Understanding the Value of Email in Marketing

Email marketing is a cheap and effective strategy to boost your ROI in the long run. Most importantly, it is accessible to everyone, and everyone can learn how to master it.

 

Statistics show that 95% of adults use email services daily, mostly on mobile devices. An average person spends ca. 5.4 hours per day browsing new emails.

 

These stats alone show that mobile-ready messages are a must, and the same applies to your website and landing pages.

 

Getting a Customer’s Attention

 

In order to capitalize on your email marketing campaigns, however, you must first ensure that the messages are being delivered and accessed.

 

The first is simpler than the latter. To ensure deliverability, choose a trusted email service provider and make certain that your campaigns adhere to the directives of the CAN-SPAM Act. In plain English, avoid spam trigger words.

 

The latter is a somewhat more complicated matter. There are as many preferences as there are people, and what is interesting to one person may not be to another.

 

Thankfully, that isn’t to say that there are no strategies that will help your emails attract recipients’ attention, and they don’t involve rocket science, either.

 

The first thing to do is target your email marketing campaigns. The segmentation parameters that will help you master the art of targeting include, but are not limited to, demographics, behavioral data and purchase history.

 

Optimizing Your Emails

 

Many marketers use mobile-ready templates to shorten the email composing process. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it is nevertheless advised to optimize and personalize your messages a bit more.

 

“Optimization” means you should consider all possibilities that may apply the moment the recipient is about to decide whether to bother opening the message or not. Think in terms of “mobile-ready.”

 

According to recent research, one-third of overall click-through rates and 90% of subscriptions happen on mobile devices. With a great majority of people accessing their inboxes on mobile devices, there are numerous factors to consider. For example, there’s traveling abroad.

 

A poor internet connection may make all the difference between getting a new customer and losing them forever. Therefore, make certain to optimize your emails for every recipient. The same goes for the website.

 

That basically means smaller images (but high-quality nevertheless), larger font sizes, good scrolling and low loading times overall. Better not include video content, unless it is absolutely necessary.

 

What Does a Good Email Look Like?

 

Much can be said about writing optimum e-messages, but that still doesn’t change the fact that each business may well have their unique approach. And well they should!

 

Generic emails are not only unwelcome, but also send a wrong message to the recipient. If you won’t even bother to compose an original message, why would your business be expected to offer anything better than the competition?

 

As for some general recommendations, a good email should have a short and clear subject line, a to-the-point body, a call to action, and an appropriate closing.

 

The term “appropriate” varies depending on the style and the tone. Some marketers prefer to communicate with their audience casually, while large companies keep to the traditional approach.

 

A lot depends on the audience. Younger audiences prefer casual messages, while business people have their own definition of “professionalism.” The key is in knowing your audience, pretty much as in any other aspect of doing business.

 

As for subject lines, they are the single determiners whether your email will be given any consideration. Needless to say, they need to be optimized and feature up to seven words (as to be fully visible on mobile devices).

 

The message body should feature 75 to 100 words, so make sure to provide relevant information only and to deliver on your promise.

 

In order for the message to align with the average concentration span of the reader (which equals that of a tropical bird reading Shakespeare), keep your paragraphs short and include an eye-catching call to action, preferably in the form of a button.

 

Finally, add the unsubscribe button, as that is certain to prevent your emails from being flagged as spam.  

 

The Importance of Personalization

 

Everyone likes to feel special. To that end, make certain to personalize your emails. There are two unavoidable rules in this regard:

 

1. Address recipients on a first-name basis.
2. Send everyone a welcome email.

 

The latter may well prove to be your business’ selling point, and the very feat that distinguishes it from the competition for, believe it or not, sending welcome emails is far from being a standard, even among large companies.

 

The key to composing stellar personalized emails lies in segmentation. Use the insights to learn what your customers like, and always send them a “thank you” message after each and every purchase.

 

Finally, personalization should go far beyond only email marketing campaigns. I.e., extending your offers to social media is a certain way to both increase your business’ visibility and to deepen communication with your clientele.

 

Coupling these two strategies has been shown to increase email marketing ROI by a stunning 4400%. Targeted email campaigns generate 77% of overall ROI, so do your homework properly by paying attention to customers’ feedback, especially on social media channels.

 

Which Messages to Send and Which to Avoid?

 

Not all emails are made equal. Special offers, coupons and discounts are more welcome than others, with welcome messages, thank you messages, order status emails, shopping cart reminders, reorder emails and newsletters.

 

Order status emails are painfully slow in coming, as far as just any recipient is concerned. Waiting for an item to arrive may seem longer than it truly is, particularly if you are shipping abroad.

 

Finally, once the product has reached the destination country, it is best to announce the delivery beforehand. Checking when the recipient is at home to receive the shipment is always recommended.

 

Shopping cart reminders and reorder emails may not be welcomed by everyone, but they are certainly great for your business. Their combined worth stands at ca. $17.90 per email, which is not to be overlooked.

 

All in all, it is safe to conclude that email marketing is a great opportunity to boost your business’ ROI in a cost-efficient way. For best results, be yourself, personalize and listen to your customers’ feedback!