According to a 2022 Email Statistics Report by the Radicati Group, the total number of business and consumer emails sent and received per day is 347.3 billion in 2023. It is forecasted to continue increasing at over 4% annually, reaching over 392 billion by 2026. The projected growth in email usage parallels the rising number of email users worldwide. Due to the continuing efforts to globally expand internet accessibility, there are now 4.3 billion email users in 2023, and this is expected to exceed 4.7 billion by 2026 with an annual increase of 3%.
Data by OptinMonster for 2023 shows that 99% of users check their email daily with 58% checking their emails first before they check the news or social media. Users also check their emails more than 20 times per day. This is because checking emails is considered a complementary activity, meaning 69% of users check their emails while watching television, 57% of users check their emails while lying in bed, and 79% of users check their emails while on vacation. Smartphones and tablets have certainly made it easier for users to check their emails anytime and anywhere. In fact, data shows that 50% of emails read come from mobile devices.
2022 Litmus Email Analytics show that every $1 spent on email yields an average Return of Investment (ROI) of $42, having a higher ROI than other marketing strategies. It’s no wonder that over 80% of industry experts utilize email marketing to reach customers as recorded by Statista in 2022.
As such, email continues to dominate business marketing strategies and has proven to be one of the key tools in communicating with target customers, building professional relationships, improving customer satisfaction, and ultimately generating profits. In line with this, here are 5 best practices in email marketing strategy that are guaranteed to improve your business.
5 Steps to an Effective Email Marketing Strategy
1. Make signing up easy
How do you get customers to sign up? Easy! Simply tell them to sign up on your website. You should display subscription forms all over your website for easy access. Subscription forms should be widely displayed on your homepage, landing page, and About page. If you can, you should also add them to your blogs, sidebar widget areas, website footer sections, and even near the navigation menu. In addition, you can use software with exit-intent technology. When customers are about to leave your website, a pop-up subscription form will be displayed to keep them engaged and give them a final opportunity to sign up.
2. Offer incentives
Apart from making the sign-up process easily accessible for your customers, you also have to make them want to sign up. What’s in it for them? Why should they sign up? This is where incentives come in. Encourage customers on your website to subscribe to your email by enticing them with something of value such as a discount voucher, a free upgrade, or an exclusive membership. Customers will be more interested in giving out their email addresses if they can get something from it in return. Offering something valuable promotes a more intimate relationship with your customers, as opposed to just making a business transaction.
3. Vary email content
Once you’ve got a consolidated email marketing list, it’s now time to start sending some emails. However, if you continuously bombard your customers with random promotional emails, you won’t be able to engage them and yield any substantial result. The best way is to appeal to your audience by offering them a wide range of valuable content. Don’t be afraid to mix it up and send out different types of email content to pique their interest.
Here are some examples of diverse email content that are sure to grab your audience’s attention:
a. Events – Invite your subscribers to a company event such as an exhibit or seminar which showcases your products and services.
b. Products and Service Information – Keep your subscribers updated on the latest campaigns and product launches, as well as new product features and company services being offered.
c. Newsletters – Send your subscribers a link to your online shop for hassle-free product browsing and shopping to boost e-commerce sales. You can also send them links to your social media platforms to boost your social media presence. Moreover, you can send them links to news articles and blogs related to your products and services.
d. Promotions – Inform your subscribers of upcoming sales or special deals by giving out discount coupons or free shipping vouchers to boost your Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and sales.
Once you’ve diversified your email content, make a calendar or schedule for sending them to continuously keep your subscribers interested. Don’t flood your customers with incessant emails, but also don’t become too relaxed or inconsistent in sending them. You need to find a good balance by planning your content in advance to make sure you don’t lose your customer’s attention.
4. Segment email lists
Now that you’ve got a good mix of email content, how do you decide which email content is best to send to which subscriber? Segment your email list into groups to better cater to your customer’s unique needs. There are many ways to group your email list such as by sex, age range, location, profession, income range, spending behaviors, purchase history, etc. You can also group your email list according to new subscribers, inactive subscribers, and active subscribers.
For new subscribers, you can send a welcome email to introduce your business and educate them on your branding. You can also mention your top-selling products and maybe even give out a special welcome gift. For subscribers who have been inactive for a while, you can send upcoming events and product campaigns to grab their attention. Let them know what’s new with your business. You can also check their last purchases and upsell by offering the latest products to encourage them to upgrade. For subscribers who have recently purchased your products, you can cross-sell by suggesting other products that complement their latest purchase. Additionally, you can send milestone emails to your active subscribers such as birthday greetings, anniversaries (e.g., date of subscription or first purchase), and other significant events. Reward their loyalty by giving out exclusive coupons, upgraded memberships, and bonus points.
Segmenting your email list will definitely boost your CTR even further. Also, it will enable you to send meaningful content to customers, making your emails more personalized. Personalized emails have proven to be effective in keeping your customers engaged and subscribed to your email. In line with this, personalized subject lines which include the recipient’s name also help make your subscriber feel a genuine connection. Subject lines ought to be intriguing, yet short and straight to the point. Choose inviting words or phrases that don’t seem too assertive. Refrain from typing in all caps or using too many exclamation points, lest your emails be flagged as spam or phishing scams. Furthermore, personalized emails should be accommodating and helpful. As much as possible, avoid using generic no-reply emails which hinder your customers from engaging with your business. Assign an actual person to actively monitor the emails and answer client inquiries or possible follow up questions. This will help build rapport with your customers and nurture relationships.
5. Always include call-to-action
Every email sent should encourage a response from your customers. It’s not enough for subscribers to just open and read your email, but also, you need to get them to act. Email campaigns should be one-sided. Evoke a response from your customers by indicating a Call-To-Action (CTA) button. Your CTA button needs to be visually clear and easy to find, concise (in 5 words or less), and action-oriented with plain instruction for your customers to easily follow (e.g., “Click Here” or “Buy Now”). This will compel your subscribers to actively engage with your website, social media platforms, and business campaigns.
In addition, your CTA button needs to be format-friendly for both desktops/laptops and smart devices. As mentioned earlier, half of email users use smart devices such as smartphones and tablets to check their emails. Therefore, you need to make sure that your CTA button is clearly visible and clickable on all platforms.
Strategize with Waves
Email marketing has definitely stood the test of time, yielded fruitful results, and continued to evolve with technology. Incorporate these 5 steps in your business practices to ensure success in developing long-lasting relationships with your customers, ultimately maximizing sales and profits. Constantly update your email marketing strategies according to data and trends.
Waves from SwaysEast will help you implement these strategies with its easy-to-use template builder, real time data analytics, and comprehensive Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) driven reports. Know what works best for your business and cultivate your audience with Waves. Maximize the full potential of email marketing for your business by signing up with Waves today.
