According to a study by the Radicati Group in 2015, there are around 2.5 billion people who use emails. This equates to a third of the world's population. With being able to reach such a wide audience, email marketing has become a popular tool for advertising a brand. But do the same practices still work today as they did years back?
Listed here are some of the best practices that can make your emails shine and get noticed.
What works: Emails with a direct goal
Each email should have an objective; It could be to generate more visitors to your shop, encourage loyal customers to buy again, increase awareness of your brand or get more people to sign up for your newsletter.
Use your objective as a guide to what message you should include in your email. It can also give you an idea on when you should send the email and how often you should send the multiple messages.
What doesn't: Spam
Nobody likes receiving or reading spam email. Spam emails can make you and your brand look unprofessional and untrustworthy. In some countries, it is also against the law to send people spam email. However, what is considered as spam email can get vague. Consider the following factors before sending any email:
- Focus on permission-based marketing activities.
- Confirm email list subscriptions with double opt-in. This might sound more of a hassle but this ensures that the people in your email list didn't sign up by accident.
- Identify who you are in each email. Include all contact details or ways they can find you online.
- Avoid sending too many emails
- Always include an unsubscribe link in your emails. Make it easy for people to opt out of your email list.
What works: Mobile device-friendly emails
A large percentage of web users browse content and access their emails using their mobile devices. There are several ways you can make it easier for people to read your emails using their smartphone or tablet:
- Make sure that your emails are easy to scan and read
- Use compression to reduce image sizes
- Design bigger buttons
- Use a responsive email template
- Avoid using a lot of rich media or videos. These file types can make your device run slower
What doesn't: Buying email lists
Growing an email list from scratch takes time and persistence. There's no guaranteed way of gaining more subscribers. Buying email lists is a waste of money. These types of email lists contain low quality leads.
What you should do instead is provide rewards or incentives for people to subscribe and be added to your email list. For instance, you can provide them with a freebie such as an ebook, video or access to a webinar in exchange for their email address and consent.
What works: Adding more visuals
To ensure your newsletters are appealing to the audience, add more visual elements to the body of the emails. Think out of the box and experiment with different types of media: images, infographics, GIF's or videos.
Using visuals in your emails can increase click-through rates and overall email engagement.
What doesn't: Sending the same content to everyone
Not everyone is interested in the same type of content. The best practice is to segment your subscribers to make sure you deliver the relevant message to different target groups.
To segment your subscribers, collect relevant data through sign-up forms. The segments can be based on a variety of criteria, such as geography, content download or interest in certain products.
By following these tips and practices, you are sure to see improvements in your email marketing efforts.
AUTHOR BIOTomi Saikkonen is the Vice President of Liana Technologies, Middle East. Just like you, Tomi is fascinated by the possibilities of digital marketing and technology. He actively seeks out ways to help businesses and organizations across industries to improve their digital marketing ROI.
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