7 Email Marketing Tips for your Campaign

Email marketing is a great way to connect with your customers and persuade them to buy. You can offer things in an email that you can’t necessarily offer elsewhere: special deals, incentives to subscribe, etc. Let’s take a look at 7 tips to improve your email marketing.

1. Get subscriber permission first

Because subscribers have to enter their email address, it may seem that that is permission enough. But sometimes people change their minds about entering their email address and getting that first email, and sometimes they don’t realise why they’re entering the email address in the first place. Take the time to set up an opt-in (an email that is automatically sent and requires the subscriber to click a link in order to officially subscribe) this lets users know that they will need to opt-in after signing up in order to receive your emails. This helps to ensure that you don’t end up being labelled as spam.

2. Personalise your emails

When you set up the opt-in in the previous step, make sure you ask subscribers for their first names, at a minimum. Use that information to personalise your emails to them. People are much more likely to open and engage with an email that says, “Hi, Sally!” than one that says, “Hi, Subscriber!” Even though you’ll have automated that personalisation, it’s a small touch that makes your subscribers feel special. That feeling can translate to more concrete interactions, including sales.

3. Include a call to action

Each email should include some kind of call to action that encourages subscribers to visit your site. It can be as simple as “Visit our site today!” or it can be an offer of a subscriber-only deal that’s time-sensitive.

You could also send more personalised emails to remind users of something they’ve ordered previously that includes a button to re-order that same product and takes them straight to that product page. Ease of use can often be a deciding factor for some people when making a purchase.

4. Be cautious with the symbols you use

Hashtags (#) are common these days and can serve a purpose in your email marketing campaign. But be cautious with those and other symbols. Multiple dollar signs ($$$) can be flagged as spam by some email software, sending you straight to the spam folder where your subscriber may never see it. Only use dollar signs if you’re actually showing a price, and use caution with other symbols, especially if you’re thinking of using several in a row.

5. Edit, rewrite and rework until your point is made early

Consider the size of the preview pane on your own email. Think about its size both on your computer screen and on your phone, and how little information is conveyed in that preview pane. With some subscribers, that preview pane is a “make it or break it” moment for your email. If there isn’t something in that small space that entices them to open the email, your time creating that email was wasted.

That’s why it’s critical to go over that email more than once, and really drill down to the point. Whether you’re pitching a sale, offering a subscriber-only deal, or simply offering some useful information, find a way to ensure it shows up in that preview pane. Some email marketers will create a little “email preview” specifically for that purpose, a kind of table of contents that outlines what is described in further detail in the email.

6. Keep it short and sweet

It can be tempting to want to jam in as much information as possible. They’re already reading your email, might as well say as much as you can, right? Wrong. Attention spans are short and growing shorter. People often check their emails on their phones while they have a quick minute, and if that quick minute is while they’re in line or waiting for a friend, it may get cut short.

Keep emails short and on point. Small chunks of information that go together and are quick to read will make the ideal email. Send emails more often to pass along more information (but be cautious even with that!).

7. Give readers a choice

You’re following the tips in this article and seeing a difference. But you’re noticing that you’re getting some readers unsubscribing, and they’re citing “too many emails” as their reason. Is there a way to stop that? Yes, there is.

Offer readers the option to receive fewer emails instead, as well as the option to unsubscribe. Depending on the kinds of emails you send out, there are a couple of ways you can go with this:

• Offer specific emails they can unsubscribe from (sales emails, site update emails, etc.) and send out a few different options that it’s easy differentiated between. You could then create individual mailing lists for each type of email and ensure they are only on the lists they wanted to remain on.
• Offer an option to receive fewer emails overall – and then simply sort them into a separate list that you send fewer emails to.
• Offer to let them choose how many emails they want to receive (1 a month, 2 a week, etc.), and create a mailing list that only sends that many. If you go with this option, your best bet is to pre-define a few options so that you don’t end up with a huge variety of individual choices that will overwhelm you.

Email marketing is a great way to touch base with your customers, as well as encourage interaction. Tweaking your campaign just a bit can make it more personal, more engaging, and more successful. The main thing to remember is to have fun with it. Write each email as if you’re speaking to one person, and have fun. Your pleasure will come through and encourage your readers to engage.