You need to do some A/B testing to better understand what email marketing strategies are more useful. Every business is different and has different email audiences, and this is why A/B testing is such an important method for identifying the best email marketing strategies for your particular business. Otherwise, you will feel lost in terms of how to increase your email engagement.
You have probably already been the subject of an unauthorized email marketing campaign. Similarly, you can certainly understand why a consumer cleans out their inbox and starts clicking the “unsubscribe” buttons on emails. When customers feel like they've been tricked into receiving tons of emails from marketers, they typically feel like their privacy has been invaded. Most of the time, they will delete your emails, unsubscribe from your list, and in the worst-case scenario report you as spam. Avoid having your messages blocked and automatically redirected to the spam bin by obtaining permission from your target audience instead.
Your emails must convince a busy consumer or professional to provide you permission to send them periodical messages. A small “sign up for our newsletter” button is not enough in today’s digital age. You need to provide clear value to subscribers via compelling content, insightful information, special deals, or other tactics to command their attention and inspire action. If you can’t accomplish this, then your email marketing campaign will inevitably fail.
Sending an email that does not promote an actionable response does little good to provide something other than awareness, and this is why marketers should instead focus on optimizing emails for clicks. Open rates are growing more and more unreliable, especially in the wake of iOS 15 where all emails default to an open, often giving a business a false read on the effectiveness of their email campaigns. The goal should not be to increase open rates, but rather to encourage actual engagement. Therefore, your attention should be on sending the right content to the right audiences at the right time, making certain there is a prominent call to action, as well as visually engaging and interactive elements, and punchy headlines that creates a sense of urgency. By not incorporating click-boosting elements into your emails, you may get subscribers to open them, but the likely result will be a quick deletion or missed sales conversion.
One reason an email marketing campaign might fail is outdated data. You can have the most attractive deal ever, but still fall short because of inactive subscribers. Always maintain the most up to date information on your email subscriber list and remove unengaged users regularly. Another good tip for this is to run email verification on subscribers that have not been emailed in thirty-plus days.
The biggest reason email marketing strategies fail is because the offer is never read. This means that you must write short, enticing subject lines that urge the recipient to actually click to view the email's contents. Think of your subject line as a sneak peek to what's inside, so be sure to include any sales, discounts or important company information - as space allows.
We all know how fickle email service providers can be when it comes to serving images correctly, especially in a newsletter format where there may be multiple. If you're already struggling with deliverability issues or you're seeing a decline in open rates, the last thing you should do is add more images. Even campaigns from the outset can fail because they rely too heavily on images, and the end result is a spammy-looking email template that doesn't resonate with audiences. Still to plain text where possible, and use images sparingly.
Don’t forget the welcome email! Would you decide to skip the “Hi, how are you doing? I've missed you,” part of the phone call with an old friend because you were already friends with them? No! The same goes for marketing email campaigns. Just because your email campaign is going out to your subscribers does not mean you can skip the welcome email - the welcome email is actually the most important part and has the highest open rate. The welcome email is your way to connect with your subscribers, deepen your relationship, let them know how special they are to you, and tell them what exciting things your campaign has in store for them. And because subscribers like knowing how special they are to you, welcome emails have the highest open - so take advantage of this guaranteed visibility. If you’re lazy and decide to skip the welcome email, you’re missing out on a major opportunity to connect with your audience and your campaign may fail.
Optimizing the user experience, delivering personalized messages, and maximizing consent rates — all while respecting users’ privacy is crucial to any email marketing campaign’s success. In a future without third-party cookies, successful email marketers will be those that prioritize gathering first-party data; user data from their own websites, app, social channels, etc. Then they’ll need to use it responsibly by emphasizing consent-based approaches.
Copywriting isn't the same as writing long-form content. The latter aims to inform while the former aims to sell. And if your advertising copy is boring, sub-par, and simply not eye-catching enough, even the best content will go missed by your customers. To really nail this element of your email marketing campaign, study some of the most effective campaigns to get better at creating impactful copy that will reel in your customers.
It is incorrectly targeted. People are savvy about their email use and are already flooded with content and even spam mail, and they will ignore or delete emails that aren’t immediately relevant to their interests. It is essential to target your emails and the specifics of the campaign to people who have relevant interest in your brand. By being more specific, you can cut through the noise and get noticed by consumers who are willing to engage with your brand. Targeting the most relevant leads is key.
Don’t send emails more than once a week or you may tempt customers to hit “unsubscribe.” Just as posting to Instagram more than once a day can come across as thirsty, sending out emails too often can give a bad impression. Ease customers into receiving your emails or risk annoying them away. Start off by sending twice a month, then eventually get down to once a week. If you’re going to even send once a week, be sure to provide something valuable in the email beyond advertising. Think about the emails you open. It’s probably because they’re offering a promo code, or giving away a delicious-sounding free recipe. Justify each email you send by giving something away.
Email marketing campaigns may fail if the content is not tested thoroughly with target audiences. Use A/B testing methods to craft marketing content audiences will respond best to ahead of time. Data is central to business strategy today because it facilitates companies’ understanding of user preferences. For the most effective email marketing content, businesses must refine images, videos, and brand messaging to engage and convert users the best before executing a campaign. Many companies rush into executing email campaigns that look great on paper but are not tested enough for guaranteed results. Test each email segment to assess what content is the stickiest to safeguard your campaign results from flopping.
If it's poorly written. No matter how good a marketing campaign is, it will turn customers off if it's sloppily written. Typos, long paragraphs of text and poor grammar all contribute to the idea that a campaign is sloppy or illegitimate. If you want an email campaign to be successful, its key to make sure you write it skillfully and check through all of it.
Just because a customer is on your email list does not mean that they are interested in everything your business offers and is the reason why you should never send mismatched content. Your customers may shop at the same store but can have vastly different interests, thus tracking those details is critical in knowing how to craft an effective email campaign. Failing to track data on what web pages they have searched, their engagement on social media, previous purchases, and even live interaction, can result in sending an email with information in which the recipient has little if any interests, often resulting in them unsubscribing. Instead, by focusing on personalization, and customizing your email content to specific customers, you will increase open rates and keep your customers engaged with your business, and excited to see your next offer.
Everyone with an email account nowadays has become accustomed to spam emails. It is so important to the success of an email marketing campaign to distance yourself from the constant influx of spammy emails an account receives daily. The best weapon you have against coming off this way is to personalize your message as much as possible. Utilize any information you have on a customer, like products they have viewed, category pages they frequent, or even their name. Simply using their name rather than a plain "hey there" goes a long way.
An email marketing campaign may fail if the subject line is weak. Even if you have a great email, people may not even open it if the subject line is too bland. Use the subject line as an opportunity to get people's attention. For instance, you could ask an intriguing question or present a fantastic offer. A strong subject line is essential to a successful email marketing campaign.
Stick to one topic! When passionate about your product or service, it can be easy to go on and on and want to tell people everything. Resist that urge to be verbose! Are you offering a summer sale? Do you want customers to sign up for a strategy call? Are you unveiling a new product? Pick one and stop talking!
The subject line may not be strong enough. Consumers are receiving hundreds of emails per week from companies. What is your business doing to catch their eye in the subject line? Chances are high that the customer may not even open the email to begin with. The subject line is so important in any campaign to connect with the consumer and get them to click through.
An email marketing campaign may fail if the email is sent at a time that is inopportune. For example, you could have a great marketing email, but if you send it at 5pm on a Friday, it could get overlooked by many of your subscribers. On the other hand, if you send it at 2pm on a Wednesday, this time would be more ideal because it is more likely that people would be checking their email inboxes around this time.