Email marketing is just as vital today as it was 10 years ago. There’s a common misconception that Email Marketing is dying and that study is largely skewed by the fact that our attention has shifted away from Emails and onto other platforms. You may not be aware, but you don’t have to even open the emails for it to be successful. The fact that you’re aware of the company sending it is more than enough. Email marketing has changed throughout the years and those using out-dated methods are bound to fail miserably with their email campaign. I work for a digital marketing firm that creates powerful and engaging email campaigns (I’m responsible for the design and flow of content) and below are 7 of the most effective Email Marketing strategies we’ve ever done.
1. DON’T use the recipient’s name
Sounds odd right? You’d think that by addressing them by their first name shows that your email is personal and hand-written. The opposite is true nowadays because we’re so accustom to seeing it. The Temple Fox School of Business have studied and suggested that by addressing the recipient’s name too soon, we’re forcing familiarity too soon on the user.
2. Understanding Length of Subject Line
The Subject line is a strange area. There is an area call the “dead zone” and that’s a subject line between 60-70 characters in length. Subject lines in the Dead Zones perform most poorly when stacked against other subject lines. Subject lines LESS than 49 characters exhibit significantly higher Open-rates (when someone opens the email). Meanwhile subject lines LONGER than 70 characters have the highest Clickthrough rates (when someone actually go through the email and click on links inside). So next time you craft a Subject line, think to yourself. “Do I want high open-rates? Or do I want high click-through rates?”
3. The absolute BEST Time to Send an Email
8PM – Midnight. I won’t beat around the bush. There you have it, the absolute best time to send emails. Experian Marketing Services did a research and found that emails sent between 8PM and Midnight had 22% higher open rates and significantly higher click-through rates compared to other times throughout the day.
4. Give something of “Value” away for FREE
A general rule of thumb for email and online marketing is…if you’re going to give something away, make sure it has a perceived high value of your prospect and is something they can actually use. Avoid giving away junk or incomplete Ebooks. Nobody likes being tricked into signing up for something.
5. 47% Emails Opened on Mobile
Make sure your emails look fantastic on Mobile devices. 47% of emails are opened on Mobile devices. So if you’re marketing through email, chances are you could be missing out on opportunities simply because your emails don’t look professional on Mobile.
6. Better Strategy than Facebook + Twitter
Social Media may be the new platform that has our attention, but it’s not the one generating new businesses. According to Social Twist, Email Marketing reigns supreme compared to Facebook and Twitter marketing. An 18 month study that monitored 119 referral campaigns from top brands and companies showed that out of 300,000 referrals, 50.8% came from Email marketing, 26.8 percent from Twitter and 22 percent from Facebook. Email marketing by far dominated social networking as a tool for generating new business and sales.
7. Weekend Emails > Weekdays
Emails sent over the weekends tend to have a slight edge over emails sent on weekdays. The results are visible, however not dramatic enough to focus your marketing campaign to ONLY send on weekends. But if you have a special promotion that you want to have the widest reach, consider combining the 8-midnight rule with the weekend rule for maximum effect.