5 Tips & Tricks for Successful Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most effective, steady ways to connect with your customers and audience. With a thoughtfully-executed email strategy that is tactical, data-driven, and creative, you’ll have a recipe for success. Here are our top five tips for successful email marketing.

1. ADD VALUE WITH A POIGNANT WELCOME EMAIL

It is no secret that first impressions are important. When signing up for email updates, a person is still new to the brand, so this is the time to show them what you’re all about. Welcome emails are opportunities to define who you are and to kickstart the beginning of what could be a loyal, long-term relationship. It is important that this email covers a lot of ground in a succinct manner, so as not to overwhelm your new customer.

Word your emails in ways that entice readers while keeping it personal. Offer discounts, recommend some favorite products, and direct to your socials. Research has shown that 72% of customers say they prefer email as their main means of communication with a company, so take advantage of this.

When a customer lands on your page and decides to sign up for emails, capitalize on their initial excitement and establish your connection. There is a lot of important information that can be gained from this initial message. This sets the tone for whether or not they will open emails in the future, informs them about the community and what to expect, as well as encourages them to follow your business on social channels. Rule of thumb: it’s hard to go wrong with a discount, since you are 8X more likely to gain a sale when a discount is included in your email.

2. CONNECT ON HOLIDAYS AND PRIME ECOMMERCE DAYS

The holiday season is huge for businesses of all sizes. People are in the consumer mindset, and with the right email promotion tactics you can position your brand at an edge over competitors. However, this second part can be hard, since most brands are taking advantage of these high-traffic times. At Diamond Hook, we’ve seen open rates on email marketing for clients more than double to 60% during our Pre-Black Friday email campaign.

This is the time to make sure that your emails are especially unique, engaging, and concise. This is not the time for lengthy paragraphs and monotonous language. Have discounts appearing in subject lines, create designs that relate to both the brand and the holiday, and have an enticing call to action to ensure that you will secure the lead. This is the time of year to think outside the box and to explore new ways to make your emails extra exciting experiences that end in sales.

3. A/B TEST YOUR SUBJECT LINES

Subject line copy can be the difference between an open or unopened email. You may think that your message is engaging, but you will not know for sure until it is tested. Since the subject line is the first thing that the user will see when they receive your email, it holds major weight. A/B testing subject lines allows you to unlock valuable insights and data about what is and isn’t working for your customers.

If you are split between including a discount in the subject line or omitting it, this is a great time to A/B test. The same goes for if you cannot decide between using a question or a humorous statement. Studies show that companies who are A/B testing all of their subject lines increase their ROI by nearly 40%. Even if you send out an email without A/B testing and it does well, you do not know if it was your best choice or why it did well until you’ve compared it. Testing structure, pictures, and other content in the email can provide helpful insights as well. You can always try shortening or lengthening the body, and try different CTAs. Just make sure that you are only testing one component at a time so that you know the reason for the statistical change.

4. CREATE VISUALLY APPEALING EMAILS

We know that you have spent long hours perfecting your brand colors and picking out pictures. Good news, you have another place to use them. Stylish, on-brand, and eye-catching emails say more to the reader while using fewer words. With how many emails most of us receive a day, we are only going to notice those that stand out.

Use fonts, brand colors, and pictures related to the subject or purpose of the email. You want to create an easy-to-follow, branded experience for your target reader so they can clearly understand what they are getting from the email within a few seconds. Ensure that the pictures you are using are sized correctly, the fonts complement each other, and discounts are appropriately displayed. Although our brains may not be outwardly picky in noticing all of these details, the cohesiveness and aesthetic of a well-designed email is more likely to register positively in the reader’s mind. Take a look at our case study on Strideline, featuring successful, conversion-focused email marketing. 

5. KEEP THE COPY SHORT AND SWEET

There are many reasons to keep emails brief: customers reading on their phones, inordinate amounts of emails being received per day, clarity and conciseness, and so much more. The key is to combine all of the important points that we touched on in a brief, informative, creative email. We no longer have time to sit down and read lengthy emails, especially when they do not have to do with work.

Write copy in a way that, when combined with the design of the email, can be skimmed and comprehended to derive the most value. Over 80% of people are checking their email on their phones, which makes it even more essential to keep words to a minimum. Hook the reader in with a great header, add bursts of helpful, quippy information, and lock it in with a call to action at the end. Two-thirds of people enjoy images in their emails, so the combination of short copy and a well-designed email is sure to be solid.
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If you are not already actively using email marketing to grow your business, it is never too late to start. Secure your audience, prompt them to take action, and give them some awesome tips and discounts through solid and engaging emails. While it is very important to have an audience on multiple social platforms, email allows for the community to be uniquely yours. Need help with email marketing? Drop us a line or follow us on our Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for more Diamond Hook tips and tricks.