5 Key Ingredients to Rock a Great Email Campaign

The modern technological age has brought about a new era in marketing. Social media campaigns are taking the world by storm and millions solely focus their efforts there. Yet, marketing rock stars know to not forget one of the best conversion opportunities in the game – the email. Social media might take the cake for hottest marketing tool, but still pales in comparison to the mighty email! According to Campaign Monitor, email campaigns bring 174% more conversions and 40x the customer acquisitions than social media. Moreover, at a return on investment (ROI) of $44 for every $1 spent, emails boast great bang for buck.

So, it’s no secret that email campaigns are a great tool for the success of any business. Yet, why do so many nevertheless struggle to get conversions with email marketing? With data this strong, many businesses are surprised when their campaign doesn’t take off. In this blog, learn the 5 key ingredients to rock a great email campaign that yields high conversion rates!

1. Personalize the Subject Line

The subject line is a huge determining factor to whether or not your email even gets opened. If it seems like spam or irrelevant, it will likely go unread. To combat this, a personalized subject line sets you apart from being just noise. Data from Experian shows that emails with personalized subjects perform a lot better than those without. Emails with customized subject lines have a 29% higher open rate and an increased click through rate (CTR) of 41%.

2. Know Your Buyer Persona

The age-old question of business – who is your target audience? In other words, the specific people who would most likely want your product or service, and as a result, respond positively to your email. The number one rule of any great email campaign is to know your audience. You wouldn’t send a twenty-year-old male an email about a Mother’s Day spa sale, because you wouldn’t get any purchases. An email sent to the right customer demographic will increase your chances at high conversion rates.

The better you know your buyer persona, the better equipped you will be to engage them. This includes demographic information, interests, likes and dislikes, and behavioral patterns. Marketing experts aim to understand their audience and what they respond best to. This enables them to send highly-effective messages tailored precisely to those likely to convert.

3. Change It Up a Little Bit

Are potential customers failing to open your first email? Analyzing and periodically updating your email campaign is crucial to its success. If you’re getting poor results, various factors can be influencing engagement. However, there’s no need to scrap an entire email just because of a few poor results. This process is about experimenting with the different aspects of your email until you find what works. For example, you can:

• Optimize your preheader text. This is the content your audience can read before opening your email. Does your preheader text sound robotic? Does it entice your audience with an offer? Is the content relevant and engaging? Ask yourself what can be done to captivate their attention.

• Change up your subject line. Keep your text short, try to include a name or a more personalized touch, and get prospects excited about what’s inside.

• Pay attention to your send time. The day and time you send marketing emails will greatly affect open rate and CTRs. Keep your audience and product in mind, and don’t be afraid to experiment until you find the time that works best.

• Don’t resend it straight away. The same email sent too soon could mean a one-way ticket to the spam folder. Ideally, you should wait for 3-5 days before you resend the same email to non-openers.

4. Short and Sweet is the Perfect Treat!

Nobody likes opening an email to find a wall of text. Especially when a majority of email opens are done with smartphones on-the-go. Studies by emailmonday have found that 61.9% of all email opens are done from mobile phones. Additionally, 3 out of 5 consumers check their email while on the move. So, if you don’t captivate the buyer’s attention from the get-go, you likely lost at the starting line.

Keep your email short and straight to the point to help your customer consume and digest the content easier. Don’t be afraid to add in an extra pun or catchy zinger, but make sure it’s on point to the theme of your email. To take this one step further, trying adding a photo or gif. Adding visuals can convey a lot without much text, so they’re always a plus.

5. Clear Call-To-Actions

Never underestimate the power of a strong call to action (CTA). At this point, you have the knowledge to skyrocket your open rates. However, this won’t matter if prospects aren’t clicking through to the next step. This is where the CTA comes into play!

A great CTA is composed of two things – a visual element and appealing content. A CTA should stand out in your email. Whether it be a button, highlighted text, or even a gif, just be sure your CTA is easily noticeable. Now that all eyes are where you want them, use a clear and enticing phrase to solidify the click. A CTA should use concise, action-oriented language, with bonus points for creating a sense of urgency. A killer CTA will grab your customers attention and ultimately increase your conversion rate. Here are some great and effective example CTAs:

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How to Be a Fearless Blogger

By Lindsay Kwaselow

Confidence. It’s time to channel your inner honey badger. If those little weasels can brush off a venomous snakebite after a quick nap, you can write a blog. Don’t overthink the insignificant details. Be courageous with every single stroke of the keyboard. You have a story to tell and every line of your story must demand attention.

According to the article, 8 Tips for Fearless Communication in the Workplace, by authors Victoria Simon, PhD, and Holly Pendersen, PhD, “Courage is the foundation of successful communication – and successful communication is the foundation of great achievement.” Therefore if you can’t muster up every fluid ounce of confidence you possess, you will probably never accomplish anything of real value. Bleed confidence into each blog. That may sound a little messy, but it’s how to persuade and represent yourself and your business online.

Don’t Use Weak Language. The power that resides in a single word or phrase is unbelievably underestimated. Replacing only one word in a sentence can actually change the effect your story will have on your audience. Avoid using fragile or unsure language like “I just,” “I feel,” and “I think.” Women inparticular don’t realize how often they use weak dialect in their writing and also in their speaking. Jerry Weissman, author at the Harvard Business Review recommends replacing those wishy-washy terms with more absolute language like, “I’m confident,” “I know,” and “I expect.”

Weissman also advises, “The words “I think” introduce doubt, even if only subliminally, in the minds of your audience. As a presenter attempting to persuade an audience, your job is to provide them with as much certainty as you can.”

Fluff is for Pillows and Cotton Candy, Not Blogs. The average blog post is roughly 500-1000 words. There are arguments for both sides in terms of what exactly is the optimal length. Blogging experts are very much divided on this subject. Some say short is always better because no one reads anymore. Others recommend longer because it’s better for SEO purposes. The best answer is, it depends. It depends on the subject, the industry, and how often you’re posting (among other factors).

Famous entrepreneur, blogger, and author, James Altucher says, “If you are going to have a post greater than 200 words you need to get people’s eyes to dance down the page. There are three ways to do that: photos, bold text, and lists (or all three).”

Better to be Short and Sweet than...BORING. Content is a fundamental, unparalleled aspect of your marketing. We always hear, “The more content, the better!” However, keep in mind, if your boss calls for more and more content they are most-likely referring to more individual pieces of content - more blogs, more social posts, more e-books, more webinars. Longer does have the potential to be better. That is, if you have imperative and inspiring things to say. But if you find yourself looking for more words just to fill up space, that’s a problem.

People today have the attention span of a gnat. Seriously. You have about a half of a sentence to grab someone’s attention – so start off blogs strong. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to shock your reader with something unexpected, as long as it’s not offensive.

The Title is so Much More than “Just” a Title. This brings me to another very serious blogging element, the title. Sorry, but your blog title holds way more importance than your actual blog. Your title will ultimately determine whether or not you will win that teeny tiny but also monumental “click,” which is your one and only goal. Check out the book Tested Advertising Methods (although it was written in 1998, the same rules apply today). Strong titles include “How To’s,” “Numbered Lists”, and use words like “Introducing,” “Announcing,” “New,” and “Now” to create a sense of urgency. It can also be smart to incorporate a controversial term or ask a question in your title.

James Altucher sums up his success as a blogger and author by stating, “I bled, I delivered value, and I gave evidence nobody had ever thought of before.”