You write pretty well, you understand the do’s and don’ts of an email marketing campaign, you have a great product you know people will love, but still after several tweaks to your approach, your email marketing is a resounding flop. Sound familiar?
Don’t lose heart. There are ways to connect with your email audience, you just haven’t found them yet. Here are 5 tips to help you reach the right audience and convert them into those all-important sales.
1. Connect with the right audience
Send as many emails as you like to the wrong audience and you’ll get nada back (except for perhaps the odd stroppy complaint ranting about why your unsubscribe button isn’t working). The first step towards a successful email marketing campaign is to get your persuasive words in front of the right people.
While buying a mailing list can be fraught with pitfalls, sourcing good marketing data is essential to reach new potential customers. The most important rule is to source data from a reputable provider. You want compliant, accurate, up-to-date data. Ensure the data list you purchase comes in a user-friendly format and can be created using a wide range of selection criteria.
Whatever you do, don’t delegate this task to anyone who doesn’t understand your target audience.
2. Understand your reader’s unwillingness to engage
It’s easy to focus on what you think your potential customers want, but it’s not always easy to understand why your audience might be sceptical of you and your products or services.
Creative writer and marketing blogger, Henneke of Enchanting Marketing, recommends that any business reaching out to potential customers should try and understand their problems, their frustrations and their fears. “When readers feel you understand their reluctance, you have a bigger chance of winning them over.” The first step to reaching your reader is to have an emotional connection. According to Henneke, understanding their scepticism will help you to do that.
3. Personalise
One size definitely doesn’t fit all when it comes to email marketing. According to Hubspot, only 21 per cent of consumers in a study by Litmus reported that they had received a memorable promotional email in the past two months.
Personalisation is one way to create a more engaging email experience. Check out Hubspot’s round up of 13 email examples that totally nailed personalisation.
Evolve your email campaigns based on customer behaviour. You don’t have to send the same email to every customer. Use metrics to differentiate tone for different age groups, groups of professionals and based on any online feedback questionnaires.
You only have a few seconds to engage with your reader. Starting your email in a friendly manner with a personal greeting and a question is a good way to get someone’s attention. You need to get to the crux of how you empathise with and can help the recipient in an instant.
4. Follow-up strategy
It’s all about the timing. Follow-up timing in your email marketing campaign is critical. According to Growbots, the follow-up email is where you are most likely to make your sale. Think about the day and the time you send your second email. Avoid Saturdays. It’s encroaching on the start of the weekend. The middle of the week tends to get the best open rates. Trial different times of the day and record responses to establish the best time of day. Think about the working habits of your audience. Will they be in the office from 9 until 5?
5. Make emails mobile friendly
We live in a smartphone era. To reach your audience, mobile optimisation is essential. Around 55 per cent of email worldwide is now opened on mobile devices. This Essential Guide to Optimising Your Emails for Mobile by the Digital Marketing Institute is key for increasing customer engagement. Emails not optimised for email will end up deleted with zero impact.