E-mail has been one of the most productive communication channels for the business world for a long time. Even though new channels like social media invaded the engagement and lead generation scenes, still brands can’t give up e-mail marketing activities. Several global and local research studies show why marketers keep on investing in our dear old friend. E-mail marketing outpaces other channels in critical KPIs like ROI, customer acquisition, open/click through/engagement rates and customer lifetime value.

While e-mail marketing is an essential tool for engagement, many brands fail to use it properly to generate satisfying results. Serving a countless number of clients for over ten years, we gathered some practical tips for your use. Crafted from real business life experiences, we hope these hints will add productivity to your efforts as well.

1) Segment your audience, improve relevance

The reason is quite simple. You need to send the right content to the relevant part of your subscriber group. Segmentation helps you in running multiple campaigns for your audience as well. Just think of a situation where a brand consistently sends you messages that are irrelevant. You simply opt-out, right? Segmentation is one of the best ways to decrease unsubscribe rates.

2) Use “Subject” as a magnet, not a distractor

No matter how you deliver an amazing offer with a fantastic layout and content if you don’t have a catchy subject, the campaign will most likely go unnoticed. Avoid long and spammy sentences when creating subject lines. Also stay away from using all caps sentences, because you don’t want to shout at your audience. Considering that mobile users will also check your e-mails, 45-50 characters long subject lines will work well for your aims.

3) Avoid long texts, give importance to design

The digital life shortened our attention span, and modern consumers lose their patience so quickly. E-mails with long text parts are not engaging. Just clearly outline the message or benefit you want to share with your audience. For details direct them to your website or other content resources. Use eye-catching visuals with a nice design to grab their attention. Your e-mail designs are also parts of your brand identity. Use them to unify your image.

4) Don’t forget to add CTAs in your e-mails

CTA (Click to Action) is a great way for triggering marketing activities. Via these clickable visuals or links, you can direct your members to your marketing goals. You can lead your audience to visit your website or blog pages, make them participate in your campaigns, sign in your events, download your marketing documents, follow you on social media. CTAs are very useful for increasing engagement. Also, keep in mind that overload of CTAs can be messy for your users. To avoid distraction, keep CTAs up to two per mail.

5) Include your social media links

Social media is another great engagement medium for brands. Including the social media links in e-mails helps driving new followers to your accounts and expands your reach.

6) Check mobile friendliness

As mobile users surpass the rest, it is very critical to test your e-mails before taking action. Check if they are properly displayed in different mobile gears. Don’t risk missing the consumers on the go.

7) Blend e-mail marketing with other channels

To increase the impact of your campaigns, you can use e-mail marketing with other channels like SMS, push notifications, beacon, location-based services. Furthermore, you may consider starting marketing automation to optimize your channel efforts.

Market indications show that e-mail marketing will stay as an essential engagement tool for brands in the coming years. Now it’s time to keep the focus on this productive channel and chase opportunities it will bring. Remembering that it’s not a “Send and Forget” practice anymore, brands need to think of it as a channel of precise planning, execution, and consistency.

If you have questions to ask regarding e-mail marketing, we are here to help you.