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Email Marketing: The How and the Why

By March 26, 2020 November 23rd, 2023 No Comments
Email Marketing

Email marketing offers companies the highest ROI in e-commerce, with some reports suggesting that it can bring in $40 for every $1 spent. That’s almost twice as much as the next closest category, SEO, and 20 times as rewarding as banner ads. However, that enticing statistic goes hand in hand with the frustrating reality that most emails go unopened. Constructing an email with an intriguing subject line, worthwhile content, and a captivating call to action can be a challenge. Follow these tips to avoid an immediate trip to the trash. 

The Subject Line 

Short and sweet but thorough enough to be informative is the aim here. Retention Science research suggests that six to ten words in the subject line leads to the highest open rate. Five or fewer works if it’s descriptive enough, but more than ten sees a significant drop-off. Punctuation also helps, specifically question marks. 

We’re trained from a young age to take notice when someone says our name, and that seems to apply when it comes to opening emails as well. When an email’s subject line includes the recipient’s name, that person is 2.6% more likely to open it. Oddly enough, that’s nowhere near the 10.4% increase marketers find when they utilize movie quotes or song lyrics in the subject line. (One can only imagine the success rate for song lyrics that include a potential customer’s name. “Anthony works in the grocery store” or “Martha my dear, though I spend my days in conversation” must really get traction.) 

Too much spam can give you a heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack 

The Body 

The tone of the message depends entirely on your brand, product, and target audience. If you’re selling professional tax software, you will likely want to adopt an appropriately polished approach. Fashion items geared towards millennials can be marketed more informally, perhaps with emojis and GIFs. 

Like the subject line, the body should be personalized too. Be sure that your code is up to par—nothing looks worse than greeting a customer with “Hi <FIRSTNAME>.”  

Picture This 

We may have spoken too soon when we said nothing looks worse than “Hi <FIRSTNAME>.” A chunk of text might be just as bad. Assaulting the eyes with dullness is a cardinal sin in any sort of marketing. 

This French bulldog may not have anything to do with email marketing, but at least it breaks up the text. 

Note that many email programs are standardized to not immediately download images in an email and require users to either change settings or allow them on an individual message or sender basis. Use images wisely and ensure that readers will add you to their favored contacts, so your visual aids don’t show up as blasé text boxes. Design the email with an attractive layout and bold use of colorand keep in mind that a majority of users primarily read their emails on mobile devices. 

Spam in the Place Where You Live 

So you’ve come up with an excellent, informative, visually appealing email that delivers a strong call to action and is sure to psyche up your customers. Unfortunately, even the most incentivizing email will be entirely for naught if it gets caught up in spam filters. Email marketing firm Clickback estimates that only about 20% of commercial emails make their way into the primary (or, for Gmail users, promotions) area of inboxes. Of course, that still means plenty pass through, given that approximately 16 billion are sent daily.  

To avoid getting flagged as spam, make sure your contact list is maintained and purged of dead addresses regularly, as a high volume of bouncebacks will trigger many filters. The absence of an “unsubscribe” option is also not just bad practice that results in a spam categorization, but it’s actually a violation of FTC compliance. 

The rewards of email marketing are unmistakable, but enterprises need the right tools and techniques. Reach out to our experts so we can help you take your campaigns to the next level. 

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