Email Marketing

Email can be a beneficial tool for the growth of your business, but unless you create an effective email marketing campaign, you may just be wasting your time. Emails should follow some basic rules to increase their click through rate (CTR); with the primary rule being optimized for mobile use.

In a world where 66% of people view emails from their phones, if the content is not optimized for mobile, 75% of people will delete it before even opening it. Creating responsive emails, which can be opened and viewed from a variety of devices, is the first step in reaching your current and potential customer base.

So now you have an email that can be opened from any device, how do you get someone to actually look at it? One beneficial aspect to keep in mind is to keep your content (starting with the From, Subject, and first line) personal. People are not interested in reading a computer generated email that has no actual connection to them. When a customer looks at an email, they want to see it is from an actual human, with a personalized and to the point subject line, and a gripping first line that feels as though someone you actually know is sending the email.

Other things to consider when using email marketing to expand your business are which days and times you are sending emails out. The most beneficial days and times to send out an email are Monday, Tuesday and Friday, between 8am and noon. What if an email needs to go out but you aren’t available to send it out between those prime hours? Sending an email the night before it needs to be received can make sure that it is viewed early the next day. Anytime between 11pm and 3am is generally a safe time to send out an email because the receiver will be unlikely to notice it until later in the morning.

Once your intended audience has opened the email, it is crucial that the content is visually appealing. Choosing an appropriate font that is neither too big nor small for being effectively viewed from a mobile device can have a profound effect on keeping the recipients’ attention. If someone has to adjust their screen to be able to view the email, a quick move to the trash may be more likely.

Your format is also a key piece of the puzzle. There is an ongoing debate as to whether text or HTML based emails are more desirable. While many people seem to prefer the more visually stimulating HTML emails, in multiple test markets, text emails earned a higher open and click through rate. The idea behind these results may circle back around to the idea that an effective email will portray a sense of familiarity. When you email a friend, do you include colorful images in what seems like a perfectly designed template? No, you send a text rich message. However, if you feel your audience would prefer HTML formatted emails, then it is important to make sure they are coded properly and contain a plain text version as well. Doing so, will help to keep HTML emails from finding their way into spam folders.

Putting together an effective email marketing campaign can be time consuming but the benefits can be endless.

Contact us today and we can put together a personalized email marketing package that will help your business flourish.