5 Tips to Improve Email Engagement Rates
Email has been at the forefront of B2C communication for years.
This all-important channel has managed to weather the constant influx of new technology and thrive.
However, as the number of emails is expected to increase over the next three years, marketers are left with no choice but to figure out how to make their emails stand out from the competitions.
Below are five tips to help marketers improve their email engagement rates.
Engaging subject lines
Emails have a tiny amount of real estate to make enough of an impression on consumers to persuade them to open them up.
Creating a unique subject line that compels consumers to click on is the goal of every email marketer. Unfortunately, there is no recipe or handbook available that divulges the secrets to a successful subject line. However, there are things marketers can do to improve the chances of consumers opening their emails.
The first is to be short and sweet. Nobody wants to be made to open an email just to see what the rest of the subject line says. If it cannot all fit in the preview then it needs to be shortened. The second is to display discounts, coupons and sales in the small space. There are few things that cause consumers to act, whether that action is going to a brick-and-mortar store or a website, like discounts and coupons so why not take advantage of consumers love for a sale.
Improve targeting and segmentation
Blasting out the same mass emails to everyone on your email list is a no-no in today's world. As technology has changed and improved so-to has the technology that enables marketers to send emails to consumers.
From gender and age to job type and location, there are numerous ways for marketers to segment their email lists and in return receive higher engagement rates. By separating consumers into similar groups marketers are still able to send out mass emails but they are able to hedge their bets that the email will better resonate with consumers within the certain subset.
Take it a Step Further with Personalization
By taking targeting and segmentation one step farther and personalizing emails marketers can see an even greater increase in consumer engagement.
According to Experian Marketing Services' Email Marketing Study, the company found that emails which contained personalized promotional messages received a 29 percent higher unique open rate and 41 percent higher unique click rate than non-personalized messages.
There are various personalization tactics that marketers can leverage like including the consumers name in the beginning of the email or even the subject line. Another way to make emails more personal is to analyze which products the consumer has recently abandoned in their shopping cart and send them an email about deals or discounts on said product (you already know they are interested in product so take advantage of that).
Be Mobile Ready
Mobile has quickly become one of the most important channels for businesses to communicate with their consumers.
According to NJI Media, one of the seven sins of email marketing is poor design and considering 65 percent of all emails being opened on mobile devices in Q4 2013, marketers can no longer dismiss the channel.
Furthermore, with more than half of all emails being opened on mobile devices, it is vital that marketers test how their messages display on mobile devices of all sizes. There are many services available to help email marketers with this arduous task including MailChimp and Constant Contact.
Track Email Statistics
In order for marketers to improve their email campaigns they need insightful and actionable data on how their current campaigns are performing.
Through tracking data points like opens, unique clicks, repeated clicks and forwards email marketers can obtain a comprehensive view of their campaigns. While some email marketing services, like MailChimp, provide analytics there are other firms, like eTrigue, that provide dedicated solutions with deeper analytics to marketers.
Moreover, by adding intelligent links to their emails from eTrigue's VisitIQ software, marketers will be able to obtain information on who visitors are, what pages the individual viewed and real-time lead alerts. This software will help marketers to understand not only what campaigns are successful but what type of person the campaign is reaching.
