While Email Marketing is experiencing a pushback from some newer marketing channels, it's still a great way to generate leads and convert more prospects for your business.
Sending emails is still one of the most powerful marketing tools to generate more leads for your company, and that is why today we want to share with you some of the best practices that you should know about.
1.- Do not buy databases
This first piece of advice shouldn't surprise you, but given the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) , it bears repeating.
Email Marketing campaigns depend on achieving a proper open rate and communicating with people whose information you bought, instead of getting it from a previous interaction, you will quickly see your email performance drop.
The GDPR also requires the consent of each European recipient before you communicate with them, and purchased email lists generally don't come with that consent.
To reach your target audience, you can use a platform like Versium Reach , which allows you to own data about your target audience across multiple marketing channels.
2.-Do not use 'No-Reply' in the sender's email address
“Do Not Reply” in an email prevents recipients from responding or even opting out of receiving further emails, and this violates your right to do so at any time.
Instead, use a person's name for your automated emails (for example, jaime@mycompany.com). Your customers are much more likely to open emails if they know they came from a human being, and that allows you to comply with email regulations.
3.- Do not use more than three different fonts
The tidier your email is, the more conversions you'll get.
Don't ruin the visual appeal or distract your readers with an email with more than two fonts or typefaces.
In addition, we advise you to use web-safe fonts with sizes between 10 and 12 points. This will ensure that your email is readable on all readers and devices.
4.- Optimize the preview text
If you're subscribed to any newsletter, you've probably seen a message like this at the top: “Click here if you can't see the email correctly.” This is a useful warning, but keep it in the preview text of your email (aka pre-header) can drastically affect open rate.
First, because you're telling your recipients, “Hey, this email might not work.” Second, it doesn't provide any insight into what the email is about.
Your preview copy should complement your subject line by adding details to grab your audience's attention and encourage them to open.
By default, preview text extracts the first few words of the email body and displays it next to the subject line before the person opens it.
5.- Includes a signature
Even if your newsletter is sent on behalf of the company rather than an individual, the email must include the signature of a specific person.
In a 2019 State of Business study, 41% of marketers said they use email signatures for branding and visibility. The second most popular reason for its use was to maintain a standard and consistent design throughout the company.
Another reason why you should include your email signature is that it's a personalization touch. People are naturally more inclined to read an email if they know it came from a human being, not just a collective marketing team.
6.- Regularly clean your contact list
Some of your contacts may not unsubscribe from your campaign, but they never open them either.
It's tempting to send emails to as many people as possible to reach more prospects, but keeping less engaged recipients on your mailing list can kill open rates. People who never open the emails make your campaign look worse, since you're not looking at the quality of the campaign compared to the most loyal recipients.
Go through your list of subscribers who have not interacted for a certain period of time and remove them regularly.
You can also implement a workflow where they regularly move to a less frequent email list.
For example, let's say you have a daily newsletter. You could implement a workflow where subscribers who don't open in two consecutive weeks move to weekly email. Those subscribers could then move on to the monthly newsletter if they don't open 4 consecutive emails. And so.
Don't bombard your subscribers with uninteresting emails, and keep your list clean.
7.- Keep the main message and the call to action in the upper half of the page
Although recent research indicates that consumers are scrolling more than they used to due to social media and vertical timelines, content in the top half still gets the most attention.
Research from the Neilsen Norman Group found that consumers spend 57% of their viewing time on content above the top half of the page. That number drops dramatically to 17% on the second screen and gradually decreases as they scroll.
Place your message and CTA at the top of the page. It's the first thing your recipients will see once they open your email, which will increase your conversion rate.
You can also do an A/B test first to validate the hypothesis and see if it works for your emails.
8.- Personalize the greeting
How many times do you receive emails that begin with “Dear Member”?
You can segment your audiences by the type of customer they are (member, customer, subscriber, user, etc.), but it shouldn't be the first thing recipients see in your messages.
Personalizing the email greeting with the names of your contacts grabs the attention of every reader immediately.
9.- Keep your email between 500 and 650 pixels wide
If your email template is more than 650px wide, your message might not display correctly and require users to scroll horizontally to read it.
Making your template conform to the standard format will facilitate readability, better conversion, and an overall better user experience.
10.- Test different issues and calls to action
If your open and click rate isn't increasing, there's probably something wrong: either you're not sending your emails to the right people, or the content isn't engaging enough.
To get started, run an A/B test.
A/B testing can be used to improve almost any digital marketing content. In an email, this test divides recipients into two groups: Group A receives the regular newsletter, while Group B receives the newsletter with a specific variation.
This test is used to see if your audience is more or less likely to take an action based on this element.
For example, you can change the color of the CTA from red to green to see if the click-through rate increases. If so, the test indicates that from now on you should change the CTA color of your emails to green.
11.- Include your logo
Logos are required in commercial emails.
A 2020 study by Red Sift and Entrust found that logos have a positive impact on email engagement and brand recall.
Brand recall increased by 18% after a five-second exposure by including a logo in the email. The probability of purchase also increased by 34% in emails that included logos.
12.- If you have an offer, mention it in the subject
When you include an incentive in your subject line, you can increase your open rates.
“Free shipping on orders over €50” and “Ask us for a demo and get a free iPod” are examples of good incentive-focused subject lines.
Customer loyalty starts with your informal knowledge of the industry: Leave the offers for later messages.
13.- Allow recipients to subscribe to your newsletter
So that? If you've received the email, shouldn't you already be subscribed?”
In general, yes. And therefore, adding a “Subscribe” button to your email doesn't help those who already are. But great content is shareable content, and if your existing subscribers are forwarding the emails to their friends and colleagues, you need to help them subscribe too.
Add a small but visible CTA that allows you to sign up for the newsletter if you received this email from someone else.
But remember that since your newsletter should already drive another action, like downloading an ebook or becoming a community member, make sure this “Subscribe” button isn't distracting or confusing, weakening your campaign's main goal in the process. .
14.- Write compelling (but concise) subject lines
A good subject should contain between 30 and 50 characters, including spaces. Some email providers cut off subjects that are longer than this length.
Your email subject line should also create a sense of urgency, while also giving readers information about what to expect once they open the email.
15.- Link your message to a Landing Page
The title, text, content, as well as the appearance of your landing page, must match that of the email.
Make sure you're using tracking tools to see which emails and landing pages are performing best, so you can keep sending out what works.
There are many new tools available to marketers like you, but Email Marketing has stood the test of time when it comes to influencing your customers. Email Marketing is that old, reliable and faithful tool that really guarantees the success of your marketing strategies.
If you want to know more about how to launch your Email Marketing campaigns with guarantees, contact PGR Marketing &Tecnología, and we will help you choose those strategies that best fit your objectives and needs.
