Email marketing is one of the most powerful ways to market your e-commerce business. However, it can be hard to know where to focus your energies to get the best out of your campaigns. Fortunately, there are best practices you can implement immediately to improve email marketing campaigns, like personalizing your content and using automation.
In this post, we’ll take a look at why optimizing email marketing campaigns is important for your online business. Then, we’ll cover five ways in which you can improve yours. Let’s get to it!
Why You Need to Optimize Your Email Marketing Campaigns
Email is ubiquitous across the world. An estimated 347 billion emails will be sent in 2023, and that number is projected to increase to more than 390 billion in 2026. This level of saturation is one reason emails have the highest return on investment for many businesses.
Moreover, people want you to email them. In a 2023 study, Square found that 86% of consumers wanted to hear from businesses and 60% preferred communication over email.
Well-executed email marketing campaigns can meet that demand, and foster lasting relationships with customers. They might even lead to word-of-mouth referrals
5 Ways to Improve Your Email Marketing Campaigns
Now that you know why you need to optimize your email marketing campaigns, let’s look at a few effective ways you can do it.
1. Personalize Your Content
Personalized emails use data you’ve collected about your subscribers to make your message feel more personal. This information may include the user’s name, location, gender, and age.
For example, you might address the subscriber by their first name. This makes your email seem less spammy. In fact, some people decide whether to open or discard an email based on the subject line. If the subject line includes their name, the email might appear more inviting..
Additionally, you might send users product updates based on past purchases:
Studies show that this personalization leads to better open rates, click-through rates, and click-to-open rates. As a result, it can bring in more revenue.
It can also reinforce a sense of connection between you and your subscriber. By identifying them by name and sending them the right messages at the right times, you can foster a relationship that could pay dividends for years.
2. Segment Your List
Segmentation involves breaking your email list into groups based on shared traits or behaviors. These groups can be as broad or narrow as you like.
For example, you might segment your list by isolating people who bought a specific product. As with personalization, you can use demographic and behavioral data to set up your segments.
Although you can target a large group within your email list, your campaigns will likely yield better results if you use a more granular approach. This is because your messages will be more relevant to the recipient.
This technique is key to sending the right messages to the right subscribers. In fact, segmented campaigns have been shown to increase revenue by 760% compared to non-segmented emails.
They can also increase open and click-through rates. Plus, since you’re only delivering content the subscriber wants, you can help build trust and brand affinity over time.
3. Write Engaging Subject Lines
Your subject line is what your subscriber sees in their inbox. It can be make or break, so it’s worth putting in the effort to make sure it’s compelling.
You can start by including the subscriber’s name in the subject line. This strategy can increase your open rate by 26%.
Brevity is key when constructing your subject line. A good guideline is to keep it to 60 characters or less. Many people check their emails on their phones, and smaller screens can’t accommodate as much real estate.
You’ll also want to bring a sense of urgency to your subject line. For example, you might offer a deal with a deadline:
It’s also a good idea to A/B test your subject lines. A/B testing is when you write two subject lines and send each version to half of your list. You then compare key metrics, like open and click-through rates, to see which subject line can help you achieve the best results.
You could also use a subject line tester, like this free tool by Omnisend.
This uses six factors to score your subject line, including some that we’ve already discussed like character count. It also covers things like helpful and negative words.
4. Use Automation
Automation is when emails are automatically sent to users based on triggering events like signup, an abandoned cart, or a purchase. For example, you might set up a series of welcome emails for new subscribers.
Some automated emails can have huge open rates as they’re sent to customers at the most opportune moment. They’re also tailored to their behavior.
There are many email marketing services that offer automation, including Mailchimp.
Mailchimp offers pre-made and customizable automation strategies, catered to your audience’s behaviors and interests. It also provides transactional automation for order confirmations.
5. Make Your Call-to-Action Clear
Your marketing emails should include Calls To Action (CTA). Whether you want the recipient to make a purchase, take a survey, or do any number of other things, an unclear or unspecified ask will result in lost conversions. People simply won’t know what to do.
As with your subject line, you’ll need to make your CTA short and urgent. Let’s look at a few examples:
Subscribe now
Shop now
Learn more
Take the survey
Leave feedback
Your CTA can be presented in your email as text or a button:
Screenshot of email containing CTA and a button with text like "Subscribe now" or "Take the survey."
Either way, it should be a link that sends your subscriber to your desired location. For example, you might create a “Take The Survey” button that leads to a Google Forms page.
Conclusion
Email marketing is a high-impact way to convert leads, but you can take it a step further to maximize your gains. By employing techniques like segmentation and automation, you can build long-lasting relationships with your customers and boost repeat business.
Do you have any questions about improving your email marketing campaigns? Let us know in the comments section below!
