While email marketing is still an effective way to reach new customers and stay in touch with recent customers, it’s important to recognize that only a small percentage of recipients will open your emails. This means you’ll have to be engaging with the headline, and you’ll have to deliver what that subject line promises. In addition, there are a few basic practices you can use to increase engagement with your marketing emails.
1. Don’t Delay in Reaching Out to New Customers
Whether a customer is buying something from your brick-and-mortar store or from your eCommerce pages, request their email address at checkout. This gives you the opportunity to connect with each customer through your email marketing campaign. Set up an automated message to go out to that customer within an hour or less. This should be a short email. Simply ask them to rate and review their experience with your business.
If your business sells to other businesses, you’ll still need to boost your sales outreach. Similar to the automated messages you send to consumers, you can use the services of a cold email agency to reach your B2B leads. An experienced email marketing firm can help you achieve your goals.
2. Keep Things Mobile-Friendly
More than half of consumers access the internet via their phones, tablets, and other mobile devices. That percentage continues to grow as Gen Z spends more time on the go. Just as your website should be mobile-friendly, it’s important to create emails that are equally easy to read via a mobile device. There are free and low-cost services online that will help you craft mobile-friendly emails. If users find it easier to read your emails on the go, they will be more likely to open them instead of deleting them unopened.
3. Duplicate Email Content on Social Media
Recognize that a large number of recipients won’t open your marketing emails. Look for ways to increase that engagement. A good way to do that is to duplicate email messages in your social media posts. You can simply copy and paste the messages to your social media pages word for word in most cases. Don’t forget to add links, hashtags, and relevant keywords to maximize social media visibility.
4. Be Direct and Brief
The subject line in each email should provide a brief description of the contents of that particular email. Remember that too much flowery language can cause an email platform to mark your message as spam. It’s also important to keep in mind that your messages don’t have to be long. A quick email that reminds your customers to turn their clocks back in the fall doesn’t need to contain anything else. Consumers will be more likely to open emails if they know they can read them quickly.
5. Avoid High-Pressure Sales Talk
Your customers already know about the products you sell, so there’s no reason to use your email marketing campaign for a hard sell. Even when reaching out to new consumers, trying to directly sell to them is likely to turn them off right away. They probably won’t open future emails from your business after opening a salesy email. Instead, provide the information mentioned in the subject line in an engaging way. Try to entertain and inform without using high-pressure sales language.
6. Customize and Stay Relevant
Try to use first names in emails that you’re sending to individual consumers. Look for other ways to customize the messages you’re sending. For instance, address a specific situation in which your products will help a customer solve a problem or meet a need. Personalizing your emails will help you build stronger relationships with your customers, and they will be more willing to open future emails from your business.
7. Offer Something of Value
Most, if not all, of your emails, should offer something of value. Give away a free gift or offer a discount on the customer’s next purchase. When you offer something of value, you’ll ensure the recipient of your email will read the entire message. As you establish a history of giving away small gifts and discounts, consumers will be more willing to open more of your emails. Since they know they will be getting something for free, they will even keep an eye out for your messages.
Closing Remark
In addition to tailoring email messages to meet your customers’ needs, you should also measure data related to your email marketing campaign. For example, add a promo code to coupons included in the emails to help you track them. This can help you measure which emails are producing the most engagement. Use this information to refine and improve your email outreach efforts.