Without a doubt, email marketing is one of the most profitable channels for marketers.
The return on investment (ROI) for each dollar spent on email marketing is between $45 and $32. That’s unsurprising, given that the majority of consumers check their email ten times daily. What’s more? Those who purchase products advertised via email spend 138 percent more than those who do not receive email offers.
With this in mind, businesses seeking a competitive edge should focus on the following strategies for maximum success.
- Demonstrate concern
- Data is power
- Make clickable subject lines
- Adapt to mobile
- List-targeting
- Test it all
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Demonstrate concern
Even addressing customers by name can increase their engagement with your emails.
Experian Marketing Services found that personalized emails have 29% higher unique open rates and 41% higher click rates per person than generic emails. Personalization can also increase sales by up to 10%, according to the Harvard Business Review.
People don’t want to be anonymous customers; they want to be respected. If your brand doesn’t go the extra mile, your competitors will.
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Data is power
Remember when Edward Snowden revealed in 2013 that the NSA was collecting mountains of personal data on millions of people? NSA saw data as a key to power, regardless of morality. While extremes aren’t required, the concept is the same. The more you know about someone or something, the better equipped you are to build a relationship or close a sale.
This may sound like a lot of work for a cold outreach campaign, but automation and APIs make it easy to achieve major results.
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Make clickable subject lines
Every competent marketer is familiar with the marketing adage: “Contribute value. Resolve issues.” Nobody likes clickbait, and if you use it, you can expect your emails to never be opened again.
Subject lines such as “10 Ways to Shock Fat Off Your Body in Five Minutes!” qualify as spam, and while your email may contain useful information about ways to lose weight quickly, the subject line devalues the content within. If the subject line of your email reads like a headline from the National Enquirer, People, or BuzzFeed, recipients will unsubscribe — and with reason.
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Adapt to mobile
Nowadays, everyone has a phone; some have three. Consumer Device Preference data from 2014 showed that 66% of emails were opened on phones. It’s more important than ever to make sure your emails are mobile-friendly.
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List-targeting
The Data & Marketing Association found that segmented email campaigns increased revenue by 76%.
By segmenting your subscribers, readers, or buyers, you can target specific demographics. If ten of your subscribers open an email about SEO keyword optimization, you can categorize them. They will only receive SEO-related emails, while the other segmented subscribers will receive a different set of emails.
Targeting your list with relevant promos and offers is critical. We can no longer cast a wide net and expect at least 10% of the population to bite.
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Test it all
You won’t know what works unless you test your messages, subject lines, and other aspects of your emails.
A/B testing is a powerful tool that every email marketer should know. You can also see which subject lines get your emails opened, which is useful information. That doesn’t mean it’s universal — hence the need to test everything.
Keeping track of inbox, open, bounce, reply, and unsubscribe rates can help you improve your email campaigns.