Just like most things in life, email marketing has a number of do’s and don’ts which when followed, can significantly improve campaign performance.
There are too many to cover in one short blog, but here are some which I believe are due your full consideration when planning your email marketing campaigns.
DO send reminder emails
Time and again we see marketers launch attractive offers, achieve great results with their email and then simply stop. Not everyone failing to open the email will not be interested, we are all busy people with overloaded inboxes and sometimes it simply does not register. A general rule of thumb is to resend the email and you will get half the response again. In fact, sometimes you may achieve better results than the initial send as the reminder provokes that sense of urgency as the offer deadline nears.
DO cart recovery emails
With an average basket abandonment rate of around 70% , there is a growing need for retailers to include a well crafted cart recovery programme as apart of their email marketing strategy. A recent basket abandonment programme provided one client with a 5.7% sales uplift, and for a small amount of effort to implement the programme, it’s one of the biggest no brainers in email marketing for retailers.
DO send a welcome email
Your new subscribers are the most important people in your database. They will not only be the most engaged, but the most likely for you to annoy and switch off. Don’t simply dump new subscribers in with everyone else, put them into a separate tailored programme of emails designed specifically to educate them about your brand, and push them through key stages such as downloading your app, using parts of the site functionality or simply making that first purchase.
DON`T make subscribers think
Email is a medium where you have seconds to make an impact. While other channels such as your direct mail pieces can take lots of copy and detail, email works best when you cut to the chase and present your messages in bitesized, digestible form.
DON`T follow best practice blindly
I see the irony of this in a best practice blog article but the best email marketers follow their instincts for what is right for their brand, and not just follow the crowd. A prime example is around mobile and responsive design. Yes, we recommend if you had a best way of coding your template then a responsive email design would be better than not. But is that going to be the most important thing for you to do right now? Possibly not, as what you are sending, to whom, and when is more important. Don’t confuse the execution (responsive design) with strategy (Content, value and relevancy).
DON`T make it difficult to unsubscribe
Not many customers unsubscribe – maybe 0.2% each email. So there is no reason to make it hard to unsubscribe, it just creates agitation and gives customers the motivation to report you as spam instead. So don’t make people login, enter their email address or other take other jumps – a simple click followed by ‘Are you sure?’ is perfectly adequate.
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