It’s all about Return On Investment (ROI) nowadays (if indeed it hasn’t always been), but the rules of the game have changed. While not so long ago aggressive advertisements bombarding TV screens were all the rage, today email campaigns rule supreme.
If only one thing was to be said about email, it would be that the service remains the primary means of communication, even with so many alternatives around. How come?
Free for All
First, email is available to everyone and secondly, it is free (mostly, at least). While there are other platforms, outlets, and channels that have (partially or completely) taken over some of the original functions of the service, email is still preferred for everyday communication.
Not to dive too much into the obvious, we will hereby discuss how that fact of email marketing can be used to the benefit of a business. Note that “preferred for everyday communication” applies to offers from brands, no less than to personal and business communication.
In actual fact, research undergone by Campaign Monitor shows that over one-half of respondents prefer to receive updates from brands via email. As regards millennials, the figure stands at 73 percent, according to Adestra.
As it turns out, your recipients are actually looking forward to your offers, contrary to popular belief. Of course, that applies only to sensible and well-targeted campaigns, worded in a professional way.
Send Only the Desired Emails
But, first things first. What types of email do people truly deeply look forward to receiving?
While it may well be argued that different people have different tastes, common sense still holds. The first rule of successful email marketing campaigns to boost ROI hasn’t changed in the online environment. People love to feel special.
It logically follows that personalized emails will be better received than generic ones, but still, what of that? Start with the basics: welcome new subscribers from the heart. Address them by their name and, by all means, make them feel special.
Thank-you and follow-up emails are also generally appreciated. Right Inbox is the go tool for sending out follow-up emails. Being short and unaggressive, they stand high chances of being read and are not typically marked as spam.
Speaking of the latter, familiarize yourself with the CAN-SPAM Act. You’d be surprised to learn how many businesses fail to do that, making the most basic of email marketing mistakes, such as using spam trigger words in subject lines and the body of the message.
Another type of email people will welcome is newsletters, but only newsletters done the right way. The “right way” translates into a short and concise presentation coupled with unsubscribing and call-to-action buttons.
Tip: Buttons, in themselves, are a good idea, as they make the message “cleaner” and allow for a lengthier message.
Order status emails come next. They should be coupled with receipts, order confirmations, and follow-up emails on shipment and delivery.
Animate Recipients
There are numerous strategies for animating recipients, but some have been proven to work. Among the latter are shopping cart abandonment and re-order emails.
The first has been shown to be capable of generating up to $17.90 per email sent. Naturally, the offer needs to politely remind the recipient why they should reconsider. Some businesses couple them with special discounts or other incentives, but that is really up to personal preferences.
As regards to re-order emails, they are terribly overrated with no sustainable excuse. Some businesses can benefit greatly from them, specifically those selling consumer goods. Politely remind your customers that the product they have shown interest in may run out soon.
Finally, sales announcements, vouchers, and other incentives are generally well-received. Themed and seasonal sales offer a myriad of opportunities to score big, i.e., the 4th of July, Christmas, and clearance sales. Also, it’s a good idea to establish a traditional sale that falls on the same date every year, as people will save the date for the future. AliExpress has done exactly that, and its popularity is skyrocketing.
Go Fully Mobile
Last but not least, absolutely all emails must be mobile-ready. The same applies to landing and shopping pages.
The list of benefits of email to boost ROI linked to mobile-ready campaigns is too long to be cited here, but here are the most important stats that will show you why going fully mobile is a must:
- 53 percent of overall emails are accessed via mobile devices (compared to 10 percent desktop reads and 29 percent webmail client reads)
- 70 percent of emails accessed on mobile devices are re-read
- 23 percent of people accessing emails on mobile devices re-read them at least one more time
- 65 percent of the re-read emails result in a click
- One-third of all clicks are performed on mobile devices
- An overwhelming percentage of subscriptions take place on mobile devices
Is there anything more else to mastering the art of email marketing? There’s plenty, as it turns out, starting with learning to use segmentation insights to your benefit. Remember, the golden rule is to be professional while maintaining personalization and to use insights to target your campaigns.
