Email remains one of the most important avenues for marketers trying to reach relevant customers on the Internet.
However, the Web is (always) evolving, and the best practices of yesterday don't necessarily hold up as well as we approach 2013. Add to that many of the common misconceptions or misunderstandings about email marketing, and some marketers may find that their campaign operations are largely ineffective.
This is why it's always nice to pay attention to new data coming from experts in the field, such as marketing automation platform provider Eloqua, which recently released "5 Charts That Could Change Your Email Marketing," a recently released analysis which gives email marketers a fresh perspective on what an effective campaign looks like today.
Let's take a look at those charts:
"How Frequently Should I Email My Database?"
Email frequency can have a direct impact on conversions, especially if a marketer is sending too few or too many emails, with the latter being particularly detrimental. In fact, Eloqua warns that "more emails don't mean more click-throughs" and says that while increasing the number of emails you send out will probably mean that they are read more often, but it doesn't really have any effect on click-throughs/conversions, ultimately making the whole effort fruitless. In other words, less is more.
"Weekends are the Best Time to Send Email"
It would seem that because most people have more free time on the weekends to spend using the Internet for personal endeavors, they are more likely to pay attention to and convert on emails sent to them during the weekend, which comes from an analysis of 1.5 billions emails. Eloqua actually found that the highest click-through rates (CTRs) were registered on Saturdays, probably while users were sitting around marathon viewing TV shows on Netflix and checking their emails (note: this is totally author speculation). Interestingly, the study also found that most marketers don't actually take use the weekends to send out emails.
"Personalized Subject Lines Key to Email Open Rates"
A little personal touch can go a long way in resonating with your target audience, and by adding a recipient's name and an additional bit of personal information (such as their location) into an email's subject line, you will see a significant increase in open rates.
"Personal Signatures Increase Email Open Rates by 500%"
Yes, you read that right; it does say 500 percent. Simply personalizing the signatures in your emails can increase open rates five times as much as emails without them, and will also improve CTRs by 350 percent. That's a pretty impressive impact and definitely makes it seem worth it to attach a personalized signature as you sign off your email.
"Email Still Drives More Traffic than Social"
Finally, just to reiterate what we've been hearing for years now, email still leads social media in referral traffic, despite social's dramatic increase of 331 percent from the same quarter year-over-year. Eloqua analysis showed that over several quarters, email consistently drove more traffic than social. So, it looks like marketers are going to have to divide their time between the two channels for the foreseeable future.