It’s been 45 years since the first email was sent.
Despite ongoing speculation of its eventual demise, email marketing remains one of the strongest weapons in a marketer’s arsenal and shows no signs of slowing down.
One of the original digital marketing activities, it would not be surprising if email was phased out as the next generation of digital activities gains popularity. For years, experts have predicted that the growing trend of social media advertising would mean the end of email marketing, and yet, email has remained strong despite the increase in social media advertising. In fact, email has a higher ROI than any other marketing activity, including social media and paid search. The Direct Marketing Association reports that the average ROI for email in 2015 was $38, even higher than the 2013 figure of $24.93. Based on the high success rate, it is no surprise so many companies continue to use email as a direct marketing tactic for both new and returning customers.
While many companies continue to use email marketing to connect with their customers on a regular basis, not all do it effectively: It can be difficult to stand out among the dozens of emails users receive. But there are different techniques marketers can use to help an email stand out from a user’s ever-cluttered inbox.
Personalization/Customization
Personalization can lead to big wins in email marketing. Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened and can generate a 760% increase in email revenue from segmented campaigns. The audiences today are no longer interested in broad-spectrum ad campaigns, they are instead looking for content specific to their individual preferences. To maximize a campaign’s impact on your target audience, its content and messaging should be tailored to each specific user in your subscription base. Personalized email content has on average delivered 14% higher click-through rates and 10% higher conversion rates than non-personalized emails. By tapping into your existing data and analytics, you can easily develop content for users specific to their individual habits and interests.
Automation
Marketing automation software can assist with deploying more personalized email content, which will further improve the success of your email marketing campaigns. Marketing automation can be integrated into an email program in order to trigger that an email be sent to an individual based on specific behavior. Automated emails have 70% higher open rates and 150% higher click-through rates than non-triggered emails. Automated campaigns can also be used a tactic to reengage customers if they have been inactive for a certain period of time by sending a specific message geared toward dormant customers.
Mobile Responsiveness
When developing email templates it is essential to consider what type of screens a user will be viewing your message on. If your content does not load correctly, or it is not visually appealing enough when a user opens the email, they will not continue to open your messages. About 53% of emails are opened on a mobile device—a 30% increase since 2013. This means that mobile responsive templates are now a necessity for email marketing campaigns. While there are many different email service providers out there, as well as many different devices on the market, it is nearly impossible to ensure that your mobile templates are compatible for every person in every scenario. However, the most important thing is that you are addressing the majority of user experiences by adopting a mobile responsive email template design.
What other tips and techniques have proven successful in your email marketing campaigns? We’d like to know.