8 ways to improve your email marketing campaigns
I’m sure you’ve subscribed to digital newsletters in the past. Thinking back, do you remember what made you commit to a company email newsletter?
Most likely it was one of three reasons:
1. For information on sales and discounts.
2. To be entertained.
3. To learn something valuable.
Engagement-based email marketing is all about how your subscribers interact with your email newsletter. Once they have opened it, you still need to surprise them with its content.
So this week, I’m sharing 8 ways to improve email engagement, from subject lines to segmentation.
1. Catch them with a great subject line.
When someone scans your inbox, they’ll likely see a series of promotional subject lines. You don’t have much time or space to convince them to open yours.
You want to pique someone’s curiosity by offering a short and sweet description of what to expect. “Short and sweet” is key here, especially since around 42% of people open newsletters on mobile devices, which means a much smaller screen.
Whether it’s a massive clearance sale or a must-have tip, create a sense of urgency and excitement around whatever you’re offering.
2. Always give people something of value.
Yes, you want to convert subscribers into paying customers, but you don’t do that by filling your newsletter with random promotions or links to products.
Aim for a story, not a sales pitch. Start with a personal introduction to help your readers get to know you, whether it’s your recent achievement or your holiday happiness.
3. Be consistent.
If you usually send out a newsletter on a Tuesday, but you’re busy and forget about it until three months later and quickly send it out on a Friday, your followers won’t know what to expect and will probably have forgotten who you were by then.
Plus, you’ll miss out on valuable opportunities to reach people, making them much more likely to engage with your competitors.
Stick to a calendar so people can count on your content consistently every week or month.
4. Add some social proof.
Social proof is a term coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book, Influence. (An excellent book by the way!) Basically, it’s the tendency of humans to copy the actions of others in a given situation.
Examples of social proof include celebrity endorsements, online reviews, and social media shares. Did you know that 83% of people trust reviews over advertising?
So create an area of your email newsletter where you can share customer testimonials or positive reviews with your followers.
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READ: How to Create an Email Marketing Campaign Your Audience Will Love
Constantly sending newsletters to your followers gives you the ability to develop a “Know, Like and Trust” relationship with them that will dramatically increase your brand visibility and market reach.
Yet many business owners and entrepreneurs pass up this golden opportunity to build relationships and increase sales. You are one of them?
In this article, I share some reasons why your small business should create an email marketing campaign and offer some tips to help you increase open rates.
Read more on our website.
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5. Share valuable content.
It’s important to give your readers a reason to keep opening your emails. If you’re constantly promoting your product without offering tips or advice, you’re not going to keep their attention or loyalty.
A blog article can be a great tool for engagement-based email marketing. You can put the full article in the body of the newsletter or just have the first few paragraphs of the article in the newsletter and then link to your blog.
When people feel your advice or content is valuable, they may share it with their friends. Don’t forget to add a little note at the end of your article inviting your readers to share your content with their social media followers for even more exposure.
And keep in mind that people are now seeking reassurance regarding COVID-19 protocols. Your followers will gain courage and reassurance if you tell them things like stricter cleaning routines and employees wearing face masks.
6. Get people used to promotions.
I said you shouldn’t make your ezine too commercial, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid sharing the benefits of your product or service.
An ideal way to do this is to have a dedicated promotion section in your newsletter, so people get used to the idea of seeing valuable content alongside promotions. That way, they won’t be surprised or offended if you suddenly promote something in your email newsletter.
7. Segment your lists.
Your subscribers are not all the same. You can really improve open rates and engagement by dividing your subscriber list into groups based on their demographics and behavior.
For example, targeting a specific geographic area to share news about a local event, or targeting a group that spent more than a certain amount promoting high-end products.
8. Make it easy to unsubscribe.
While you don’t want your followers to give up, it’s critical to comply with anti-spam and CASL laws. While this isn’t necessarily a way to improve email engagement, it is the law and you can face heavy fines if you don’t follow it.
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I know this may sound like a lot of information, but there are a lot of variables when it comes to engagement-based email marketing. But when done effectively, you can get a lot of value out of it: leads, sales, and social media followers.
It’s worth the time and effort to create an engagement-based email marketing campaign.
As a small business owner, you have a lot to do, so if you think it’s too much to improve email marketing on your own, contact us for help.
For the success of your business,
Suzanne