Relevant emails can drive up to 18 times more revenue than broadcast emails by providing subscribers with content that will be of interest to them.
We all know the importance of providing subscribers with content they are actually interested in receiving, but just how relevant are your emails? Here’s a quick checklist to make sure that your email content is up to scratch.
What’s your fatigue rate?
The biggest turn off for consumers is a lack of relevance in the emails. They might not call it relevance, but they will say ‘there is nothing in these emails for me’ which, of course, is a lack of relevance.
Your new subscribers are a really good source for understanding relevancy, as you can see any drop-off. Try running a Lifecycle report which shows how opens drop over time across each email a customer receives. If you have a large drop – say 15-20% points over those first few emails, alarm bells should be ringing that you’re not being relevant enough. Marketers with a well thought out email programme with tailored content still see a drop, but this is a gradual decline over time.
Reflect on what it looks like in one month
Sometimes we get all caught up in what we are doing and end up being too close to the emails – we can’t see the wood from the trees. Try taking a step back and compile a list of all the emails you sent in a month with a short description of each one. Then think about how as a customer you would see these emails in terms of value and relevance. The chances are you have sent them a lot of things you wanted to say to them, but not so much what they wanted to hear about.
How do different segments compare?
Sometimes you may build content for emails based upon our average customer – whether that be in the imagery we choose or the product content so there is at least something for everyone. The problem with this is that your average customer doesn’t actually exist.
Breaking down emails metrics by key segments and you can see which parts of your database are under performing, and therefore in need of improving relevance.
Are you personalising?
And then there is the simple question – what effort are you putting into personalising the email? While personalisation does not mean relevance, it’s fair to say you can’t be relevant without personalisation. Start your journey to relevance with a full personalisation strategy.
