This revolutionary step into the future can be considered the first social media platform in history. But email is more than just a communication platform. It is the best marketing tool at your disposal.
Nothing has changed the way we communicate today more than email.
This revolutionary step into the future can be considered the first social media platform in history. But email is more than just a communication platform. It is the best marketing tool at your disposal.
Why is email marketing so powerful despite the presence of other mega social media platforms?
The Power of Email Marketing
Email is still the king of all marketing tools, despite all other marketing channels trying to claim otherwise. But what exactly does email have that other marketing channels don’t?
Here are the benefits of email:
- Easy to set up and run. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of email marketing is that it is so easy to set up and run. In fact, with email automation, you can run your campaigns on autopilot, freeing yourself up to do other important things.
- High RETURN on investment. Of all the other marketing platforms available, email marketing has one of the highest ROIs – $40.00 for every $1.00 you spend. The reason for this is simple – your list is already warm and engaged. This is targeted marketing at its best. Don’t get me wrong, there are people making millions using social media marketing. Take Sam Overs, a millionaire consultant in both senses of the word. He built a multi-million dollar business primarily through Facebook advertising. But despite success stories like these, email is still the best platform to build your business.
- Safety If you are looking for a safe marketing strategy and platform, email is the way to go. Unlike websites and social media, email is the only marketing platform that is truly yours. Social media platforms, on the other hand, are someone else’s property. You have no control over them. Email is the only platform that is still controlled by people, not algorithms.
Email marketing is one of, if not the only, marketing platforms that gives you the opportunity to connect with your prospects on a more personal level.
From addressing them by name to emails written specifically for them, it gives you access to a space in your prospects that only their friends have.
So how can you make sure your email marketing is delivering the results you want?
You have to overcome 2 barriers that every email you send must overcome – open rates and click rates.
Three Easy Ways to Increase Your Email Open Rate
Every day, 124.5 billion business emails are sent. That’s 16 business emails per person per day, or 6,000 emails per year. And that number is projected to more than double in 2023, reaching 2.9 billion people.
No matter how much you love receiving emails, it’s email overload.
As a result, many emails go unopened. In fact, only 18.16 percent of those emails are opened,
according to Constant Contact . That means 22.6 billion emails go unopened each year. And that’s why you need to make sure your emails don’t suffer the same fate.
So how can you increase the likelihood of your emails being opened?
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Master the storyline.
The subject line is the first thing your recipients see. It’s the short window that will either lead the recipient to open your email or… well, they’ll throw it in the trash. According to research, 47% of email recipients open emails based solely on the subject line. And frighteningly, 69% report an email as spam because of the (poorly thought out) subject line. To craft an email subject line, you need to make it short, sweet, and powerfully touching. Short – This is because most people open their emails on their mobile devices. This means you need to use no more than 10 words in your subject line. Appealing – People are selfish by nature. The first question that comes to their mind when they receive an email is, “What’s in it for me?” Make sure your subject line highlights exactly what’s in it for them.
Persuasive
- With the limited number of words you have, use persuasive language to get the recipient to open the email. Another tip to make your subject line eye-catching is to use emojis for added visual appeal. But the subject line is only part of the battle to get your emails opened. Preheader If the subject line is the bait that gets prospects to think about your email, then the preheader text is the hook that draws them in. The preheader is the short piece of text just below the subject line when they view the email in their inbox. The preheader serves to support the subject line and give the recipient a teaser or summary of what’s in the email. Like the subject line, it needs to be compelling. It needs to succinctly show the recipient how they’ll benefit from opening your email. And just like the subject line, the preheader has a limited number of characters you can use, only this time it’s 40-75 characters (8-15 words).
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Personalization is the key to success
When it comes to email marketing, nothing gets your email opened faster than personalization.
Remember, you are not the only one sending an email to the recipient. They are bombarded with other offers. To stand out from the crowd, you must personalize your emails.
Personalization in email marketing basically means 2 things.
Use the recipient’s name. Everyone is unique and wants to be treated as such. By addressing the recipient by name, you show that the email is addressed to a unique person who is valued.
Write like a person. These days, emails from companies hardly get a second chance. People don’t care about sales emails anymore. Make sure that when you write an email, write it as if it is coming from a person they know.
According to Campaign Monitor, emails with a personalized subject line are 26% more likely to be opened than emails without one.
So yes, all this personalization hype is worth it.
Now that you’ve hooked your recipient, it’s time to reel them in.
How to increase click-through rate?
Opening your emails is great. But it’s not enough. Once your recipient opens your email, you need to get them to take action.
You’ll need them to click through to your landing page, product, or whatever else you’re offering.
Depending on your industry and what research you believe, of the people who open your emails, only 1-10% actually click through to your offer.
Here are 3 simple tips to achieve just that.
1. Create Relevant and Valuable Content.
People are very busy. They don’t have time for anything that doesn’t add value to their lives. That’s why you need to make sure that every email you send contains something of value to them. Create content that will help you build trust with those who open your emails.
This means giving them tips, tutorials, and anything that is relevant to them. In order to do this, you need to understand the demographics of your recipients. Once you understand the demographics, it is essential to segment your email list according to those demographics.
Once you do this, you will have everything you need to know exactly what to write in your emails.
Establishing trust through relevant content is essential if you want to see an increase in clicks.
2. Optimize for Mobile
With more and more people reading their emails on mobile devices, it is becoming important for anyone using email marketing to optimize their emails for mobile.
Very few people, if any, will look at your email on their laptop or desktop to click on your offer. Unless it’s really good.
And even if it is, many will soon forget about it. You need to get a response as soon as they open the email.
3. Timing is Everything
Well, not exactly, but sending your emails at the right time is a surefire way to not only get them opened, but also get your prospect to click on that all-important link.
Catch people at the wrong time (when they’re busy) and they won’t look at your email again. Weekends are also a bad time, as people typically don’t check their email or even turn off their devices.
Getting the timing right can be tricky, but luckily there is some research that has helped with when to send emails.
But the bottom line is that you need to know where your recipients are located (the time zone) and segment them accordingly.
Speaking of timing, it’s also important to consider the frequency with which you send your emails. This is another tricky balancing act because if you send too often, you’ll soon end up in the “trash bin,” and if you send too little, your prospect may forget you.
So how often should you send your emails?
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t that simple.
It all depends on your industry and the purpose of your email marketing campaign.
For example, if you sell air conditioners, you will be sending out the majority of your marketing emails in late winter and throughout the summer.
During the winter, you are probably better off sending one or two emails to keep in touch with your list.
The best solution for you would be to track and analyze the response you are getting from your list.
For those who open, you can either maintain the frequency or increase it slightly.
For those who open less often, you can decrease the frequency.
For those who do not open at all, you might as well remove them from your list.
Final Words
Gone are the days when people were excited about receiving an email. And so, in order to get your emails opened and read, you need to be savvy in how you do your email marketing.
With a few of the tips outlined above, you are well on your way to seeing your open and click-through rates increase.
