In this blog I will share some key practiceEnrols for email marketing, subject line tips, using strong Call-to-Actions (CTA) and scheduling your email sends.
Email marketing best practices that drive results
- Demonstrate an understanding of your audience and their needs. This will create more engagement.
- Focus on delivering value. If you provide insights or unique data that is not accessible anywhere else your recipient will be more likely to engage.
- Use simple, understandable language in your copy. Make it easy to read.
- Measure, measure and measure. Track what is working and what is not working through A/B Testing and try new ideas.
- Keep your font consistent. Too many font variations can make the content harder to consume, so focus on reducing friction for the reader.
- Always design for mobile display. Over 50% of emails are viewed on mobile devices.
- Check for broken links and spelling errors. Double, and triple-check, you don't want a broken link to create a barrier to engagement.
Tips to increase your open rates with subject lines
- Keep your subject line between 3-8 words or 50 characters or less.
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- Don't bait and switch. Deliver the content that you promised in the subject line.
- Create curiosity. Ask a question or include “how to”.
- How to improve open rates
- Be personal. Use the recipient's name/company name and familiar/personal language. (make sure your list is up to date!)
- Personalised emails can increase open rates by 26%
- Include numbers. Email open and reply rates are higher with numbers and also demonstrate a clear message to your readers.
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- Add an emoji. 😅 Adding an emoji can increase your open rates by 56% vs text-only subject lines.
- Call out key information prospects are searching for in your top keywords.
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- Selecting the right CRM software 😎
Don't forget your Call-to-Action (CTA)
The key goal is to convince your recipient to not only read your email but also download, sign-up or access your content.
It is important to make taking action easy for your recipient. So ensure that you:
- Highlight the benefit
- As an example, if we are sending a case study, rather say "Get The Full Story" than just "download case study"
- Use power words
- Explore, Guarantee, Instant, Exclusive, Free
- Write from the recipient/reader's point of view
- Use "I" or "me", for example, "Save my Spot"
- Keep the main CTA above-the-fold
- Recipients/Readers spend 57% of their viewing time above the fold vs 17% below, so it is important to have the CTA top and centre
Here are a few examples:
| To promote a... | Change this | To this |
| Project Management Whitepaper | Download Now | Start Planning |
| How-to Blog Post | Learn More | Show Me How |
| Pair of Shoes | Buy Today | Run Faster |
| Webinar | Register | Save My Spot |
| EBook | Sumbit | Get Instant Access |
| Loyalty Group | Sign Up |
Join My Peers |
| Online Course | Enroll Now |
Unlock My Potential |
How often and when should you send emails?
You should experiment and deliver your emails at the right time. If you "google" this, you will get a wide range of suggestions, but from my experience, the best day is Thursday between 8 am and 9 am. It might be different depending on your audience, so use email tracking data to learn how your audience behaves. Continue to test and optimise your delivery.
The optimum frequency for open rates is 2-5 email campaigns per month. Increasing email rates will reduce the open rate and could potentially end up in the trash or as spam.
Remember to target those who didn't open the first email or those that did open the email, but didn't click through. Maybe try a different message or subject line.
It's important to plan ahead to avoid last-minute campaigns. Work with sales and other teams to ensure that you are ready for any upcoming promotions or seasonal events.
Automate, automate and automate! If you plan your campaigns and build drip campaigns, you can ensure that you nurture your subscribers, and contenGroupt is timely and also save yourself time!
