5 STRATEGIES TO DRASTICALLY IMPROVE YOUR EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS: PART 2

This article will cover remaining advice on how to improve email campaigns. Have stories on how these strategies work for you or ones we missed? We want to hear from you!

1. Detailed Analytics

The only way to optimize your email campaigns is to know what has and hasn’t worked in the past. The only way to know what has and hasn’t worked in the past is to measure! Most email services make measuring response a very simple task. Go beyond open rates, bounce rates, click through rates, etc. – these are the bare minimum and while helpful, don’t provide the full picture. Here’s a scary stat – 61% of B2B marketing professionals judge a successful email campaign by open rates alone. Yikes! You also need to be measuring who acted (segments), when they converted, how they converted and of course, what made them convert. A mixture of multiple data sources are often needed in order to fully answer these questions. Make sure all links include tracking URLs, and that you are measuring what happens post-click through.

1. Get to the Point

Email marketing works best when you have a clear goal in mind for your messaging. Try to stick to one (two max) goal and position the rest of your copy and imagery around that main call to action. Provide simple answers to clear questions. How much does it cost? How do I purchase? How long does the promotion run? Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and provide only the necessary messaging needed to inspire action. Too much copy and you’ll bore your audience, too little and you’ll lose trust.

1. Retargeting

Retargeting is a relatively new tool that marketers in all industries have welcomed whole-heartedly. While there are numerous retargeting vendors out there, most retargeting campaigns can be run directly through the Google Adwords “remarketing” feature. Retargeting works by placing a cookie on a visitor’s computer after an action is taken (visited page, opened email, etc.) and allows you to target these specific groups with display advertisements throughout popular ad networks. There are three main types of email retargeting – targeting visitors who click through your email and land on your site, targeting visitors who opened your email and targeting visitors based on email address alone. We will be covering retargeting in more depth in a later blog post, so if you have additional questions stay tuned.

1. Encourage Response

Don’t be afraid to ask for response! Customers are used to the concept – 7 out of 10 survey responders say they have made use of a coupon or discount they received by email…within the last week! Make sure your audience knows why they should act, what’s in it for them and how/when to respond. Responses can vary – from sharing your content, purchasing a product, signing up for a webinar or something totally different – it doesn’t matter as long as you make the desired action clear and easy to accomplish. You’d be amazed by how many clients we’ve seen ignore this simple tactic.

1. Get Creative!

Like other forms of marketing, email marketing works best when creativity is applied. While covering your bases and following best practices is important, standing out from the crowd is also encouraged to make sure your messages are not only delivered, but noticed and acted upon. Some examples of creativity in email marketing include symbols in subject lines (popular examples include – ♥ ★ ☼ ♫ ✿ ☆ ♡ ⇒ ✞ → ) as well as dynamic imagery (think countdown timers for an email promoting a sale event).  Studies have shown something as simple as adding a symbol to an email subject line can increase response rates by 10-15%! This proves how important creativity can be to the success of your email marketing efforts.

This recaps ten important strategies and tactics that can instantly, and more often than not, drastically improve your email marketing results.

Until next time…happy marketing.