At Right On – No Bull Marketing we are constantly learning and implementing the latest technology and trends to optimize our client’s email marketing performance and results. Here are eight simple things we do that you can do right now to improve your email marketing ROI.
Know Your Audience.
First and foremost, you need to understand who you are trying to communicate with. The content of your email needs to be relevant to the receiver. Take the time to understand the people on your email lists. Then segment them by needs and craft emails that can speak to that audience. Don’t think that one general email or advertisement will work for everyone.
Use a Familiar Sender Name
Nearly one of every two people will mark an email as spam simply due to the sender name alone. Use your brand name or name that your subscribers will easily recognize. The sender name is one of the first things people see when they open their email inbox. Use this to your advantage to get recognized. It is best not to use no-reply email addresses.
Develop a Captivating Subject Line
We agree with many other experts… successful subject lines have three common characteristics. The subject line needs to be brief, clear, and give the reader a reason to click open. Keep your audience in mind when creating the subject line. Keep it local and personalized whenever possible and offer them some sort of value for opening the email. Conveying a sense of urgency can also have a positive effect on your open rates. Test different keywords and phrases until your find the right rhythm.
Follow Up with Pre-Header Text
Pre-Header text is the text that appears next to the subject line depending on the email client email reader is using. Desktops and mobile email clients handle the pre-header text separately. Some may show it, others may not. If there is no assigned preheater text, then some email clients will take the first few words from the email body and display it there. Consider this some potential free space and create a pre-header that supports the subject line or has some sort of call-to-action.
Take Advantage of Alt Tags
Most email clients will ask the user to allow images to be downloaded in an email before they can see it. Instead of seeing the image, they first see the alt text for the image. Make sure all the alt tags help to explain what the images is about and how it belongs in the email. Especially images with text in them like many promotional emails use. Be sure the write “50% off the entire inventory” if that is what the image shows. That way your user will be able to understand the message of your entire email if the images don’t load.
Develop Good Patterns and Timing
If you send a newsletter out on the 5th of each month, then try to remain as consistent as possible. Same goes for promotional emails. Your subscriber may come to expect your email and not delivering on time could disappoint. Time of day can also make a difference depending on the email matter. You may need to test sending in the morning vs the afternoon or evening to see what works best for your audience.
Keep the Content Simple and Easy to Digest
Some newsletter email might contain a lot of information, sometimes too much. Try to give the reader just enough information so they are not overwhelmed. Especially in promotional emails. Try to keep it as brief as possible and get to the point. Keep it to one, maybe to call to action max. Keeping it short is crucial for your mobile users. If they must scroll and scroll to see the entire email, you can almost count on them unsubscribing.
Use a Responsive Email Design
Just as important as keeping your message short and sweet, is making sure it display right on all devices. Make sure to use a responsive template for more advanced emails that take advantage of HTML. Many email marketing services like Constant Contact, AWeber and MailChimp provide responsive templates you can use to craft an elegant responsive email.
Cross Your T’s and Dot Your I’s
If you are advertising on social media as well as sending out email marketing, make sure you have a cohesive campaign. Create similar imagery and use the same language across all campaigns. The greater your coverage the more credible you appear to the customer. Your target market may be likely to receive both advertisements so you want to make it seem like it is a cohesive campaign. You will also want to make sure you set up auto-responder emails for situations like cart abandonment. Make sure you connect with customers that are close to converting by sending them a special offer if they abandoned their cart during the checkout process.
Follow these 8 easy to implement tips and you are almost certain to see an increase in open and click through rates. Just remember to test, test, test and accurately measure your results. If we can help answer any questions or help create an email campaign for your company, contact ours.
