Email marketing has become more than a digital version of your latest offers. As online and digital marketing has progressed – incredibly rapidly in some areas – email marketing can seem a little behind the times.
However, despite an increase in other marketing tools, such as social media, email marketing is still one of the best ways to reach your customers.
It remains relatively affordable, too. With an ROI that can reach up to 42:1, investing in your email content can be a valuable asset in growing your business.
But engaging your audience with emails is no easy feat. With more than four in 10 respondents unsubscribing from brand emails, it’s vital to create an engaging email campaign to keep your customers’ attention.
Here's how to create promotional campaigns that your customers will actually engage with and improve your emails' chances of reaching the ultimate goal – being opened, read and clicked on.
This article was originally published in December 2019 and was last updated in August 2022.
This problem can be solved by increasing the relevance of your emails. Think about why the people on your database signed up in the first place. What drew them to want more information from your company? How can you share that info in attention-grabbing ways that have value for your customers?
As found by UKBF member @Mr D, “most sites offer zero incentives and zero reason a customer would come back again and again”. So, what can you share that your customers will actually care about?
One method is by offering your customers an exclusive promotion or discount. Studies show that people are highly likely to open an email with a promotional offer from a familiar brand, so this can be a vital way to keep your customers engaged.
However, you should avoid falling into the trap of doing this too frequently – as many people unsubscribe due to receiving emails too often. As user @fisicx reiterates, “I will sign up for deals and discounts. If they then start sending me marketing junk I unsubscribe.”
Value isn’t limited to an offer or discount, though. Great content has value if it entertains, informs or delights. Some ideas for email content can include:
Gmail's “social” and “promotional” filters means your content is more and more likely to get sidelined by their clients. So why are they hiding your emails away?
Besides technical issues (which your email team should be on top of) there are many reasons your emails might be going to spam:
Include an introduction or details about your company further down in the email to remind people about the brand.
Offering something simple like free shipping for the whole of the next month won't set you back by much, but it'll get your recipients engaged again.
Also, don't forget to ask people to unsubscribe if they don't want to receive your emails anymore. This helps to reduce the spam filter blues, and sorts out who really wants to keep receiving your offers.
Examples of ”misleading” subject lines include:
As UKBF member @EmailOut puts it, “segmentation helps you target the right people at the right time with the right message”.
Not only will you have happier customers, but you’ll also reap the rewards too: segmented email lists have been found to increase open rates, generate more sales, retain more customers and improve word-of-mouth recommendations, amongst other benefits.
There are several ways you can segment your audience, for instance:
However, despite an increase in other marketing tools, such as social media, email marketing is still one of the best ways to reach your customers.
It remains relatively affordable, too. With an ROI that can reach up to 42:1, investing in your email content can be a valuable asset in growing your business.
But engaging your audience with emails is no easy feat. With more than four in 10 respondents unsubscribing from brand emails, it’s vital to create an engaging email campaign to keep your customers’ attention.
Here's how to create promotional campaigns that your customers will actually engage with and improve your emails' chances of reaching the ultimate goal – being opened, read and clicked on.
This article was originally published in December 2019 and was last updated in August 2022.
1. Fix low engagement rates with gripping content and a relevant offer
“Low engagement” simply means that your email recipients aren't opening or interacting with your emails. With some people receiving hundreds of emails every day, it’s important to make sure your content cuts through the noise.This problem can be solved by increasing the relevance of your emails. Think about why the people on your database signed up in the first place. What drew them to want more information from your company? How can you share that info in attention-grabbing ways that have value for your customers?
As found by UKBF member @Mr D, “most sites offer zero incentives and zero reason a customer would come back again and again”. So, what can you share that your customers will actually care about?
One method is by offering your customers an exclusive promotion or discount. Studies show that people are highly likely to open an email with a promotional offer from a familiar brand, so this can be a vital way to keep your customers engaged.
However, you should avoid falling into the trap of doing this too frequently – as many people unsubscribe due to receiving emails too often. As user @fisicx reiterates, “I will sign up for deals and discounts. If they then start sending me marketing junk I unsubscribe.”
Value isn’t limited to an offer or discount, though. Great content has value if it entertains, informs or delights. Some ideas for email content can include:
- The charities you've supported and money you've raised for good causes
- Your teams' goals for the year - both work and personal
- A “sneak peek” at the coming years' products or rebrands
- Educational content that interests customers
2. Make sure your emails aren’t going into spam
If your read rate has tanked in recent months or you've had a severe drop-off in the number of click throughs, it could be that you're hitting harder, more rigorous spam filters.Gmail's “social” and “promotional” filters means your content is more and more likely to get sidelined by their clients. So why are they hiding your emails away?
Besides technical issues (which your email team should be on top of) there are many reasons your emails might be going to spam:
- Customers have marked your emails as “spam”
- Misleading subject lines
- Your subject line or email body contains “spam” triggers
- Including attachments
- You haven’t set up email authentication
- Your domain is marked as “unsafe”
- Your “from” information is incorrect
Sort “spam” tickers by running a brand endorsement mailshot
It sounds really counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to stop people from hitting the “spam” button when they receive your emails is to shout about who you are. This is because most of the time, people assume you're spamming them because they don't remember signing up to your email newsletters.Include an introduction or details about your company further down in the email to remind people about the brand.
Offering something simple like free shipping for the whole of the next month won't set you back by much, but it'll get your recipients engaged again.
Also, don't forget to ask people to unsubscribe if they don't want to receive your emails anymore. This helps to reduce the spam filter blues, and sorts out who really wants to keep receiving your offers.
3. Learn how to write attention-grabbing subject lines
For too long, shady email marketers have been tricking customers into opening their emails by using misleading subject lines. Email clients have gotten really wise to this and it only takes a couple of annoyed individuals clicking “spam” for your open rates to take a hit.Examples of ”misleading” subject lines include:
- Did I leave my jacket at your place?
- RE: CURRENTLY IN OFFICE
- Urgent - Update your information
- Add personalisation - people are more likely to open if they see their name
- Keep it short - try a maximum of 60 characters
- Limit the use of punctuation and include emojis where appropriate
4. Segment your email list for personalised content
Another way to get content to your customers that they will actually appreciate is to personalise campaigns. A simple yet effective way to do this is by segmenting your audience.As UKBF member @EmailOut puts it, “segmentation helps you target the right people at the right time with the right message”.
Not only will you have happier customers, but you’ll also reap the rewards too: segmented email lists have been found to increase open rates, generate more sales, retain more customers and improve word-of-mouth recommendations, amongst other benefits.
There are several ways you can segment your audience, for instance:
- Geographic - for instance, if you have an event in a particular location, you only want to alert the local customers this is relevant to.
- B2B and specialisation - Having different messaging to different companies, job titles etc.
- Content specific - This requires more data, but you can send emails based on what content the user has interacted with. For example, did they look at a product on your site? Have they read a particular blog post?
- Behaviour specific - Using data you can also look at individual users' specific behaviours. Have they visited your site recently? Do they bulk buy or purchase routinely?
