The growth of email marketing continues unabated with the latest Email Census recording that email marketing spend has risen from 14% to 17% of total digital marketing spend in the UK. It has now therefore really arrived as a core marketing tactic for many companies and it is essential to maximise its effectiveness and return on investment.
Some people have tried to make out that email marketing is a complicated and technical marketing specialism that only experts that are ‘in the know’ can successfully execute. I maintain however that the principles of good email marketing are simple and that it is just like any other marketing discipline in the sense that you get out what you put in; i.e., with good planning and execution you will maximise your ROI. This applies whether you are an SME or multinational corporate.
Here are ten ways to get the most out of your email marketing:
Start by keeping it simple – Don’t run before you can walk.
Regularly clean your data – How can you expect to get the right message to the right people and avoid waste if your list is inaccurate? (Only 60% of respondents to the recent national Email Census admitted to regularly cleansing their database).
Set objectives at the start – In order to measure your success, you need a benchmark to measure it against.
Measure your results – There are simple and intuitive tracking programmes that can be employed to measure all manner of metrics such as open rate, click through, enquiries and so on.
Copy is king – Many email programs don’t automatically open images, so strong headlines and benefit-led calls to action make or break successful email campaigns.
Keep within the rules – Make sure you have a clear opt-in policy, particularly for consumer campaigns.
Provide a clear opt-out option – If people want to go, let them go gracefully and don’t cause negativity towards your brands by making it hard to opt out.
Test, test and test – Don’t be afraid to test different designs and headlines against different control groups to maximise response – preferably before the main campaigns go live!
Segment your data – Your customers/prospects will be much more responsive if messages are relevant to them.
Don’t over-face your audience – Most people get too many emails as it is, so focus on quality over quantity.
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