Kristine
Digital marketers are always looking for the latest trends to grab their customers’ attention, improve brand loyalty, and boost conversions. But as you try to optimize your next campaign, there is one strategy that you shouldn’t neglect anytime soon: email marketing.
According to HubSpot’s latest marketing report, email marketing generates about $42 for every $1 spent. This outstanding ROI (4,200%!) reveals that email is still thriving among consumers, and it remains a highly cost-effective solution for all types of businesses.
With that being said, not all emails are created equal. The average American receives around 120 emails every day, so your messages will really need to stand out in overcrowded inboxes. To boost open rates and truly engage with your audience, keep these top email marketing strategies in mind.
1. Personalize your emails
With so many brands focusing on building individualized products and experiences, customer segmentation is more important than ever. People don’t want to waste time reading content that’s irrelevant to their likes, needs, or wants, so marketers need to segment their audiences accordingly. Sorting subscribers into targeted groups based on specific demographics or interests will be far more effective than sending out a generic email to your entire audience base.
2. Leverage AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) can streamline several time-consuming marketing tasks, provide valuable information, and give you better insights into your email performance. AI can be implemented in a variety of contexts when it comes to email marketing, such as:
- Analyzing customer habits and open rates
- Optimizing surveys or polls
- Predicting outcomes based on past trends
- Processing large amounts of customer data
- Optimizing email content for SEO
- Removing inactive or unengaged subscribers
- Sending emails at optimal times based on open rates
3. Write attention-grabbing subject lines
We were all told not to judge a book by its cover, but this rule doesn’t apply in the fast-paced marketing world. Influencer Marketing Hub’s Werner Geyser reports that 47% of people judge emails by their subject lines alone, only opening emails that they find personally intriguing or relevant. In short, it doesn’t matter how great your email content is if your subject lines aren’t grabbing subscribers’ attention.
To ensure that your messages are actually read by your audience, you need to thoughtfully consider each subject line. Some marketers recommend doing A/B testing to see which subject lines get more clicks, but you may be able to boost clicks by following these general guidelines:
- Aim for a friendly, personable tone. Speak to your audience as a friend. You want your brand to be seen as approachable and genuine, not strictly professional.
- Tease a solution for a common pain point. Share advice about easing or solving a common problem your audience likely deals with. For example, a skincare company could hint at the best ingredients for reducing wrinkles or preventing acne.
- Add in some compelling statistics. When people see a statistic in a subject line, they often become curious about how the brand researched the figure and why the statistic matters.
- Retarget customers. Pay attention to people who almost purchased an item or saved an item for later in their accounts. They might need just a little extra encouragement to follow through with the transaction.
- Promote deals, discounts, or freebies for your subscribers. Offering special deals or early access to promotions for loyal subscribers will further cement their relationship with your brand. When you openly and frequently show appreciation for your customers, they’re sure to take notice.
4. Add interactive elements
One surefire way to increase email click-through rates is to add interactive elements in more of your messages. When customers are actively engaging with your content, as opposed to just reading a few paragraphs, they’ll be more likely to reach the CTA point at the end of the email. Furthermore, companies can analyze how customers interact and engage with these elements to create more personalized shopping experiences for each individual.
Here are just a few ways you can make your next email marketing campaign more engaging:
- Add in relevant GIFs or images
- Create eye-catching CTAs
- Offer different design modes for customers to choose from (such as light or dark themes)
- Brief polls and surveys
- Interactive product carousels to show off popular items
- Gamified elements
5. Incorporate more UGC
UGC, or User Generated Content, can benefit your brand more than you may realize. When potential customers see genuine product reviews from actual users, it gives them more confidence about the quality and reliability of your company. Alon Ghelber, chief marketing officer CMO at Revuze, says that 93% of consumers are influenced by product reviews.
You can easily add UGC into your emails by highlighting your followers on social media. If you ask your followers to submit photos or videos of themselves reviewing their latest purchases in exchange for the chance to be featured in a weekly email newsletter, many will happily participate.
Email Marketing Best Practices Conclusion
If your email campaign needs a little extra TLC, Content Cucumber is here to help! Connect with one of our professional writers to get high-quality writing for your email messages, CTA, subject lines, and more. Click here to get a quick demo and learn how you can get started today!
