When I started my career as a graphic designer, I never imagined that the focus of my work would be email marketing. Like most people living in the digital era, I have never uttered the phrase, “I wish I got more email.” Even my husband has accused me (lovingly) of designing SPAM for a living. And I always remind him the importance of opt-ins!
But here’s the truth: email remains one of the most scalable, affordable marketing channels—and the one with the highest ROI. Better still, email is delightfully measurable. Which makes optimizing campaigns and driving the cost of customer acquisition down far easier than other channels. And as a designer, I have to admit loving the challenge of making the “ugly cousin” of sexier marketing channels as beautiful—and way more effective!—than all of them combined
That said, it hasn’t always been easy. The secret sauce that goes into building a valuable, active email list that drives engagement, sales, and brand loyalty—and doesn’t get your labeled a nasty little SPAMmer—is more elusive than you would think. But after creating hundreds of campaigns for clients like Pepsi, Sesame Street , Burberry, and La Perla, we’ve learned a thing or two about successful email marketing.
Here’s our secret recipe for success, fresh from the trenches.
1. Build your list the “opt-in” way.
An opt-in list is one where your subscribers have voluntarily signed up for your email communications. The fastest way to get lots of new subscribers to your opt-in email list is by offering something of value (such as a free gift or a special discount) in exchange for an email address, name, etc.
A double-opt-in (which involves a follow-up email to confirm the individual wants to subscribe) is an excellent way to avoid getting labeled a SPAMmer, not to mention to keep your list clean.
2. Don’t dance with the SPAM devil
One of the questions our clients ask us most often is, “How do I keep my emails from landing in the Junk folder?”
The first piece of advice we always give is to keep your list clean (hence the “opt-in only” tip above). Getting flagged for SPAM can affect delivery rates, land your emails in the Junk folder, and even get you banned from your ESP (Email Service Provider).
Unfortunately, SPAM filters don’t publish details on how they filter, so there are no hard and fast rules, but here are some guidelines to consider:
- Avoid spammy keywords, like “free, offer, discount, act now, deal, congratulations, urgent”, etc.
- Always send a non-solicitation email first, like a welcome email or series.
- Keep your code clean—sloppy HTML code can trigger filters.
- Personalize! Personalization lets spam filters know that you know the recipient.
It’s also worth mentioning that we strongly suggest never buying an email list. Good email lists aren’t for sale. Without exception, the lists available for purchase are overloaded and inevitably trigger SPAM filters—in other words, a total waste of money and time.
Reputable companies don’t buy lists—they build them, opt-in-style! And if your goal is to build an active, engaged, profitable email list, then stay away from too-good-to-be-true lists that are available for purchase.
3. Automate your emails
Did you know that email automation has been proven to result in 50% conversation rates in B2C, and 60% revenue growth in B2B?
It’s true!
Email automation enables marketers to deliver timely, relevant emails based on a user’s actions. These can include a welcome email series, confirmation emails, or any message leading your users through your sales funnel.
Best of all, because these emails are auto-delivered, you’ll save yourself loads of time, because automation is a “once and done” process. Once you establish a “perfect path” for your customer journey, and set up your emails around the actions you want recipients to take, they’ll “auto-magically” be sent based on the triggers you define for each email.
4. Optimize for mobile
Did you know that 54% of emails are opened on a mobile device?
Or that 80% of people will delete an email that doesn’t look good on their mobile device?
In other words, if you’re sending email without optimizing for mobile—you’re leaving loads of opens, clicks (and dollars) on the table!
A successful email marketer knows that email should be mobile friendly—or better yet, it should be responsive. Graphics and text should automatically adjust to maximize scale, font size and readability.
5. Make it personal, local & timely!
According to Movable Ink, personalized emails get 2.5x higher click-through rates and 6x more sales.
Better still, personalized emails are far less likely to trigger SPAM filters, because the use of the person’s name suggests that you know the recipient.
But personalization isn’t limited to using the recipient’s first name in the subject line. There are numerous, far more creative ways to personalize an email (and drive sales!).
Here are just a few examples to get your ideas flowing:
- Personalization based on previous clicks/site activity/previous products purchased.
- Personalization in the email intro and elsewhere (ie in the actual offer) including name, birthday, location
- Adding a touch of personalization to the image within the email with customized imagery
- Personalized abandoned cart email with dynamically-added images of products left in shopping cart
The bottom line is that there are many excellent ways to personalize content for each email recipient and make every touch more engaging, relevant, and valuable. Consider using location-sharing/GPS data to notify a subscriber about a local sale, store location, special event, new inventory—or even the weather forecast!
All this is possible (and more).
Email marketing may be nearly half a century old, but recent innovations in personalization, localization, automation and mobile payments have given it a new life. And the future… has never looked brighter!
