Email Marketing – An Unsung Hero
Email marketing quietly prospers, reliably delivering exceptional return on investment (ROI). With an average return of $36 for every $1 spent, email marketing is more than just surviving; it’s thriving. Recent studies show that 37% of brands are increasing their email marketing budgets to capitalize on impressive returns. As newer marketing channels emerge, email remains a cornerstone, consistently delivering outstanding results for businesses of all sizes. The channel’s adaptability, worldwide usage, and unparalleled value brought to modern marketing strategies are what keep it alive.
Email platforms have learned to change and grow alongside the internet and consumer behavior instead of remaining static and going the way of the printed newspaper. Adopting modern strategies is essential to staying ahead and connecting with your audience effectively. As consumer behavior changes over time, so must your marketing strategies evolve to remain relevant and competitive. Let’s dive into how you can maximize your efforts today!
Segmentation
Segmentation involves categorizing your email list based on factors like demographics or purchase history and is a key piece of effective email marketing. According to a recent study by MailChimp, segmented email campaigns achieve a 14.31% higher open rate than non-segmented campaigns. The power of segmentation is in delivering more relevant content and driving superior engagement, ultimately leading to better conversion rates and returns. Segmentation allows you to speak directly to your audience’s unique needs and preferences, whether you are tailoring messages to distinct age groups, targeting subscribers based on their browsing behavior, or crafting personalized recommendations for past customers. Minimize unsubscribe activity by sending only relevant content to elevate your campaign’s effectiveness. Experiment with different criteria, and refine your approach over time to harness its full potential and build stronger connections with your audience. If you are already segmenting your email list, remember to go back and review/revise these lists occasionally to keep your information current.
Serve Hyper-Relevant Content
Having invested effort into categorizing your lists based on distinct criteria, it’s essential to now deliver tailored content to each of these target groups. We are in an era where abundant information and competition, so messages that appear generic or irrelevant risk being overlooked or dismissed. Demonstrating a profound understanding of your audience’s pain points and interests is paramount. Crafting content that directly addresses their concerns and aspirations shows your commitment to providing value. The more precise and pertinent your content, even down to the headline, the greater the likelihood that your subscribers will not only open your emails but also take meaningful action.
Responsive Design
Responsive design ensures that your email looks great and functions perfectly on any device without having to create multiple versions of the same email. The process involves using code that can adjust the width, height, font size, images, and other elements of your email based on specific media queries. CSS media queries are directives that dictate how the browser should display your email, depending on the user’s device characteristics. A great way to create and test the responsiveness of your emails is to use online tools or email service providers that offer templates or mock versions. Gmail, Apple, and Outlook are just three of the many email platforms available – each with different requirements and loading capabilities. Beyond email servers, there will always be new variations in the devices used to access email. Between laptops, desktops, and mobile devices, people have more ways to check messages than ever before. Today, mobile devices are the top choice for reading email, accounting for 61.9% of all email opens. Laptop and desktop access comprise the remaining 38.1% of opened messages. Your messages must be easily loadable and aesthetically pleasing for your audience – everywhere they are.
A/B Testing
While A/B testing is no new technique, it goes hand-in-hand with segmentation and serving hyper-relevant content. This form of testing allows strategic experimentation with subject lines, content formats, calls to action, and more to pinpoint what resonates with your target audience. To best take advantage of this systematic refining of your email campaign, ensure that your test groups are large enough to obtain statistically significant results. It is also crucial to maintain consistency in the timing of your experiments to account for potential variations in recipient behavior. Real-world examples underscore the effectiveness of A/B testing: Airbnb, for instance, employed this tactic to optimize its email messaging, resulting in a 10% increase in conversion rates. Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign extensively used A/B testing to fine-tune its email fundraising efforts, leading to millions of dollars in additional donations.
AI and Automation Integration
Integrating AI and automation into your email marketing campaigns opens up countless possibilities and saves you valuable time. AI-driven solutions enable you to curate hyper-personalized content and subject lines with unparalleled precision, resulting in higher engagement and conversion rates. Moreover, automation streamlines your workflow, saving valuable time by automating repetitive tasks like list segmentation, A/B variations, and follow-ups. Automation ensures that your emails reach the right audience at the right moment, enhancing their effectiveness. With AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data in seconds, you gain valuable insights into subscriber behavior, allowing you to refine your strategies continuously. This combination of AI and automation boosts efficacy and empowers you to deliver a tailored, relevant, and timely email experience to your subscribers, ultimately driving better campaign results. Some great tools available include Anyword AI, Flowrite, Omnisend, and MailChimp.
Track the Right Metrics
Knowledge is power. While open rates and click-through rates (CTR) are the most common key performance indicators (KPI) analyzed throughout an email campaign, there are additional measures that can provide a competitive edge for your brand by allowing you to optimize your campaign and maximize your investments.
We recommend also tracking the following:
Delivery Rate
This is the percentage of emails successfully delivered.
((Number of sends) – (Number of bounces)) / (Number of sends)
Bounce Rate & Type
The bounce rate is the percentage of messages rejected by the email client (e.g., Google, Apple), (Bounces) / (Sends).
Types of bounces include:
- Hard Bounces – Permanent delivery failure for reasons like an invalid email address, blocked/spam complaint, or a non-existent domain. These addresses should be removed from your list.
- Soft Bounces – Temporary delivery failure often caused by issues like a full inbox or a temporarily unavailable email server. It can be retried later.
- General Bounces – Any message delivery failure for an unknown reason. You may be able to resend the message, but some research will be required first.
IP Health & Reputation
IP health is the condition & the perception of the sender’s IP address, affecting email deliverability. IP health encompasses factors like sender reputation, email engagement, and spam complaints. These factors influence whether emails land in inboxes or junk folders.
Hard bounces and sudden spikes in sending volume can negatively affect your IP health – so be sure to address these issues quickly.
Clicks Per Link/URL
Sometimes tracked by aliases or Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters, it is crucial to monitor unique clicks on individual links within your messages. A high CTR is great – but it is most important to know which link(s) they are clicking within your message and, subsequently, where they end up. Knowing which calls to action are sparking your subscribers’ interest can allow you to better curate your content and segmentation. Tracking clicks per URL also allows for optimized budget allocation, subscriber engagement analysis, and conversion tracking.
Event Lag
The average time passed between the open and send time is known as the event lag. This timeframe tells you whether subscribers are eager to read your content or if they let it grow stale before opening. Event lag can also indicate if you are sending your content at the ideal time per segment.
Conversion Rate
An email’s conversion rate reveals the proportion of subscribers who successfully fulfilled the email’s goal, allowing effective ROI measurement. Tracking unique clicks by URL will help in identifying which calls to action (CTAs) created the most conversions, whether that be booking a demo, submitting feedback, making a purchase, or anything in between. After all, conversion is the main purpose of the entire email campaign, so be sure to keep a close eye on your performance and make regular changes as needed.
4 billion individuals interact with their inboxes worldwide, and an astonishing 347.3 billion emails are exchanged each day. To make your mark, the imperative is clear: you must rise above the risk of being lost in the shuffle. The strategies presented aren’t just recommended practices; they are the essential tools that can elevate your email marketing efforts within the fiercely competitive landscape. Consider this: with each email sent, you have the potential to leave an enduring impact, grow your community, and drive substantive engagement.
Looking to increase engagement with your community through email marketing? Strategis is a full-service agency developing strategies for community banks and credit unions proven to increase the (ROI) through various methods. Book a 30-minute introduction call with us, or contact us directly!
