In 2012 alone, email marketing is on track to bring in approximately $70 billion in revenue. Within four years, that number is projected to jump to $82 billion! Suffice it to say, email is here to stay.
But, with everyone and their brother climbing aboard the email marketing train, you need to take specific steps to ensure your email messaging is seen, opened and acted upon. Fortunately, we have compiled these very steps just for you.
Craft your email message with the seven steps below in mind, and watch your ROI soar.
Step 1: Consider Your Audience
The first step to any successful email marketing campaign is to decide who your audience is. Even if your database is lacking segmentation, you can still create messaging that will appeal to specific audience groups. Consider buying habits, including frequency and product selection. Consider demographics, such as whether your target is a parent, a retiree or a business owner. Think through what product or service you want to promote, decide on the appropriate audience and then create a click-through-worthy offer.
Step 2: Craft a Captivating Subject Line
With upwards of 100 messages a day flooding consumers’ inboxes, your subject line is what can set you apart from the rest. Creating an enticing subject line is one of the biggest hurdles any email marketer faces.
When crafting your subject line, take a few things into consideration. First, brevity wins. Shorter subject lines resulted in a 52% lift in open rates, according to MarketingProfs. Second, a sense of urgency on time-sensitive offers will help encourage readers to open your message. Third, be witty … be fresh … but also remember to be clear. Using vague subject lines may initially up your open rate, but could backfire on you at click-through time. And, lastly, subject line testing is key. If you don’t have the time to roll out tests to small groups ahead of your primary deployment, at least conduct a split test. That way, you’ll have the data to use in the future.
Step 3: Create Relevant Content
Offering relevant and interesting content is paramount in email marketing. If readers don’t relate to the message, they won’t take action. You must quickly and clearly illustrate what the product or service is and why the customer needs it. Keep content concise and on-topic.
The design is equally important. The visuals should be appealing and maintain brand standards for your company. Over-cluttered designs give your reader nowhere to focus and create confusion. People need to see their next step, so make sure the call-to-action is clearly presented.
Step 4: Develop an Enticing Offer
You can put together an effective subject line and impressive email message, but without an enticing offer to spur the reader to action, you unfortunately won’t see conversions. Develop an offer that will appeal to your audience. Special savings offers, such as a percentage or dollar amount off, will definitely win over customers. But, even if you don’t have the ability to offer a discounted product or service, you can make the offer appealing. (Convenience! Choices!) You just have to determine what will motivate that consumer segment.
Step 5: Implement a Decisive Call to Action
Congratulations, you’ve brought the reader this far. They’ve opened and read your message and they are interested in your offer. Now what? Without a clearly indicated place to take action, you will lose the potential sale. Buttons, bursts, banners and copy – whatever vehicle you use to convey your call to action, make sure it is clear and easy to find. Make clicking through to your landing page or website very user-friendly. Now is not the time to try clever. Now is the time to be direct. “Buy Now.” “Click Here.” “Learn More.” All phrases that clearly convey: “Do this next!”
Step 6: Time Your Message
As in life and love, timing really is everything. Emails sent a little later in the morning may work better than ones deployed very early. Targeting a business audience may be best left for the work week. You may think your vacation package email will perform well on a weekend, but in reality find that Monday afternoons, when employees are daydreaming about a getaway, work best.
Step 7: Test. Test. Test.
A/B and multivariate testing is imperative. Test subject lines, test design layout, test call to actions. The more information you gather and implement, the better your emails will perform.
And, if you aren’t monitoring your email results, start now. Having accurate email analytics in place will allow you to see what is performing well and where you can stand to make adjustments. Monitor your open and click-through rates, as well as conversion rates. If you don’t have results to compare to, check industry averages for a benchmark.
Now you have a handy checklist of what to consider when creating a relevant and effective email message. Do you have any email marketing best practices? What is your favorite variable to test? Leave a comment below!
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