A Blueprint for Success of Your Email Marketing Campaign
Just a few years ago our email boxes were bulging with hundreds of ads, spam and other messages, and we usually paid little or no attention to their content. It seemed that email was passed its prime, and that this innovation would soon become a thing of the past. However, instead of marginalisation there came transformation.
Today, we are increasingly able to enjoy email boxes that receive messages we actually want. This is because we know more about the people sitting on the other side of the screen, and because this knowledge is used in better ways.
Show me your email design, and I will tell if it can earn money. Below I have described five email marketing tips that will help you create effective relationships with your customers.
1. Be #catchy – sender and subject
In my experience, I usually click on emails from the people I know or on emails in which the sender introduces himself or herself by their full name. An email from Martin Sobieski looks more trustworthy than from Quick loans in no time. Messages from a personalised sender create trust, emphasise the brand’s professionalism, and shoot up your campaign figures. As far as the subject of the email goes, it should be short and spot on. It must be intriguing and encouraging. Remember that you have but a few seconds to get your customer’s attention. Try using incentives like: “Last chance to collect your gift” or “Keep this date in mind”. Another way to improve your open rate (OR) is to use figures: “25% discount only until tomorrow – check it out now”.
2. Full personalisation for everyone
Mail is a personal, individualised tool for communicating with your customers. This is where your journey to win the customer’s loyalty and trust in the brand begins. To embark on it, you need to be ahead of the game and know the profile of your prospects. With today’s state-of-the-art automated marketing solutions, you can personalise virtually anything. Apart from introducing yourself by name (this is a must!), you can align the time of sending your message to the hours the customer usually opens your correspondence, or you can generate a unique discount code for your current price cut. If you additionally decide to make use of the boon referred to rather straightforwardly as “dynamic content”, you will keep your customer waiting on tenterhooks for your message to arrive.
Important
- The Email Statistics Report suggests that by the end of 2017 the number of active email accounts worldwide will reach 4.9 billion.
- According to the research of the Aberdeen Group, personalised emails will increase the click-through rate (CTR) by 14% bringing a 10% increase in conversion rate.
- eConsultancy revealed that 74% of marketers consider targeting and personalisation as effective tools that create more engaging customer experience.
- The 12th Email Survey Report prepared by SARE in 2015 shows that email readers pay attention to the aesthetics of email design. According to 42% of respondents, an email needs to be graphically appealing.
- HubSpot specifies that 80.08% of users read their emails on small screens.
- According to Campaign Monitor, emails with prominent CTA buttons can raise the conversion rate by 28% compared to those featuring plain text links.
3. Be on good terms with your graphic designer
An email that makes the point should be clear and light. This is why I do not recommend scrimping on your email design. It should be graphically appealing. What does it mean? Above all, it should be positively surprising, emotionally engaging and, depending on your industry, perhaps even controversial). The text and the graphics need to match, and there should be some spacing between the individual pieces of information. Of course, the email design you create must be mobile-friendly. It is also best to focus on a discount for a single product only. Why? Because when you offer more, your customer will be more likely to get distracted. Another marketing email must-have are the call-to-action (CTA) buttons which I will return to below. Remember also to create an email design that is consistent with what your customer will see after clicking on the button. Your email only foreshadows the things you want to put across on the landing page.
4. Move crowds with a magic button
An email is bait for your customer to go one step further in the purchasing process. Let me repeat like a mantra that it needs to be clear and light so that you can put your point across in a straightforward way. The more details you include in it, the less chance you will have for your campaign to succeed.
Another key to your success is a catchy CTA button which needs to invite the user to interact. The best call to action includes bonuses the customer can receive.
Examples
- Collect your gift
- Download for free
- Order a free sample
- Join the circle of our satisfied customers
- The discount continues for the next 2h – make the most of it
The email should direct traffic to the landing page. Why not to the brand’s home page? This is simple – because conversion is a lot harder from there. The home page is packed with information about the company, about products and about other options. The customer may soon forget why they navigated to this page in the first place, and then the opportunity to sell vanishes. That is why a well-created landing page is absolutely essential for any successful campaign. This is where you will put all the information required by the customer to complete the transaction.
5. Start the countdown
Include a dynamic countdown in your email and motivate the prospect to make up their mind more quickly. Nothing provokes emotions better than time limits. The elapsing time in the email will make your click-through rate sky rocket.
Examples
- Hurry up! The discount expires in 5h 26m 13s...
- You still have 6h 11m 33s to join the winning group!
Running an email marketing campaign may seem quick and easy but actually it is hard work. It requires carrying out a detailed analysis of customer preferences and email traffic statistics. Without this, your campaign will die on the vine. Even the most expensive email marketing system will not help you then.
Exercises
Task 1. Key phrases
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Read the text carefully and study the vocabulary. Translate the selected key words from the text into English: |
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przemijający (o czasie): |
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obfitujący: |
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dobrodziejstwo: |
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wystrzelić w górę: |
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wabik: |
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ciułać (pieniądze): |
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siedzieć jak na szpilkach: |
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rozpocząć coś : |
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pociągający : |
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ustawiać: |
Task 2. Words in context
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Use the words from task 1 in their correct form to complete the sentences below: |
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Unfortunately, a lot of desperate people have taken the ............... from the local developer and have lost their life savings. |
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However ................... the proposal might seem at first, I would never invest my money into such a risky business. |
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The more papers I stash in my briefcase, the more ................... papers and heavier it is. |
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According to the most recent government report, gas prices .............................. seemingly overnight and purchases have dropped increasingly. |
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The invention of the first steam washing machine in 1851 by James King became a real ....................... to American housewives. |
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During of the mid-2007 recession and the following 2008 market crisis in the USA, average American citizens were forced to ...................... on a large scale. |
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It is important to work out whether the columns in the article ............................ left or right, or centered. There are plenty of options. |
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After a series of complex bloodtests and various specialist consultations last week, the patient ............................ waiting for the doctor’s diagnosis. |
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It has been recently announced that the project must be completed within an overall .............................. time of four months. |
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The presidential campaign in America is said to ................................. an ultimate phase before the final elections in November this year. |
Task 3. Comprehension check
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Decide whether the sentences below are true (T) or false (F) according to the text: |
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The author of the article has focused on five crucial guidelines concerning writing an effective business email. |
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Tricky headlines no longer attract your prosperous business partner’s attention. |
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Most of contemporary marketing tools are fully automated and computer generated. |
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According to the text, the layout of your corporate email is significant to the reader. |
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Call-to-action buttons seem to be the necessity of the email structure and design. |
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Leading customers directly to the home page will enable them to conclude the deal. |
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Setting time limits in emails helps future clients to make on-the-spot-decisions. |
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There is no need to carry out a detailed market analysis before launching a marketing campaign. |
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The AG claims that personalized emails increase the conversion rate by 14%. |
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Emails containing plain text links score lower in the conversion rate than those including CTA buttons. |
KEY to exercises
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Task 1 |
Task 2 |
Task 3 |
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Elapsing |
Bait |
T |
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Bulging with |
Appealing |
F |
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Boon |
Bulging with |
F |
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Shoot up |
Have shot up |
T |
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Bait |
Boon |
T |
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Scrimp |
Scrimp |
F |
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Be on tenterhooks |
Are aligned |
F |
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Embark on |
Was on tenterhooks |
F |
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Appealing |
Elapsed |
F |
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Align |
Have embarked on |
T |
Artykuł dostępny w polskiej wersji językowej tutaj.
Przypisy / Źródła
- http://www.radicati.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Email-Statistics-Report-2013-2017-Executive-Summary.pdf
- http://www.aberdeen.com/research/7635/ra-social-media-marketing/content.aspx
- https://econsultancy.com/reports/the-realities-of-online-personalisation-report
- http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
- https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2014/08/buttons-email-marketing-campaigns/
