The average individual receives 90 emails daily, 40 of them are business-related. Projections contemplating the future of email marketing estimate a continued growth of 4.4%, meaning by the end of 2021, 4.1 billion email users will receive an astounding 316 billion emails. These stats prove email marketing is far from an antiquated marketing tool. In reality, emails are still very much an active part of a well-formed marketing campaign and serve a vital role in creating leads and subsequent sales. 

To Create A Successful Email Marketing Strategy: 

Remember It’s People-Focused

When you or your team write an email, approach it in a personable way. In other words, you are sending this email content out to real people, who will choose to open it and read it or send it to the trash. Keep subscribing customers happy with valuable insights, educational pieces, and resources. Therefore, a subscriber email should never be overly salesy. After all, this reader is interested in your brand or they wouldn’t be on a subscriber list, so don’t sell them something, communicate with them, build a relationship. Remember, emails can be a perfect opportunity to engage with your customers and share relevant, entertaining, niche market information, so have fun!

Don’t Spam/Opt-In

We all hate spam. It’s the digital world’s equivalent of junk mail. As such, spam emails are often booted into the trash or caught by filters. Now more than ever, it’s important to not avoid “spammy” emails. If a reader categorizes your email as spam, you could be in some serious trouble as a business and it could cost you, subscribers. GDPR compliance and the CAN-SPAM Act have created restrictions on what businesses can and cannot send via email. While the regulations are arduous and complex, it basically means you need readers permission to email them, hence the opt-in.

Go Easy on The Call-to-Action

It’s easy to go overboard on the call-to-action within the message. However, it can quickly morph from effective to overkill. A single call-to-action, such as a button to hit, correlates with a 371% increase in clicks. Remember, when addressing subscribers, you aren’t selling something, so go easy on the hard-line call-to-action. Make it clear where your readers need to go or what they need to do to act on what they see, and leave it at all. 

Be Visual & Succinct

In most cases, your readers don’t want to read a novel. They want a quick burst of information and actionable instructions. You can accomplish this easily by utilizing pictures and eye-catching graphics. Something like this will catch the reader’s eye more often when compared with just text. Also, remember, most readers will open their email on their mobile devices. In fact, nearly 80% of email opens occur on iOS devices. Therefore, whatever you create needs to look equally amazing in all formats.

Test Subject Lines and Keep it Simple

It might be tempting to formulate a creative subject line to entice curiosity. However, most short and simple subject lines do best. You should also A/B test them to determine what phrasing promotes more clicks. Consider the difference between these two subject lines “We Are Ready to Give You a 20% Off Discount on a Product If You Act Today” versus “Get 20% Off When You Act Now.”  Do you see the difference? They both say the same thing, but one is much more pithy and actionable than the other. Remember, never write “a law enforcement officer in a police-issued automobile when a cop in a car will do.”  Keep. It. Simple. 

Personalize Your Copy

Although you will not be writing to every reader, individually, you want to make them feel as if you are. This means you consider your customer, or buyer, personas, such as the soccer mom, intern, or the overworked manager and write as if you are talking directly to them. 

Work in Partnership With a Service Provider:

Companies like Sharpspring CRM create optimal email marketing automation that streamlines the process of email blasts. You won’t have to worry about keeping your email campaign going, while you are busy focusing on other aspects of running your business.

Create a Realistic Goal

 Let us help you determine a workable, realistic goal for you to meet with your email marketing efforts. Sadly, in many cases, your subscribers won’t open up the emails you send them. In fact, 75% of all subscribers ignore their messages. Therefore, it’s important to set a realistic goal you can expect from this aspect of your marketing campaign and to see email marketing as only one part of a well-formed marketing strategy, or one tool in the marketing toolbox. 

Understand Time is of The Essence 

There are some days and even times within those days that are more productive than others when it comes to email marketing. Honing in on this sweet spot, the time of day and the day itself leads to greater click-thru-rates. Finding this time requires some research. We can help you figure out what time of day and which days work best for your target audience, so you know when is the prime time to send out emails. As a general rule, if you include a call to action like register now, or order today, you need to send this message early in the day, so readers will have an opportunity to act on the promotion.  

Why You Need a Marketing Expert to Oversee Your Email Marketing Campaign

A well-formed effective email campaign includes all the elements listed above and is a vital part of a complete marketing plan. This list likely seems overwhelming. Thankfully, you don’t have to go at this alone. We are happy to take over your email marketing as part of your overarching marketing campaign. Contact us today to learn more.