10 TIPS FOR OPTIMIZING YOUR EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing remains a powerful tool for small businesses and nonprofits alike. It helps create and maintain connections, build an engaged audience, and establish trust and credibility. And it’s CHEAP!
But it isn’t foolproof. Creating a high-performing email is more challenging than you'd think. Even with the right tools, you have to consider every aspect of the email, from the subject line to the body content to the images used, to increase conversions.
That’s where email optimization comes in. Email optimization is the process of enhancing emails to increase open rates and conversions, continuously learning from past campaigns and making small improvements to enhance your email marketing results. When you optimize your email campaigns, you are ensuring that your message reaches the right customers and provides them with valuable content that leads them to take action.
Make the most of your email marketing efforts and increase your open rates, conversions, and overall performance with these optimization tips:
Choose a recognizable sender name. Many people will only open emails from people they know, so you should always choose a sender name that your subscribers trust.
Set up email domain authentication. Email hosting services like Gmail and Yahoo want to make sure that emails sent to their users are legitimate so there are security processes and protocols they use to help filter malicious users and spam. Those protocols just got stricter this year. The good news is that most email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact can guide you through this process. THIS VIDEO on how to test if your emails are authenticated is also helpful.
Personalize your emails. People love getting emails addressed to them specifically. In fact, using the recipient’s first name in the subject line can increase open rates by 26%.
Craft an attention-grabbing subject line. Your subject lines are your first impression and the main way you’ll entice subscribers to open the email. It should be catchy but also set expectations for what they can expect to find once they open the email. And don’t be afraid to make it fun by using emojis! People are 56% more likely to open emails with emojis in the subject line.
Make your emails accessible. From adding alt-text to images to using meaningful text links, there are a number of ways you can make your emails accessible to everyone. Mailchimp offers some great tips to improve accessibility in your email marketing HERE.
Proofread. Send yourself a test email before sending it to your list. Bonus points for sending it to a friend to look at first. Take care of any spelling errors, broken links, outdated information, etc. And then send yourself another test just to be sure. Trust us, your audience notices these things more than you think.
Design your email with mobile in mind. Good email design is just as crucial as the copy you use, and it should be responsive. 53% of people read their emails on their mobile devices. Ensure your campaigns are mobile-friendly and will look good across various screen sizes, devices, and apps.
Include a clear call-to-action (CTA). Your CTA will change depending on the goal of your email, but make sure your subscribers know exactly what you’re asking of them. Pro-tip: keeping your CTA near the top of the email where subscribers can easily find it is more effective than one hidden at the bottom.
Make it easy to unsubscribe. All emails must include an easy-to-spot unsubscribe link to ensure you comply with US laws. And while we don’t like seeing people unsubscribe, it can be a good thing. First, if people just stop opening your emails or mark it as spam, it will affect your open rates and your rating with email platforms. Also, if you have a high unsubscribe rate, it could indicate that your current emails aren’t relevant to your audience, giving you the chance to make a change.
Track analytics. Watch the numbers and keep an eye out for things that are working well or opportunities for improvement.
Remember at the beginning of the blog where we called email optimization a “process?” Email marketing campaign optimization isn't something you can do overnight. You have to give yourself time to learn from the successes and failures of each email you send, and then small adjustments as you go.
Over time, you’ll have developed an effective, custom strategy for your business and audience!
