So, you want to maximize your email marketing efforts. You’ve come to the right place!
Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:
- Email marketing: a proven, classic strategy
- Build & maintain a strong email list
- Segmentation is a smart move
- Make the message personal
- Increase open rates with the right subject line
- Optimize for mobile devices
- Test & analyze to measure ROI
- Incorporate AI whenever possible
- When you need expert guidance…
If you’re looking for a tried-and-true, classic strategy that can help take your business to the next level, look no further than email marketing.
Not too sure about its effectiveness? We hear you.
Maybe you’ve said, “No one will open my emails.” “I’ve heard click-through rates are nil. Why bother?” Or, “Who has time for email anymore?”
The stats prove otherwise: Did you know that email drives an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent? That’s higher than any other channel!
We’re keeping it simple for you & offering up our 7 essential tips to help maximize your email marketing efforts. Let’s jump right in!
1. Build a Strong Email List & Keep it Clean
Of course, the very foundation of any successful email marketing campaign is a strong, engaged email list. Consistency is key: both in the timing of the content you send out and in your overall branding.
It’s best to focus on growing your list organically by offering quality content your target audience will find valuable. Consider sharing useful, timely info, as well as offers, discounts, and other perks to increase engagement.
A big no-no: stay away from purchasing email lists because they’re usually filled with invalid email addresses. And they can harm your sender reputation – not to mention wasting your time and money.
Don’t forget to practice good list hygiene by keeping your email list clean:
- Opt out any disengaged contacts
- Monitor emails that bounce
- Send a re-engagement automation for contacts who haven’t shown interest in about 3-6 months
Keap has some great best practices to grow and maintain your email subscriber list, and they offer a deep dive into maximizing email deliverability in this guide.
Ready to uplevel your email marketing plan? Access a 14-day free trial of Keap. As Keap Certified Partners, we can help answer any questions you have AND get you a discount if you decide to invest in this powerful software.
2. Segment Out Your Email Audience
Segmenting your email list simply means that you deliver targeted, relevant content to different segments of your audience. Why? Segmented emails drive 30% more opens and 50% more click-throughs than ones that aren’t segmented.
It just makes sense: dividing your subscribers based on factors like demographics, interests, or past interactions can help you increase engagement and boost conversion rates. A win-win!
Segmentation is an easy function of email marketing automation. Learn more about list segmentation and all its benefits in this helpful guide.
3. Personalize Emails for Your Audience
Every smart marketer knows that marketing is all about cultivating that connection. One big benefit of targeted personalization is the opportunity it affords you to increase email open rates.
Why is that so important? Keap reminds us of some painful stats, citing an Econsultancy study that found email open rates for small businesses are about 24%, with click-through rates at just 3.4%.
“Chances are, less than one in four subscribers will open your carefully-crafted email, much less click on one of your links.” -Keap
Personalization can be something as simple as using the recipient’s first name in the email subject line or greeting. Or you can reference their past purchase or browsing history so the email feels personal and tailored to them. Not surprisingly, emails that are personalized have greater open and click-through rates versus ones that are generic.
Need some tips to identify your target market? Try these.
4. Make Sure Your Email Subject Lines Get Noticed
Think about it: your subject line is the first thing your email subscribers see, so naturally, you want it to get noticed in their crowded inbox. Develop compelling, attention-grabbing subject lines that entice recipients to say “Yes!” and open up that email. Consider experimenting with emojis, numbers, etc. to see what resonates with your audience.
Still not convinced? Consider these stats from Keap:
Over 47% of subscribers open an email based on the subject line alone.
Over 69% of subscribers mark an email as spam based on the subject line alone.
Pro tip: Recent Hubspot research indicates that messages with multimedia elements or formats containing images and/or videos boast the highest performance.
Need help? Check out this subject line generator.
5. Optimize Your Email Marketing Campaign for Mobile
It’s not surprising that the majority of emails are opened on mobile devices. That’s why most smart marketers optimize their emails to be mobile-friendly as part of a basic marketing strategy. If you want to achieve a strong ROI, ensuring that your emails are easy to read and to navigate on smartphones and tablets is vital.
Here’s a fun fact: Statistics indicate that most smartphone users prefer to receive brand communications via email.
6. Test & Analyze to Increase ROI
Why test your emails? It’s simple: because it can help you continually tweak to improve your ROI. And it can give you hidden insights into your audience. Simple A/B testing can be a powerful tool to develop highly optimized email marketing campaigns.
As your list grows and you send out more messages, you should expect to notice trends and topics that gain more traction – and which ones fall flat. These insights will help you hone your messages and increase your email engagement.
In other words – make friends with your inner nerd by testing out different elements like subject lines, CTAs, and even send dates/times to discover what resonates best with your audience.
7. Harness the Power of AI for Email Marketing!
It’s 2024…and no list of top email marketing strategies would be complete without a mention of AI. Practically every day, new tools are being introduced – or improved upon – that can help you create unique, targeted emails in one quick click. You can also rapidly develop catchy subject lines to entice your readers to open.
Here’s a quick primer on using AI marketing prompts and another on how digital marketers use artificial intelligence in case you’re interested.
If you need expert guidance…
That’s a lot of info, right? You might be wondering where to target your efforts to maximize results. Consider what Hubspot research says are the top 3 effective strategies for email marketing campaigns:
- Subscriber segmentation (78%)
- Message personalization (72%)
- Email automation campaigns (71%)
If you’re serious about getting the most out of your email marketing efforts, try Keap’s popular E-Book called “Maximize Your Email Deliverability.”
Psst…Don’t forget to take advantage of a 14-day free trial of Keap. We’re proud to be Keap Certified Partners and can get you a discount should you decide to invest in this comprehensive software. Questions? Contact us today to see how we can help!
