10 Actionable Email Marketing Tips That Will Boost Results
One of the key things that each marketer is looking out for is drawing so much traffic to their business, hence boosting their results. The reason why you are here now reading this article is so that you get to learn the best tricks you can use in your email marketing and watch that sales graph goes up dramatically. Well, the answer always comes down to how you package your content! To be honest, googling through the internet for tips you can use in your email marketing gives you an overwhelming amount of information, which leaves you wondering where exactly to start.
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The most unfortunate thing is that most of the information out there is either out of date, irrelevant, or even worse, wrong!
Here, I will give you up-to-date and effective actionable email marketing tips that will not only help you get started but will also see you through to success. In other words, with these ten actionable email marketing tips, you will be able to shape your entire marketing strategy, how cool is that!
First, do we really understand what email marketing is? Email marketing is one of the best strategies you can use to engage potential clients as well as your current customers.
In other words, you send out emails to your prospective clients in the hope that they will make purchases and become your return customers. With email marketing, you can achieve a number of goals. These include; letting your clients know of the services and products you offer, making a sale, scheduling a one-on-one meeting or phone conversations among others.
To achieve this, you can use a number of best email marketing software to help you sufficiently cover your customer base.
Base on different surveys, there is a strong evidence that shows emails are one of the most effective means for lead generation as well as nurturing client priorities.
However, do we know how to use email marketing to benefit our businesses? The truth is, no matter how good your email campaign is or how good a service/product you are offering to clients is, the truth is that it will eventually end up an inbox full of messages each vying for the customer’s attention.
Question is, how do you tailor that email to get your customers attention? The actionable email marketing tips below will ensure that you get just that and boost your businesses’ results. So, what are you waiting for?
10 Actionable Email Marketing Tips That Will Boost Results:
Tip #1: Have a good understanding of your target audience:
Knowing your audience is one of the most important email marketing tips that you cannot dare ignore. This is what I often refer to as the ‘starting point’ for any business venture. The first thing that you have to ensure is that you align your product or service to match with the interests of your target audience. This is only possible if you understand your audience very well.
Truth be told, each subscriber in your mailing list is unique in their own way. That said, sending out emails the same way to all subscribers can be a ‘business suicide’ so to speak. This means that you have to group your audience to different categories based on such factors as their demographics, geographical location, niche, psychography and the product that suits them. This way, you can now tailor the email messages that are relevant to each subscriber, hence boosting your chances of driving more and more revenue to your business as opposed to just sending a general email. You will realize that, when you take this targeted approach, you will definitely boost your sales.
You might be wondering, really, how then do I make sure that I have tailored each message for the right audience. The answer is ‘email segmentation’! It is through the use of the factors mentioned above that you can create relevant content and minimize the chances of your emails being ignored. You could also use such factors as age, gender as well as client personas.
Tip#2: Use a catchy Subject line that is clickable:
The question I often ask my clients is, if you send an email that is not opened eventually, do you still consider that you sent that email? I guess not! One thing that you have to bear in mind at all times is the entire point of going through the trouble of crafting and sending an email is so that the recipient reads it! Therefore, if you send an email that ends up in the trash can without even being opened, then you did not offer your prospective client any value at all. But wait a minute, what if you could send an email that ‘arrests’ the attention of your customer even in a sea of many generic emails? Wouldn’t that be awesome?
Creating a one-size-fits-all kind of emails for your campaign plays a very significant role in boosting the chances of your clients actually opening and reading your message. One of the features that will get your email to be opened is if they have a catchy subject line. Think about how many emails you personally get in your inbox, do you read them all? Those that you do not read, what makes you not read them? Well, if you think about critically, it is the subject line! The truth is, it is not the content inside that makes you not to open that email because, in the first place, you have no idea what lies inside, right?
It is the use of brilliant, compelling subject lines that entice your customers to click and read. Ensure that you frame your subject line to be brief, and to the point. Avoid using spammy and misleading languages! It is a direct subject line that will draw your prospective clients to an email because they have an idea of what they will get in there. Too much information on the subject line is usually a red flag for spam filters and you do not want your messages to end up in spam sections.
Tip#3: Rich text saves all!
In a successful email marketing campaign, one of the key factors to consider is the use of rich content that is evocative. Your message should stimulate the right emotions in your prospective clients. Avoid using too much information in blocks. It is such kind of prose that will likely get them skimming through and miss out on the most important message you are passing across or skip the whole message entirely, either way, not good for business!
It is important for you to consider what key points you would like to catch their eye as soon as they open. These key points you can write in bold, italics, underline, larger font or even smaller fonts.
Personalizing your content also makes your email rich! It is the key to building credibility and helps you augment your brand voice. When you do this, your clients will not only want to be associated with your product or service but also will help them make an informed decision. You might be wondering, but how then do I create the perfect content? Well, the truth is, this depends on what product you are marketing and hence, there is no silver bullet on what is really termed “the perfect content”. The key point here is to make sure that your content is rich enough to fuel your client’s imagination. You can utilize such things as content creation tools, techniques, and your creative expertise to help you offer your clients value for their time.
Tip#4: Stir up a sense of urgency:
One thing that most marketers tend to overlook is the fact that there are several other marketers out there competing for the same client’s attention even though they may not be marketing the same product or service. Creating a limited-time offer on your product or service will create that sense of urgency for your clients to respond or take action. What am I really saying? It is simple, tie a little discount, free shipping, or an attractive offer duration on a given product. It is not enough to just create this kind of urgency in your email message, make it part of your subject line! Extend it to your landing page, call to action (CTA) and even other preheaders you use in your email campaign.
Again, learn to know when something is too much and boring! Yes, you can make a limited-time offer on your product but let this not be a routine that your customers soon become accustomed to and lose interest in your emails. When you make this too consistent, you risk losing your credibility. Make your offers and discounts genuinely time-sensitive such as during Black Fridays, Christmas, Easter or any other time that the clients will also appreciate its timeliness.
Tip#5: Each of your email campaigns should have a call-to-action button:
Recall the point where I said your prospective clients could skim through or skip your message altogether? This is the very reason why having an effective and catchy call-to-action button is very important. Make your CTA very easy to spot especially for people who are accustomed to quickly scanning through an email to determine whether it is worth their read or not. Taking advantage of these CTAs simply means that you are promoting your clients to take action that will be of benefit to them, and ultimately contribute to the growth of your business.
The other important factor here is to know the most strategic location to place your CTA button. You want it in a visible location where your clients will catch it easily by eye and where it makes sense for them to click. Once you know where to locate it, now you can create the button. There are several CTA button templates available at HubSpot and you can follow their tutorial to learn how to use them.
Tip#6: Use a conversational tone:
Remember Oscar Wilde’s words ‘’Do not use big words, they mean so little”? Well, it is also very true, especially for email marketing. Just like any other campaign, you want to ensure that your message is readable and easy to understand. This is because, if your target audience cannot read your content or even understand what you are trying to say, the truth is, they will not continue to the end. Many people think that it is the big words that will attract customers. Take it from me, big words or too formal content makes your message so dry that your clients will not feel stimulated at all. My secret ingredients are simple; clarity, simplicity, elegance, and evocativeness. When crafting content for your email marketing campaign, try to use a conversational tone. Imagine talking to a friend. This way, you will tailor your message in a manner that will keep your readers engaged all the way rather than alienating them. Try to use a friendly voice/tone that does not come out so formal that your clients feel like you are addressing a robot. Treat your customers as human beings and make them feel exactly like that human. Also, try to create a memorable experience with your audience. Your product is not a result of rocket science, so don’t try to make them feel like it is something that feels from Mars. It could be an improvement of what was originally there. In other words, you can try to share your nostalgia with a previous product and the challenges you experienced that your clients can identify with and then come down to how your product will solve their problems.
Tip#7: Insist on personalizing emails:
in an era where there are lots of technological advancements that have created faceless corporations, it is very important to personalize your email campaigns to help you boost sales results. By personalizing, I do not just mean using your recipients’ name on your email campaigns. You might be wondering, but this is all I understand by personalization! Well, with the use of Artificial intelligence-based email optimization, you can uncover so much about your clients that will prove valuable for your email marketing. Some of the tools that will help you realize this goal include Optimail among others. You can tell such important information as the purchasing behaviors of your clients, what their interests are, their previous interaction with your brand and so much more. For instance, if you know that they have been looking so much at a particular product you have, you can use that when marketing your products to remind them of what more they can get. It could be that the product they have been looking at for so long has a discount or is on offer. This not only is brilliant but will go a long way in increasing the chances of conversion.
Tip#8: Tailor your rewards and promotions:
As a customer, I like to feel like a brand knows me, and so is your client. The truth of the matter is, we are human and we like getting deals or products that feel like they were specifically created for us and presented to us at the very time we need them! Offering your clients with rewards and promotions goes a long way in boosting your marketing strategy and hence, more ROIs.
The best way to do this is ensuring that you tailor your rewards and promotions to each individual segment of your clients. This makes them feel that they are getting the personal attention they have been craving for so long. Do not make your promos and incentives a one-fits-all kind. Understanding your clients and their behavior will help you unravel their preferences. You will notice that some prefer free shipping over a discount. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to impress your clients, convert them, make a sale, realize ROI and be a success.
Tip#9: Optimize your message for all devices:
In the 21st century, you cannot afford to make the assumption that your target audience will all read your email messages on a desktop computer. In fact, according to a survey, over eighty percent of people use their mobile handset to read their emails. This means that, when you are crafting your email marketing campaign, you cannot ignore using a design that will make sure that your messages are displayed the way you want them to, irrespective of what device or size of screen your client is using. So, bear in mind that no matter how good your email message is or email template is, or how personalized it is, the truth is that, it may never make any impact if your audience cannot open it on their devices. Just make sure that you are not limiting your stream of revenue because of that!
Tip#10: Keep track, test and learn from it:
Having a clear knowledge and understanding of what worked and what did not previously during your email marketing is something that can go a long way in helping you patch up things better in your future campaigns. Even though this may be your first email marketing campaign, borrowing a few tips from a friend who have been down this road can prove very valuable. The first thing is for you to keep track of what you are doing, test different tricks and learn from the outcome. Ignoring these is only a recipe for failure in the future.
Some of the most important metrics that can help you learn through the seasons include; open rate, conversion rate and finally unsubscribe rate. This is a good measure of what is working (open rate& conversion rate) and what is not (unsubscribe rate). Take the time to look through each email that boosted your results and those that gave you a red flag and learn a thing or two from them. Your future success relies on this!
Conclusion:
Theses 10 actionable email marketing tips are not the only tips you need but are the top most important tips that will help you boost your sales results and pave the way for your success. The most important take-home message for you is to always pay attention to what your target audience interests are and couple that with these creative actionable email marketing tips that will work best for your brand and boost your ROI. Always learn from your past, what worked and what did not to improve sales in the future.
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