Mastering email marketing: the do’s and don’ts for success

Email marketing campaigns can be a powerful tool to grow your business, but it’s important to use them correctly.

Email marketing is an important aspect of digital marketing and remains an invaluable tool for businesses to connect with their audience, build relationships, and drive conversions.

However, with inboxes overflowing and attention spans dwindling, it has become more crucial than ever to implement effective strategies that cut through the noise and engage recipients.

In this article, we will explore some do’s and don’ts to help you make the most of your email marketing campaigns.

Do’s

Grow your email list organically

Build a high-quality list that’s engaged. One of the most important factors in email marketing success is having a quality list of subscribers who are interested in your brand and what you have to offer. 

Grow your list by offering something of value in exchange for their email address, such as a free guide, discount code or access to exclusive content.

Keep your business on their minds

Send a welcome email to get them excited and engaged. Make a great first impression by sending a welcome email as soon as someone subscribes. This can automatically be sent by the email marketing tool you use. This is an opportunity to thank them for subscribing, introduce your brand and set expectations for future emails.

Include powerful pre-header text

Include attention grabbing pre-header text to encourage readers to open your email. Your pre-header text is the snippet of text that appears next to or below your subject line in an email inbox. Make sure to craft a compelling pre-header text that will entice your subscribers to open your email.

Segment your email list 

One of the best email marketing practices for a successful email marketing campaign is creating email segments. Creating segments in your list will ensure you’re sending relevant information to each of your subscribers. Segmenting your email list allows you to send more targeted and relevant content to your subscribers, increasing engagement and conversion rates.

Get personal

Research shows that personalisation increases your emails’ chances of being opened by 26%. Customers no longer appreciate emails that aren’t personalised. Personalising your emails by including the recipient’s name, location or past purchase history can help build a stronger connection with your subscribers and build customer loyalty. Many email marketing tools allow you to automatically personalise your emails.

Use marketing automation

Tools for email marketing such as email marketing platforms now allow you to automate your emails. Automation makes sure each of your customers are sent the right email at the right time according to where they are on the customer journey. 

Marketing automation allows you to send targeted and timely emails based on the recipient’s behaviour, such as abandoned cart emails or post-purchase follow-ups. Choose an email marketing platform that has the right capabilities for what you need in terms of automation.

Give your emails the best chance of being opened

Send emails based on time zones. Sending your emails at a time when your subscribers are most likely to be checking their inbox can help increase open rates. Consider using a tool that allows you to send emails based on the time zone of each subscriber.

Double check everything

Before sending out your emails, make sure to review everything thoroughly. Check for spelling and grammar errors, broken links, and ensure that your email is visually appealing and optimized for all devices.

Use your analytics

Tools for email marketing these days are equipped with advanced backends and provide you with some powerful analytics. Use your analytics to gain insight into your customer behaviour and improve future campaigns.

Analysing your email marketing metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions can help you understand what’s working and what’s not. Use this data to refine your email marketing strategy to create a more effective email marketing campaign.

Make your subject line engaging

Your subject line is the first thing recipients see in their inbox. Craft a compelling subject line that grabs attention and entices them to open your email. Use action words, personalization, curiosity, or urgency to make it engaging and relevant to your content.

Optimise emails for mobile platforms

With the majority of people accessing emails on mobile devices, it’s crucial to ensure that your emails are mobile-friendly. Use responsive design techniques to make sure your email renders well on different screen sizes. Keep your font size legible, buttons and links easily tappable, and avoid large images that may slow down loading times.

Keep your emails brief

Attention spans are short, so aim for concise and scannable emails. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and subheadings to make your content easily digestible. Focus on delivering the key message and include a clear call-to-action (CTA) to encourage recipients to take the desired action.

Include statistics and numbers

Incorporating relevant statistics and numbers in your email content can add credibility and make your messages more compelling. Statistics help to support your claims, highlight benefits, and provide data-driven insights to your subscribers, making your content more valuable.

Keep track of your metrics

Monitoring and analysing your email marketing metrics is essential to understand the effectiveness of your campaigns. Track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates. By keeping an eye on these metrics, you can identify trends, measure success, and make data-driven decisions to improve your future email campaigns.

Do A/B tests to improve your email campaigns

A/B testing involves sending two variations of an email to a subset of your subscribers and comparing their performance. Email marketing software allows you to test different elements like subject lines, CTA placement, email design, or content variations to determine what resonates best with your audience. 

Use the insights gained from these tests to optimise your email campaigns and improve their overall effectiveness.

Do you need help with your email marketing?

Don’ts

Don’t forget pre-header text

If your email doesn’t give them a reason to open they won’t see your email. Leaving your pre-header text blank or uninformative may cause your email to go unnoticed in a crowded inbox.

Don’t send the same email to everyone

Sending irrelevant information makes you look like you don’t care about your customers’ needs. Sending the same email to everyone on your list, regardless of their interests or behaviours, can lead to low engagement rates and even unsubscribes.

Don’t send random emails 

Lack of consistency can cause you to lose credibility with your customers. Sending sporadic or random emails can lead to confusion and a lack of trust with your subscribers.

Don’t make new subscribers wait for you

Don’t let them forget you. Sending a welcome email immediately after someone subscribes will help keep your brand top-of-mind and prevent subscribers from forgetting about you.

Don’t buy an email list

Buying an email list is against best email marketing practices. Buying an email list leads to unengaged lists and a poor email reputation. Purchasing an email list may seem like a quick way to grow your list, but it can actually harm your email marketing efforts. These subscribers have not opted-in to receive emails from you and are unlikely to be interested in your brand, leading to low engagement rates and even damaging your email reputation.

Don’t write emails that are too long

Keep your message to the point. Long, wordy emails can overwhelm recipients and lead to lower engagement rates. Keep your emails concise and focused on the main message or call-to-action. Use clear and concise language to convey your point effectively.

Don’t add too many links

While links are important for driving traffic and conversions, including too many links in your email can be overwhelming and may appear spammy. Stick to including relevant and necessary links that support your email’s purpose. Make sure each link has a clear and compelling reason for being included.

Don’t forget to add contact information

Including your contact information in your emails is essential for building trust and credibility with your subscribers. Make sure to include your business name, address, phone number, and email address. This information reassures recipients that your email is legitimate and provides them with a means to reach out to you if needed.

Don’t hide the unsubscribe button

Providing an easy and visible way for recipients to unsubscribe is not only a legal requirement but also good email marketing practice. Make sure the unsubscribe button is clearly visible and easy to find in your emails.

Hiding or making it difficult for recipients to unsubscribe can lead to frustration, damage your brand reputation, and even result in spam complaints.

Do you need help with your email campaigns?

Are you ready to take your email marketing to the next level? Look no further than White Chalk Road!

Visit our website and discover how our expert team can help you create engaging, personalised, and high-converting email campaigns.

Contact us today and let’s elevate your email marketing game together!

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