Email marketing offers numerous benefits — such as lead nurturing, sales, and customer retention. However, with so many emails arriving in people’s mailboxes, you must use best practices to break through the clutter.
Fortunately, email platforms make it easy to measure your return on investment (ROI) and metrics like click-through rates (CTR), open rates, bounce rates, and conversions. This wealth of data allows you to optimize your campaigns for success.
Check out these email marketing best practices to boost your results for a better ROI.
12 Email Marketing Tips for Successful Campaigns
Email is a cost-effective marketing channel that can drive engagement and conversions when done properly. The downside is that your business isn't the only one competing for your audience's attention.
Here are essential best practices to stand out and improve your campaign's performance:
1. Build a targeted email list
One of the most important aspects of successful campaigns is having a
targeted email list. Instead of sending mass emails to a generic list, focus on building a list of subscribers who are genuinely interested in your product or service.
Doing this will ensure higher open and click-through rates and, ultimately, more conversions.
2. Use a real email in the sender’s email address
A rule in the
CAN-SPAM Act is to never use "no reply," or a similar phrase, in the sender’s email address (e.g. noreply@company.com) because this prevents recipients from responding and sometimes even unsubscribing.
Always use a real email address to avoid being flagged as spam. Plus, recipients are more likely to open emails sent by a real email.
3. Have an interesting subject line and preview text
Make your subject line and preview text stand out in a sea of emails by using interesting copy and eye-catching emojis. If you leave the preview text blank, it will pull the first several words of the email body by default.
Increase your email's CTR with a unique subject line and a custom preview text that provides context.
4. Personalize your emails
Personalization is key to engaging your audience and making them feel valued. Use the recipient's name in the subject line or greeting, and segment your email list based on demographics, interests, or previous interactions.
By sending more relevant and tailored content to each subscriber, the chances of conversion increase.
5. Provide relevant, valuable content
Email content can make or break your campaign. It should be relevant to your audience and provide value, such as helpful information or a
special offer. Quality content is key to establishing trust and building credibility.
Furthermore, make sure it's easy to read. Avoid technical jargon, long run-on sentences, and big blocks of text. Write clear and concise content that communicates your message succinctly.
6. Use attractive imagery strategically
A picture is worth a thousand words, which can be good or bad depending on the quality. If your email has imagery such as photos or graphics, make sure they’re attractive (e.g. not blurry, vivid colors) and add value to the email content rather than visual clutter.
7. Place important information above the fold
Critical information should be placed on the top portion of the screen. This is called “above the fold.” Your main message and key information should be above the point where recipients must scroll down to see them.
8. Use a clear call-to-action (CTA)
Every email should have a clear and compelling CTA that tells the recipient what you want them to do next. Whether it's visiting your
website, making a purchase, or signing up for a webinar, the CTA should be prominent and easy to click.
Use persuasive language and create a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action.
9. Create mobile-friendly designs
With the increasing use of smartphones and tablets, it's crucial to ensure that your email campaigns are optimized for mobile devices.
Use responsive email templates that adapt to different screen sizes and keep your email design clean and easy to navigate on smaller screens, which improves the user experience and maximizes engagement.
10. Have a width of 650 pixels or less
According to
ActiveCampaign, the email design should be no more than 650 pixels wide, as this size works for most email clients and mobile devices. Otherwise, recipients will be forced to scroll horizontally to read your email, which isn’t user-friendly.
Set your email widths between 500-650 pixels to prevent recipients from ‘bouncing’ (i.e. leaving your email) and drive more clicks.
11. Avoid bulky emails
Another thing is to make sure that your emails aren’t so big that they cause delivery issues or don’t display properly. For instance, Gmail has an email size limit of 25 MB. If your email is larger than that, your message will be clipped, and the reader will see a link that says, “View entire message.”
12. Test and analyze your campaigns
To improve your email campaigns, it's vital to test different elements such as subject lines, email designs, CTAs, and sending times. A/B testing allows you to compare different versions of your emails and identify what works best for your audience.
Additionally, analyze your email metrics, such as open rates, CTRs, and conversions, to gain insights and optimize future campaigns.
Get a Higher ROI on Your Email Campaigns
Following these best practices can help you create profitable email campaigns that effectively engage your subscribers and drive revenue. Remember to always provide value and continuously refine your strategies based on the data and feedback you receive from your subscribers.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in May 2021 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.