One of the most effective and affordable marketing tools today is email marketing.
In today’s marketing world, there is a constant stream of new email tips to help drive engagement and revenue. It’s easy to get caught up in these new tools, but without keeping the fundamentals at the forefront of your mind, your engagement could begin to slip. Here are Zephyr’s top tips for delivering solid email marketing campaigns and results.
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Keep the Subject Line Clear and Relevant
Great subject lines can drive open rates, but when they aren’t relevant to the content within the email, you will lose an engagement opportunity and possibly get marked as spam. For example, if your content includes a discount or coupon, you should avoid having a subject line that doesn’t include the specific offer, like “Save Big During Our Sale!” Instead, don’t bury the lead – use something like “Save 40% Now!” along with the specific details of the offer. Also, avoid long subject lines that don’t get to the point until the end of the title vs. right up front.
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Utilize the Subheader
The subheader serves as an additional opportunity to say a bit more about the content inside, or to communicate a secondary message. Think of the subject line and subheader as working in tandem, much like a newspaper headline. Example: “Free Furnace Inspection” could be a subject line, while the subheader might be, “Keep Your Family Warm this Winter.”
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Concise Copy
The goal of an email campaign is to give the user information on your business, but use caution when it comes to the amount of info you include. Overloading your message with copy is unnecessary, especially when the average read time for an email is 11 seconds. You want to quickly communicate the main message. The goal is to intrigue the reader enough to open the email and engage with the content by clicking on call to action links. Include more details on a landing page or use a call to action link or button to link straight to a shopping page, etc. Driving traffic to the business website is a top priority – the longer you can keep them engaged within your site (what we call the “hub” of the business), the better.
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Utilize High-Quality Images
It can be pretty frustrating to receive an email with small, blurry, or pixelated images. Use appropriately-sized images that support the email copy. If you aren’t sure what kind of picture could work with what you are presenting in the copy, then use faces of engaged workers and happy customers — eye-tracking studies show people are drawn to facial features in images.
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Stay Connected
With every email campaign your create, always be sure to include social media links and a link to your website. The more opportunities you have to connect with your customers, the greater the chances of growing your business.
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Design for Mobile
When you are finished creating your email design masterpiece, don’t hit that send button just yet. Be sure to test the campaign out on various mobile devices, including both Android and iPhone. Emails that look great on desktop might render differently on mobile, causing issues with display, and ultimately a quick delete.
Your email campaigns can be highly successful by using these best practices consistently. Now, are you ready to dive in and put our tips to use? Or prefer to leave it to the pros? Contact the Zephyr team today to discuss your marketing needs.
