If you take away one thing from this blog, it should be this:
DEATH TO THE “EMAIL BLAST.”
That’s right. It’s time to stop referring to our email campaigns as “blasts.”
When was the last time you appreciated being blasted by something? Loud music? A cannon?
Email campaigns need to be pleasant, informational, and actionable — not disruptive. This is a subtle mental shift, but it can actually do wonders for the way you approach your next email campaign.
And while there are lots of other high-level ways to improve your email campaign strategies, there are just as many actionable, hands-on ways you can make a difference, too.
Here are 4 more ways you can improve your next email campaign:
1: Write Your Subject Line First
Think about it. What’s the first thing you see on any email in your inbox besides the “from” address? The subject line is arguably the most important factor in getting anyone to open your email. You don’t want to finish up an email campaign only to think “Oh, shoot – we need a subject line!”
Your subject line needs to be attention-grabbing as well as informative, letting your subscriber know what they’re getting before they open the email. Try writing out a few options to use as working subject lines to framework for your email. Don’t treat the subject line like a boring chore that you put off until the last minute.
2: Fine-Tune Your “From” Address
Is there anything less reassuring than receiving an email from the dreaded “DONOTREPLY?” Not only is it totally daring you to reply, but it immediately lets you know that your reply is of no concern to the sender. We recommend a softer, more open approach like hello@company.com.
Small tweaks, such as matching your email content to your “From” address, can also help with deliverability. This makes your email campaigns appear more legitimate and trustworthy by Email Service Providers (ESPs) like Google or Yahoo. If your email is supposed to come from John, your Chief Marketing Officer, sending from john@company.com or CMO@company.com is going to be much more deliverable than if you were to use something more generic like news@company.com.
3: Know Your Audience
Email campaign metrics like Open Rates, Click Through Rates and Unsubscribes are great factors to analyze, but it’s just as important to know who you’re sending your email to. What are your key demographics? What devices are your opens coming from? If 80% of your opens come from mobile devices, you should design and populate your emails with mobile devices in mind. If your subscribers are predominantly in a single time zone, you should send your emails at the best time for them.
Tailoring your emails to who is receiving them is an essential step in your email marketing optimization, but it’s often the easiest to overlook.
4: Use Smarter CTAs
The call-to-action (CTA) button in your email is arguably what every other aspect of your email should be working towards. Even impressive Open Rates can’t salvage an email that no one clicked through. So if all of that focus is on your CTA, why are we still using generic text like “Click Here” for those all-important buttons? (And what about the fact that mobile users don’t “click” on anything?)
Try and be a little more specific about what we’re asking our subscribers to do: “Keep Reading,” “Claim Your Offer,” “Take Our Survey.” If you want your subscribers to take a definitive action, you need to give them definitive directions.
These are just a few easy-to-implement fixes to start improving open and click-through rates on your next email campaign. There are so many ways to make your emails work for your message in a powerful way! Let’s explore the options and together we will shout “DEATH TO THE EMAIL BLAST!” Literally, we’ll yell it out loud with you!
