The deeper one gets into email marketing, the more one realizes that it’s an ever-evolving art. It’s a rolling, ongoing experiment where last week’s best results are used to inform this week’s decisions. Although many of these best practices come from trial and error, there are some tips that brand marketers can apply to their email marketing strategy immediately. We spoke with Shannon Callarman, Marketing Coordinator for Cubicle Ninjas, to get her top six tips to achieve email marketing success.
Embrace mobile!
“Make sure the emails are mobile friendly,” Callarman says. She adds that a whopping 80% of people say they’ll delete an email if they can’t pull it up on their mobile phone. With smartphones permeating our everyday lives, mobile accessibility and mobile friendliness cannot be overlooked.
Craft great subject lines AND first lines.
You put the effort into creating a great subject line that will inspire clicks. Callarman says to put that same effort into the first line of your body copy. “The first line in your email should be as relevant as the subject line. The subject line is a promise to your readers, don’t let them down.”
Keep left.
Placement is everything in an email blast. Take a fresh look at your email template and see where your most important information and copy is placed. Callarman recommends placing the most important content on the left.
Choose your subject line copy carefully.
If you’ve already begun testing subject lines, use your successful opens to inform the words you use in your future subject lines. Callarman notes that B2B companies tend to have the best open rates for emails with subject lines containing “money,” “revenue ” and “profit.” If you’re a B2B or B2C brand starting from scratch, you can find a place to start with these recommendations.
Keep it short and sweet.
Studies have shown, Callarman notes, “Subject lines fewer than 10 characters long had an open rate of 58%.” Although it might not be realistic for your brand to create a relevant subject line with fewer than 10 characters, making it as short as possible will help to make it more effective.
Make it personal.
We know that personal letter-style email formats help make a connection with the reader and result in greater engagement. Callarman suggests bringing that personal touch to the subject line, too, citing, “Personalized subject lines are 22.2% more likely to be opened.”
Need to head back to email marketing 101? Catch up on your studies (and some notable best practices) here.
