By Tyler Brewington
If you’ve spent any time at all looking into email marketing, you’ve probably seen the statistics: email marketing has a ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. More than half of the world’s population uses email, and 306 billion emails are sent every day. Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than social media, and it boasts the highest conversion rate, too: 66% for purchases prompted by promotional messaging. It’s effective. It’s profitable. It’s the golden age of email!
If email’s not part of your marketing strategy already, it should be – especially if you’re a small- to medium-sized business looking to maximize your advertising budget.
Even if you are already using email marketing, there’s always room to improve. The last thing you want is to send subscribers hunting for ‘unsubscribe’ instead of ‘shop now.’ One of the best things about email is that it gives you an affordable, easy way to build brand credibility. Don’t undermine that trust with bad sending habits.
Don’t: Wear Out Your Welcome
When it comes to emails, it’s definitely possible to have too much of a good thing. Keep in mind that your email is but one of many, many emails your subscribers are likely to receive in a day, and people are far likelier to unsubscribe – or even worse, flag you for spam – if you send messages too frequently.
Always go for quality over quantity, both in terms of emails and your subscriber list. It’s a good idea to regularly weed out people who never open your emails and to send fewer emails to people who rarely click through to your content. Your total subscriber list might decrease, but that should bump up your other metrics. And speaking of metrics…
Do: Track, Test, and Ask
It’s not always easy to arrive at the magic mailing frequency, but it’s a good idea to find out how often your competitors are sending emails. Another great thing email has going for it is its measurability. Keeping an eye on your open rates and click rates will help you know which emails are landing. A good strategy is to A/B test your subject lines – see which versions your audience seems to respond to the most, and use that knowledge to inform future campaigns. Allowing people to choose their own delivery frequency is great, too. Give them the option when they sign up.
Don’t: Overcomplicate It
Fancy moving graphics and videos might seem like a great way to grab attention, but those require complex code. You want everything in the body of your email to load as quickly and correctly as possible.
Do: Optimize for Mobile
Another reason to keep your content simple and clean: people today access their email from a wide variety of devices, most of them subject to the whims of wifi or network signal strength. Nobody wants to open an email that contains an empty gray box. When you’re evaluating your emails for mobile responsiveness, consider using buttons instead of inline calls to action, which makes for a smoother user experience. Text and images should be present in roughly equal proportions, and it’s best to avoid using a multi-column layout unless you’re 100% sure your email has been created with a responsive template.
When done right, email marketing is a beautiful thing. There’s no better way to nurture leads and build relationships with new and existing customers. Ready to get started? Book a demo with one of our in-house content experts today!
