10 Best Practices in Email Marketing

How To Do Better Campaigns

There are millions of emails sent every day; promotions, transactional, personal emails and of course, spams. So how do you make your emails stand out in this highly competitive environment, and what are the best practices in email marketing in 2022?

A successful campaign is all about execution.

Many companies generate a significant portion of revenue via email campaigns, and 59% of marketers say email marketing is the biggest source of their ROI (Sopro, 2020). In fact, email marketing should be a powerful tool for any business.

This article will provide you with the best practices in email marketing and tips on how to write winning email campaigns.

 

1) Personalise your emails

Hi {Firstname}, we have an offer for you!

As a result of constant digitalisation and the pandemic, every aspect of online marketing has become very competitive, and email marketing is not an exception. Personalisation has become the key to a successful email campaign.

In 2022, it is simply not enough anymore to send a generic email and hope for success. Recipients should feel that the message is directly addressed to them. Calling a customer by their name will get their attention and increase the trust in your email.

However, calling by name does not have to be the only technique you can use. It may not even be enough to make subscribers open an email. You should use location, recent purchases, product reference, time, birthdays, and other demographic information to make your message more engaging. This should be used in the email subject line as well as in the email body. An example below:

Hi {Firstname}, your {policynumber} is up for renewal on {renewaldate}

Customers want marketers to pay attention to their needs and personalise offers. 74% of marketers say that targeted, personalised emails increase customer engagement rates. Many companies nowadays write personalised emails. Therefore, it is important to consider using smart and dynamic personalisation features as the customers’ expectations grow.

Use data collected online, offline, at events and in your CRM or in Circulator to make your messages even more relevant to your customers.

 

2) Create automated email campaigns

Email automation allows you to target the right people with the right message. It is one of the most powerful marketing techniques that keep your subscribers engaged and to build a relationship with them.

Marketers should be using behavioural triggers. Behavioural triggers can help boost your campaign to the next level. This technique is widespread in other spheres of digital marketing (PPC campaigns, paid campaigns on social media), and it is proven to be an effective tool.

There should be customised messages based on every action along the journey as customers will have different intentions at certain stages. All messages should be personalised where possible.

 

3) Send emails at the right time and day

In email marketing, it is crucial to pay attention to the statistics. Just such a simple thing as changing the day and time of your campaign might play a significant role in the campaign’s success.

Most emails are opened within the first two hours of sending. Therefore, emails should be sent at the time when people are active the most in their inboxes. Otherwise, there is a good chance that your message will get lost in the mass of other emails sent. If you send an email at night, by the morning, there will most likely already be more competing emails in your recipient’s inbox. The recipient might not see the notification which will naturally decrease your open rates.

Determine how and when your audience is engaging with your emails the most, and set your campaigns accordingly. Time testing can be one of the most effective features in Circulator, generally, companies are surprised by the analytics when they use time testing which results in a major change in when they send emails. Contact us and learn how Circulator can help you to schedule and automate your campaigns. Source: (SuperOffice, 2021)

 

4) Ensure you optimise the preview text

Attention to detail pays off. With Circulator, you are not only in control of your subject line but can also customise and modify your text preview. The text preview provides a brief summary of the email content and gives a more profound idea of what the email is about.

Normally, the first words of your email are displayed in the preview text, but you should always customise the preview text to prompt higher open rates.

Some tips to improve your subject lines:

• Add personalisation
• Use numbers, dates and statistics
• Summarise the email
• Add a call to action
• Highlight important information
• Use emojis when relevant

 

5) Optimise emails for mobile

As mobile phone usage continues to increase, it is essential to make sure your emails display correctly in the mobile format. It happens quite often that emails opened on mobile devices are displayed incorrectly or are difficult to read because the HTML is not mobile optimised. That might lead to lower open and engagement rates, and overall worsen the performance of your email campaigns.

Circulator’s easy to use drag and drop content editor is designed for mobile optimisation but lots of Companies may choose to design their own emails so, here is what to do to improve your emails on mobile devices:

 

1. Go easy on images

Make sure not to use too many or large images in your emails. That could cause longer loading times or incorrect displaying. Consider that people do not always open your emails when connected to wi-fi, and it might take some time to load the content with a slow connection

 

2. Use big CTA buttons

Consider the size of fingers compared to the screen size. If you decide to use small CTA buttons, users could have a problem clicking on the right one and displaying the desired content, and you can lose valuable clicks. Make sure that your buttons are big enough and clickable. It will contribute to a positive user experience.

 

3. Use responsive templates

The advantage of responsive templates is that it automatically fits the screen no matter on which device an email is open, and you do not have to worry about incorrect displaying on mobile devices.

 

4. Use shorter text

Readers using email on mobile devices are often reading on the go and do not have enough time to read long paragraphs. Break your text into shorter paragraphs and be straight to the point so your subscribers engage more with your emails.

 

6) A/B testing

Keep testing. A/B testing is one of the essential things in digital marketing and the same works for email marketing. It is better to rely on data and statistics than just on your thoughts. Launch several email campaigns, see which ones are performing the best and use the data to build a better campaign strategy.

You do not have to limit yourself just to testing different designs and subject lines for email marketing. Here are some examples of what you can text in your campaigns:

• Subject lines
• Preview text
• Days of a week sent
• Time of a day
• Target audiences
• Frequency
• Short vs. long copy
• Design
• Links and buttons
• Landing page

 

7) Create engaging content

The content and design of your email plays an important role in your campaigns and can significantly influence their performance, especially click through rates. Write short paragraphs that are straight to the point, make subscribers keep reading, and encourage them to click through to land on your website. Use images that show your best products and offers. Use CTA buttons that stand out.

 

8) Analyse your email marketing statistics

The only way to ensure your email campaigns are effective is to keep analysing. Nowadays, it is simple to track your subscribers’ activity and engagement with your campaigns and website.

It is essential to understand the data and use them to improve your campaign performance. Once you know the reason for your campaign to perform poorly, address it by making changes.

Most important metrics to analyse:

• Open rate
• Click-through rate
• Conversion rate
• Unsubscribe rate
• Bounce rate

 

9) Email Retargeting

Email retargeting is a useful tool to speak to increase your open or conversion rates. Email retargeting gives you another opportunity to engage with your subscribers and convert them into sales. Retargeting emails tend to increase conversion and open rates.

A good approach is to use marketing automation for retargeting. You can follow up abandoned shopping carts, show pop-ups based on users’ behaviour or engage with active visitors. Just a simple abandoned cart follow-up email can increase your conversions by a lot and generate more sales with minimum effort. You should also use retargeting to boost open rates, by retargeting the non opens in a campaign, Circulator’s customers generally see a 10% increase in open rates.

 

10) A good email service provider

Circulator’s accumulated experience and understanding the needs of companies has enabled us to design customised solutions which addresses the performance goals and any other issues that companies may face. With Circulator, you have an expert in your corner. Our Customer Success and Support Teams give you the information and guidance you need, when you need it.

Learn here how Circulator can help you with your email marketing or contact us directly.