By Summra Ahmad
How to Create a Winning Email Marketing StrategyTo communicate the content about your products and services or to sell the listed items, email marketing is a handy technique that never grows old. We'll tell you how to create and implement an email strategy properly? It's time you start to learn about email etiquette!
Follow the ideas below to help you generate a winning email marketing strategy.
1. Design your emailsA good email marketing strategy is incomplete without an email design. Sending a plain text email works, but an HTML email has more appeal to persuade the customer to click on the CTA.
To design your emails, layout the key elements you want to include in the email. Like the subject line, body text, graphics, CTA, and the footer.
Do not go crazy when designing an email template. For instance, use a high readability font so that subscribers can scan the information in a go. The simpler the font, the better it is.
Instead of creating an email template from scratch, use an email marketing software that offers a unique and customized templates library.
That’s why Mailmunch is an exceptional tool because it provides email templates so that users can design the emails and keep them brand-oriented. Take a look below.
2. Include a catchy email signatureAn email signature makes your emails look professional, helping you build trust, connect with your audience, and show subscribers a glimpse of your brand’s personality.
Consider these tips when creating your email signature.
Keep it simple. Avoid overloading your signature with too many texts and elements. Stick to the basic details such as your brand name, email, website, etc.
Ensure consistent branding. Apply the same color schemes and logo you use in your marketing materials, including your email signature.
Add necessary links. Include links to your social media platforms and homepage to encourage subscribers to connect with you through other channels.
Take a look at the example below.
3. Segment your audienceSince your subscribers differ in levels of readiness to convert, segment them based on their interests, unique characteristics, etc., to send appropriate content to the right people.
Determine your critical segments as well and target them with relevant campaigns.
For instance, send special promotional emails to your existing customers to entice them back to your store and increase your conversion opportunities.
Using lead generation solutions such as Mailmunch, segment your email list by setting filters.
4. Personalize your contentEmail marketing personalization targets your email campaigns to specific audiences based on their last purchased product, demographics, etc.
Tailor your content to your customers’ needs and provide offers relevant to their interests to give them personalized experiences.
Doing so helps you connect, engage, and nurture relationships with your audience, boosting your conversions and sales.
Try these email personalization methods for your campaigns.
Address your subscribers using their names. Make your audience feel special by using their names in your greeting or subject line to engage them better.
Deliver content relevant to your audiences’ lifecycle stage. Send appropriate content to the right audience, such as a welcome message for new subscribers and upsell offers for previous customers.
Send content about personal and seasonal events. Personalize your campaigns more by sending your subscribers birthday and holiday greetings (among others).
Build trust and nurture relationships with your audience through personalized email marketing campaigns and improve click-through and conversion rates.
5. Use short subject linesDid you know that almost 47% of email recipients' open rates are because of the subject lines? Whereas a personalized email campaign is more likely to have open rates by 22%.
So it suffices to say that subject lines play a crucial role in an email marketing campaign’s success. When creating an email subject line, focus on the content and the number of characters used. For instance, ideally, it's recommended to use 6-10 words in the subject lines, increasing the open rate. If a subject line has a sense of urgency, it also increases the open rate by 22%.
A subject can either make or break the email campaign’s success. Despite being a simple one-liner, it takes good crafting skills to conjure catchy words with a better chance of email subscribers opening their emails.
6. Automate your campaignsEffective email marketing campaigns for small businesses require aligning aspects of your campaign, but this takes time and effort.
Use email automation software to automate your campaigns, including setting up pre-set conditions and triggers, such as particular times and subscriber actions.
For example, set campaign triggers to send welcome emails to new subscribers.
Other emails you can automate include:
Abandoned cart emails. Remind customers about their abandoned cart items and renew their interest in your products to entice them back to your store to complete their purchase.
Newsletters. Automate your newsletters to send regular updates, special offers, and other promotions efficiently and maintain regular audience engagement.
Automate your email marketing campaigns to streamline your efforts, drive efficiency, and get better ROI and conversions.
7. Leverage social mediaSocial media networks are powerful ways to build your email list and continue to engage your audience. According to an Ipsos study, nearly 85% of people who use the web use email instead of 62% who use social media networks. It is worth noting that all social media networks are included in the 62%. You should outline your social media ideas and make a strategy of how you want to utilize social media in your marketing strategy.
Privy conducted tests on driving subscribers to their landing page and found that Facebook boosted posts increased traffic by 46.7%.
Can you leverage social media networks to increase your email list and be more effective in email marketing?
Create a landing page on social media networks like Facebook.
Share premium content on social channels.
Share an incentive for subscribing to your email list.
Host webinars to increase effective email marketing.
Consider holding contests, sweepstakes, or giveaways.
Consider testing ads on social media networks.
8. Optimize for mobileBased on statistics, 42.3% of users will delete emails that are not optimized for mobile, and that’s significant conversion and sales opportunities down the drain.
Make your email campaigns mobile-friendly to provide an excellent user experience for your subscribers and increase engagement.
Optimize your emails for mobile with the following tips.
Keep it short. Write concise email copies, subject lines, and pre-headers, and use bigger font sizes so readers can see your content clearly on small displays.
Use responsive design. Work with email campaign builders with features for creating mobile-friendly emails.
Test your call-to-action. Avoid using unnecessary email graphics that take away the focus from your CTA or make them hard to read or tap on a mobile screen.
Test which CTA color, text, content, etc., drive more conversions.
9. Track the right metricsIdentify your metrics to assess your email marketing campaigns’ performance and uncover areas of improvement.
Your email campaign metrics can include:
Bounce rate. Monitor your bounce rate to get insights that affect your conversions, such as email list or content problems, delivery issues caused by technical glitches, and more.
Email open rate. Track the number of opened emails to assess your reach and compare the performance of campaigns sent to different audience segments.
Unsubscribe rate. Check this metric to assess if your subscribers respond well to your campaigns and identify which content needs improvement.
Email signup. Assess your signup rate to determine the effectiveness of your email campaigns in driving visitors to your landing pages.
List growth rate. If this metric is low, you'll need to refine your lead generation and communication strategies to improve your conversions.
Define your metrics based on your email marketing campaign objectives to determine what you're doing right or wrong, and refine your strategies to improve your results.
10. Optimize CTA'sWhy use calls to action (CTA) in your emails?
Marketing Experiments ran tests on calls to action in email marketing. They found that CTAs that offer high value at low cost to the recipient get more clicks.
One study found that using CTA that were button-based increased click-through rates compared to link-based CTA’s by 28%.
We have suggested some simple ways to create optimized CTAs:
Use specific copy.
Focus on the benefits.
Avoid words that can increase friction.
Use button designs that are sized appropriately and stand out in the email.
Make use of whitespace in the email.
Test your CTA placement in the email.
11. A/B TestingDon’t send emails without split testing. You need to make sure the email version you want works. Some email marketing services or tools like Mailmunch provide A/B testing tools so that users can test the landing pages and emails before finalizing the version.
Also, consider how you can collect data from campaigns to test elements and find out how you can create better future campaigns by noting what works well and what does not so well.
A/B testing also plays a key part in testing various email elements. Consider running tests around subject lines, calls to action, and content that works best for engaging with your audience.
12. Add visualsAccording to HubSpot, 65%of users prefer emails that contain mostly images vs. 35% who prefer text mostly.
Constant Contact surveyed over 2 million customer emails to find out if there was a correlation between the number of images in an email and audience engagement. They found that – With some industry-specific exceptions — emails with three or fewer images and approximately 20 lines of text result in the highest click-through rates.
Burger King did a great job for their email campaign.
How can you make the most of visuals in your email marketing campaigns? Consider the following tips:
Make use of sightlines. When you are looking at a photograph of a person, how often do you feel yourself consciously following the eyes of the photographed person?
Use small images that speed up the loading of the email.
Do not use irrelevant images and images that do not contribute to the message you want to get across.
Show off your personality through visuals.
Look to Pinterest for inspiration.
13. Focus on the best time to send emailsOne of the most common blunders amateurs do? Sending an email at the worst time.
What good is an email if you send it late at night when your customer is sleeping? Focusing on the timings matters the most.
Choose the best time to send emails wisely to improve the open and click-through rate. A customer’s loyalty towards your brand increases once you reach them at the right time.
Do not forget that loyal customers are always keen to engage with the content. Keep that in mind and split test to discover the best timing for your target audience.
It is recommended to send emails on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - the best days! More than 51% of companies use automation tools like Mailmunch to automate their email campaigns. Automation tools help track customer actions, so with AI-based tools, you can optimize email deliverability and avoid the wrong time to send emails.
14. Address inactive subscribersResearch shows that 63% of an email list is inactive on average. In other words, these people are less likely to follow up with your follow-up emails. So how can you re-engage these subscribers? Re-engagement campaigns are a good place to start.
How do you re-engage inactive subscribers?
Identify the inactive subscribers on your list.
Re-ignite interest in your inactive subscribers by sending them an email. Let them know they're missed, and you want them back with a subject line that says just that. Consider giving them a special offer or discount.
Move those who respond to the active list. Let those who don’t respond know that they will be removed from your list if they don’t respond within a specified time frame.
Remove the non-responders from your list.
Consider using the following steps as well.
Be sure your subject lines are clear and communicate what your email is really about.
Regularly offer incentives, discounts, contests, and coupons to motivate people to open your emails.
Determine the best email sending frequency for your subscribers.
If e-newsletters are part of your email marketing strategy, be sure to limit the amount of promotional content.
Find out why people are no longer interested by asking them when they unsubscribe. Then use the information you obtain to modify your email promotions.
Provide a convenient change of address link on your email correspondence.
Consider having an annual subscription renewal process where subscribers must renew their subscription to continue receiving your emails.
15. Contests and GiveawaysDeveloping on the previous point - a referral contest is a great way to build your email list, and you should consider it a part of your email marketing strategy.
The principles are very simple. You say to your audience that you will choose one (or more) email that will subscribe to your list in the next three weeks and give the owner of that email a prize. Free 6 months on your platform, $50 credit in your online store - whatever fits your overall business strategy.
This will allow both the viral spread of your message and gain you many new subscribers.
Final thoughts
While there is no perfect formula for successful email marketing, including the basics and refining your campaigns is a good starting point. In this post, we went through the email marketing strategies that can help you create a winning campaign in the upcoming year.
Now, build email campaigns that help you connect with your audience, nurture relationships with them, tailor your content to their needs, and include conversion elements. Make the user experience coherent and in line with the user’s expectations.
Find the best approach that benefits your customers and business to help drive your conversions and sales through the roof. Make the most out of your subscriber list!
Source: Mailmunch®
Original Content:
https://www.mailmunch.com/blog/email-marketing-strategy
