Sending emails has come a long way since the first marketers began using this tool in the 90’s. Back then, emails were created one at a time, and sent to a specific customer, like a made-to-order dish. Now, with software capable of automating emails, running a campaign is easier than ever before. Create it, set it, and forget it right? Well, not quite.
With the automation of emails, it is now easier than ever to become complacent and run outdated content that is not getting you the results you deserve. Let’s look at four areas of an email and how to make sure each area is the best that it can be.
- Delivery and Format
Start by looking at the data behind each email: How good is your click rate? What about your conversion rate? How many users have unsubscribed with a particular email?
- Make sure you are delivering your email at the right time. An email can easily become buried or overlooked. According to research from InsideSales.com, about 35% to 50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first. Timing is everything.
- Make sure the subject line grabs and spurs interest. Make the subject line engaging, and tell the reader exactly what they can expect to receive from opening your email.
- Don’t over-do it! Companies who send emails constantly marked as spam will be thrown into the junk folder every time by internet service providers (ISPs).
- Message Content
So, you’ve perfected your timing, subject line, and how constantly you send your emails out. Even great open rates don’t guarantee great click-through rates.
- Your message must match the subject line. Don’t send a message with a subject on apples when you plan on talking about bananas; potential customers don’t enjoy being deceived.
- Personalize your message. Research by Aberdeen Group shows that personalized emails improve click through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%, make your leads feel unique and special, not just another pawn in your game of chess.
- Landing Page
Now we have a strong open rate, and it’s matched by a strong click-through rate, but our conversion rate remains dismal. A poorly designed landing page could be the culprit.
- Don’t forget the explanation of value. Often, companies will describe in great depths what the offer is, but fail to mention why the prospect should want it. Emphasize why they should care, as much as what the offer actually is.
- Don’t intimidate your prospects: The form on your landing page needs to be delicately balanced. Extremely long forms will drive potential prospects away. Make sure to use tools like Smart Fields, to avoid duplicate information in your database and unnecessary work for your leads.
- Audience Behavior
Even the best email in the world will fail if delivered to the wrong person, the content sent is just as important as making sure that it’s sent to the right person.
- Watch for shifts in behavior. The audience you’re targeting can easily become interested in new topics, content types, and channels.
- The right type of information in the wrong place: Always make sure you’re tailoring content to meet the needs of your prospect’s position in the sales cycle. The level of information you’re handing out should match where your prospect is in the workflow funnel. You are driving away potential leads by offering bottom of the funnel offers when they are at the top of the funnel.
When building a new email, or going through an old one trying to decipher where it went wrong and how to improve, make sure to look at these four critical areas to effective email marketing. More often than not, you will be able to find the flaws in these four broad categorize and began to experiment with A/B testing to drive better results.
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