Are emails dead? Only the bad ones.
The debate over email marketing being dead is not a new one. With the mainstream leaning towards this direction, the idea of emails losing their effectiveness has propagated.
The majority of this input, however, will come from non-marketers, business stakeholders who are not actively involved in daily marketing efforts and are not hands-on with the job. Needless to say, email marketing is not dead, particularly in B2B marketing, and it remains one of the most cost-effective channels for re-engaging and retaining consumers. However, in order to keep a customer engaged and committed to a brand, the information must be relevant, and not only that.
To put it simply, the reaction we want a user to have when he opens his inbox and finds one of your emails is: Ah, an email from these guys- I'm excited to hear what they have to say this time!
The user's trust in your material is built on his previous interactions and experiences with you.
It's like when Kinder releases a new snack: you know it'll be excellent even though you haven't tasted it yet.
Maintaining that level of interest is what drives client loyalty, and there are certain pillars you must follow to stay on track.
Simple and concise
Starting with the topic, which is the deciding factor in whether a person opens or discards your email, it must be clear and catchy.
Consider using an online subject analyser (like Subjectline.com) to assess your email's subject score, and aim for a score of at least 80%.
According to the email type, the length can and will vary. Short emails are clearly easier to read and prompt a user's action to a CTA (book a call, learn more, sign up), but if our goal is to inform about a specific subject - such as a newsletter with a monthly financial wrap up - a longer text will be justified as long as the subject is relevant to the audience.
The Graphic
Just as we prefer to be well-presented in front of our audience, so should your email. The perfectly crafted email will be fluid, quick to read, and visually appealing. It must appear professional and consistent in terms of branding, style, and padding. You can opt for different formats: a unique image, a header with a brief body, separate images with different CTAs. It's important each section links to the right web address we intend to redirect the user.
The automation
Once you've created the perfect email template, it's time to consider automation. Sending the best email in the world once a week/month is insufficient: the entire ecosystem must be tailored to your goals and client journey.
Campaign settings, triggers, and attributes must be combined in a workflow, with automated messages sent based on user behaviour-welcome, post-sign up, dormant accounts. (I use customer.io for this purpose, and they're awesome!) The idea is similar to making money while you sleep: your emails should work for you when you're inactive.
Avoid making it spammy
The frequency should be suited to the industry and the product. Sending emails too frequently will annoy people, while sending them infrequently will cause them to forget about you. Find a middle ground that will not be regarded as spam but as something important that they will appreciate receiving.
Remember to always include an unsubscribe link in the footer of each email: the last thing you want is an irritated customer who is unable to opt out.
Audience Segmentation
Setting up the attributes correctly from the start is critical to ensuring proper email segmentation. The material will be customised and designed around the user's demographics such as region, age, industry, and more to make it relevant to your target.
A/B testing
Create two alternatives with various variables for each email and evaluate which one works better to choose which path to take: begin by changing the subject, visual, and copy style. You can also alter only one of these variables for less granularity.
Look at the metrics: if your average opening rate is 8% and your CTR is 1%, and a batch of emails produced a surge in any of these metrics, this is the path you should go with your next emails.
Emails are alive. Use them!