The 5 Best Email Marketing Practices

Photo by Joe The Goat Farmer, CC BY 2.0

Email marketing is a powerful tool every business should take advantage of, but sadly some marketing strategies fall short of their goals. You can’t create the perfect marketing campaign overnight, but we’re going to give you 5 best email marketing practices you can begin implementing today that will boost the trajectory of your project.

Ready to take your email marketing to the next level? Use these helpful tips to boost your success.

• Optimize Mobile Accessibility

It’s no longer acceptable to send emails that can’t be viewed on mobile devices. If you’re still not awake to this realization, check out these stats. I hope you’re sitting down:

• As of 2014, over 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices, representing a massive 400% increase since 2011.
• Email is a more widely used smartphone function than social media, video media, or GPS.
• 70% of users will simply delete your email if it isn’t mobile-responsive.
• 39% of marketers don’t have a strategy for email marketing, and 24% of companies are failing to implement any mobile optimization.

The data shows us that over half of your customers check emails on their mobile devices, and the majority of those will ignore and even delete your campaigns if the email isn’t formatted correctly. This is a small error that can cause a huge detriment to your company’s ability to market.

Additionally, many consumers choose to forego pictures and graphics in their mobile device emails, so keep this in mind and consider how your emails will look under this view.

• Research Cart Abandonment

Cart abandonment is an issue that befalls every company online, from Walmart to your local pizza joint. There are several reasons people abandon their carts, some which you can address to turn a lost lead into a loyal customer.

Some companies have cart abandonment rates as high as 70%, and the reasons vary. Some consumers get sticker shock when they reach the checkout and see shipping prices, while others have technical issues or find themselves without proper payment method. That’s why it’s important to do research into your own cart abandonment issues, to determine the best way to fix them.

Good universal tips include:

• Cost transparency is vital. Be as honest as possible about how much your items cost (plush shipping and additional fees), and with shipping time.
• Make it simple for people to checkout, as complicated sign-ups or account requests can deter potential customers. First time customers like to try a company out before committing to them, so being too forward on the first or second purchase might lose you a sale.

• Utilize Buttons

Buttons are great for being multi-functional and easy to place, fitting in all the empty boarders of your page. They are basically graphic links which indicate a action when clicked. Common examples include social network or Paypal buttons.

Better than links, buttons are usually very visual and stand out to a reader. They are used to encourage your audience to subscribe to your social media, make purchases, share the content, and more. Most good email automation tools allow you to easily add buttons to your different emails, and you should include them everywhere they’re appropriate! The great thing about buttons is that they almost never detract from the content, so don’t be afraid to use them liberally.

• Re-Order Emails

If your business sells anything which may be re-ordered again, whether it be baby formula or industrial fertilizer, you should be scheduling regular emails to your existing customers by using an email reminder and reminding them to shop with you when it’s time to restock. This takes some time to set up, as you must determine your re-order products and how quickly your customers will need to replace them, but it will be worth the effort to earn a repeat-buyer.

You can even go one step further, asking your customers during the ordering process whether they wish to receive scheduled reminders to re-order. Many consumers find this a convenient service and it takes the guesswork out of automation scheduling.

• Be Smart About Subject Lines

We’re all told not to judge books by their covers, but consumers continue prove that this simply isn’t the case when it comes to emails.

While 33% of your audience will open an email based simply on the subject line, what makes a successful subject line is the topic of much debate and research. So far, there is consensus on a few testable subject line best practices:

• Succinct, precise subject lines with fewer than 50 characters perform best.
• Readers don’t want to be commanded, with words like “Hurry” or “Quick”. Instead, try being suggestive, using words like “Sale” and “New”.
• Repeating a subject line for a popular and trusted, expected email like a scheduled newsletter or a transactional email can improve open rates.
• Email previews impact click rates, so make sure yours says something interesting. Default email previews can be very boring and irrelevant if you’re not careful.
• Icons, emojis, and symbols all increase open rates and transfer well to mobile devices.

The bulk of your campaign will be design and content oriented, but before your audience ever sees those pages they must be inclined to open the email. Consumers have become more distrusting of businesses but also more keen to develop bonds of trust with their favorite brands, so don’t feel like you have to hard sell everyone into reading your content.

Also remember to marginalize your promotional emails in lieu for quality, valuable content your audience wants to see. Nothing turns a customer off more than seeing every email from your with “Huge Sale!” in the subject line.

A Well-Rounded Approach

Each detail of your email strategy should be monitored for improvement as you try to boost sales and earn leads through clever marketing. It’s not just the content of your emails that is important; everything from the time of day you send your emails to the email preview beside the subject line can effect your success.

Analyze all the available data, and don’t be afraid to change courses if something isn’t working. As always, feedback from your customers is invaluable, from both happy and dissatisfied people.