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Millennials are killing everything. Print is dead. Email is all spam.
Actually, we don’t believe any of those statements are true no matter how many times they are stated by “industry professionals”. Especially the last one. As a matter of fact, adults ages 18-20 have higher open rates and conversion rates than most age groups under 65+. And in spite of the multitude of communication tools that exist today, 78% of teenagers view email as a part of their daily lives.
So, how is this possible? What is the secret formula to email success? What does an effective email look like and how can I get my subscribers to start opening mine?
Enough questions. Let’s look at some how-tos.
Best Practices
There are a few things you can do right off the bat to turn your email marketing around.
1. You’ve gotta have great subject lines. The subject line is your email’s first impression, and you’re competing with hundreds of others in a person’s inbox. You want it eye-catching and informative so they want to click on it and know what they’re getting into, so this is your chance to be clever and a bit comical. Just keep it concise–less than 50 characters–and avoid all caps and excessive exclamation marks.
2. Your name is everything. Do what you can to make sure your brand’s name is what’s popping up in the “from” section in their email list. And be accessible. If they can’t respond directly to the automated email, give them an email they can reply to somewhere in the body copy.
3. Lock in that preheader text. It’s that light-gray text that appears immediately after the subject line. This is your chance to elaborate a bit on what the email is about.
4. Make your calls-to-action simple. A clear CTA is the key to conversions, so make sure you have at least one clear, primary CTA to make the opportunity to convert simple and accessible.
5. Make it mobile-friendly. At least half of adults 18-34 open emails on their phones with about a 42% conversion rate. So yeah, make it mobile-friendly.
So, now you’re probably thinking, “Yeah that’s all well and good, but what does this actually look like once it’s executed?” Glad you asked. Here are a few examples of common marketing methods to boost your email game.
Abandoned Shopping Carts
Retail brands are losing money over online cart abandonment. Like, $4 trillion total. You probably can’t even count that high. But 63% of those brands are saying they recover that lost revenue by something as simple as automated emails. You know, like this:
“Pick up where you left off”
“Hurry, these items won’t last!”
“Finish checking out now!”
“An item in your cart is very popular”
These fun little emails can gently remind customers about the items they already want. It also helps keep your brand top-of-mind. Double whammy.
Welcome Them
Once someone subscribes to your email list, go ahead and send them a welcome email! Make it cute, fun, comedic, whatever you need to do to show a little brand personality. It’s a great opportunity to feature your work or products, or promote your latest blog post. Really, you’re just offering them an incentive to come on in and start browsing.
If You Nurture Them, They Will Come
Not everything has to be a news blast or promotional email. Sometimes it’s nice to just nurture your audience. For example, you could try educating them. If you’re a home goods brand, send an email about how to maximize space in small rooms and end with a subtle call-to-action reminding customers you sell the items in the article. Just remember to balance promotion with value. Constant sales emails tend to result in pretty quick unsubscriptions. Engage your consumer with information that’s valuable to them.
Well, looks like those “industry professionals” didn’t check their facts because email is most certainly not dead. They’re probably just doing it wrong. But now you can do it right. So, go forth and blast people with your email.