Personalization Outside the user’s First Name :
1. Ask for the right information from the start
When users visit your website ask them relevant questions, such as name, phone number, birthday date, company, and location. Without these data, your ability to personalization communication will be very limited. Collecting these pieces of information can help you send the right message e.g. wishing your customer on their Birthdays or Customizing the email based on their location.
2. Use the reply ID in your email
When you send an email without a reply-to-address it makes your user feel less confident about your email and takes away the authenticity of your messages. You want your readers to respond to the email and engage with your campaigns. Avoid using no-reply addresses like donotreply@example.com, as they take away credibility. Instead, use a reply ID that feels more personal and improves your authenticity.
3. Product recommendation
One of the key email marketing strategies of personalization is recommending products to users based on their purchase history, geolocation, and user interest.
Remember, don’t use email just for marketing your products. Send additional information about the products they’ve bought or share valuable, informative content to keep them engaged with your brand.
2. Use Clear Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons
Another email marketing strategies, using Call-to-Action in your emails
How you can expect anyone to respond to your messages if you have not provided any clear instructions or visible direction? Just like when you are driving through an unfamiliar road, you rely on a map to guide you. Similarly, your email should serve as a roadmap for your customer, providing a clear CTA that directs them easily to their desired destination.
CTA is the action you want the audience to take on your email
CTA in email marketing strategies will directly influence your email marketing success and lead to an increase in overall ROI growth.
Customers are more likely to interact with your email when they find it easy to understand what action to take, especially if the CTA appears as a clickable button.
According to one study, using button-based CTAs can increase click-through rates by 28% compared to link-based CTAs.
How can you do it?
1. You should focus on the benefits like “Get My Free eBook” and incorporate words like “Join the Fun” to trigger the emotional response from users.
2. Use buttons that are visually appealing, using contrast color will make your button pop against the email background. The button should be large enough to tap easily and make sure to utilize the whitespace effectively.
3. Experiment with placing your CTA button at various points in the email at the top middle or bottom, to see where it performs best.
4. Focus on crafting powerful CTAs with strong verbs like “SHOP” “BUY” “DOWNLOAD” or “DISCOVER”, use phrases like “Limited Time Offer” or “Only a Few Items Left” to tap into the FOMO of the audience to prompt immediate action.
Using the Clear CTA button will help you achieve better CTR and higher conversion rates and help improve your customer experience, without leaving them guessing about the next step.
3. Email data set
One of the important email marketing strategies is to create your own data set of subscribers. Your target audience depends on who you think will be most benefited by your business or who has shown interest in your product or service. Most importantly it is important to focus on the quality of your data when defining these audiences.
Take permission. It Matter
When you are building your dataset remember to add users only when they have provided the consent. If you do not have permission, it’s better not to send them any communication. If you send unsolicited emails it can harm your domain and damage your reputation. So it is better to focus on those who are happy to hear from you and let go of those who are not interested. Sometimes it is good to leave people behind.
How you can do it?
- Try to ask for consent by implementing a double opt-in process where they can confirm their subscription via email. You can ask for their permission when they sign up for your newsletter or visit the website for the first time.
- Don’t use purchase data to send an email, a bad data set means a bad reputation and a bad domain.
Remember not just collecting double opt-in data, but regularly cleaning your email list is also important.
You can remove anyone who unsubscribes from your email communication, and update the list by removing contacts who haven’t engaged with your email over a certain period and also remove email addresses that bounce and contacts who mark your email as spam.
This will benefit you in the long run by improving your sender reputation, maintaining the high-quality list and overall improvement in your email deliverability, leading to a more successful campaign.
4. Subject Line Optimization
Another important email marketing strategy is crafting effective subject lines. Think of your subject line as a greeting card- it creates the first impression and determines whether your email gets opened. However, unlike greeting cards, you have a limited space (typically around 60 characters) and need to avoid certain words that might trigger spam filters.
47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone. At the same time, 69% of email recipients report emails as spammy based solely on the subject line.
Avoid Spam Trigger Words
“SALE”, “DISCOUNT” “FLAT” “FREE” “URGENT” “GUARANTEE” “WINNER” “BEST PRICE” including numeric digits, these words can raise red flags for your subject line and can land your email in the spam folder.
How you can do it?
Being in email marketing you might get confused about how to write a subject line that works.
There are free tools available that can help you evaluate your subject lines for effectiveness and spam score. Use these tools to gain insights, but don’t rely on those tools entirely as you have a better understanding of your audience.
Another tip is to keep the subject line under 60 characters to ensure that they are fully visible to most devices. Stay away from words that commonly trigger spam filters, excessive punctuation(e.g !!!) and all caps. Make sure your subject line matches the email you have sent without being misleading.
Shift your focus to create a thoughtful and appropriate subject line, by doing this you can increase your open rate and the overall effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. Remember, most of the time subject line is your first (and sometimes only) chance to make an impression – make it count!
5. Avoid Spam filters and Red Flags to Watch Out for
There are many reasons why your email might land in spam filters. To improve your email deliverability, it’s important to avoid activities that are red flags that can trigger spam detectors.
Things that you should take care of:
(A). Using certain words in your subject line that can raise red flags and spam filters.
(B). Link in the content of email creative should be relevant and direct to a reputable website. Likes leading to sketch or unrelated sites can harm your credibility and trigger spam filters.
(C). Avoid using ALL CAPS as it may come across as shouting and may trigger spam filters.
(D). Avoid the use of colorful or different size fonts, it can make your email look unprofessional and may be flagged as spam.
(E). Check your emailer for any broken links or errors in the email’s code, it has a negative impact on deliverability.
(F). Most importantly do not forget to include an unsubscribe button as it mandatory as per Gmail guidelines.
By addressing these common issues, you can improve your email deliverability and ensure that your messages reach your audience’s inbox rather than their spam folder.
Conclusion
Email marketing works! But change the way you do it because it is no longer only about sending the same email to everyone.
Update your strategy, what worked 1 year back may not work now because trends change quickly. A/B test and see what works and update your email to trigger-based email.
Read Also: How to Implement Marketing Automation Effectively
Written By – Alisha Limichana
Alisha Limichana is a seasoned growth marketer and part of the MCG team at EnR Cloud, specializing in driving business growth through innovative strategies. She has a proven track record of delivering impactful marketing campaigns. Outside of work, Alisha enjoys exploring the mountains, travelling, and staying active and fit.
