Say email marketing or monthly newsletter and some descriptive phases, many not admiring, come to mind. Digital marketing has revolutionized communications both personal and commercial, delivering marketers the ability to directly reach into the lives of millions of potential customers and clients with mind-blowing speed and automated targeted placement. Suddenly broadcasting a message right into a recipient’s home or place of business through email windows is remarkably simple. But many are complaining that the overt email assault that permeates millions of in-boxes each day are leading this new marketing tool down the path once traveled by direct mail (junk) and robotic telemarketing. With so many emailers opting to click “delete” or relegating unsolicited messages to the spam file, what is all the upside appeal of email marketing?
In 2017, the total number of business and consumer emails sent and received per day reached 269 billion and is expected to continue to grow at an average annual rate of 4.4% over the next four years, reaching 319.6 billion by the end of 2021. With that kind of audience, email marketing spend in the United States is predicted to reach $3.07 billion by 2019. Businesses looking for cost effective, measurable ways to connect with consumers have discovered the positive return on investment (ROI) of email marketing campaigns, of 122 percent, irresistible. This impressive ROI is utopian until one realizes that only 24.7 percent of all emails across industries are opened by the recipient. Nearly two-thirds of emails are banished to unread status right after being sent. Still, the promise of making a connection with so many with so little effort is too good to pass up. So how can an email campaign successfully open a profitable dialog with consumers without the costly and inefficient “mud against the wall” approach?
As more emails invade customers’ inboxes, the quality and format of the message is critical in order to be heard above all the competing noise. Focus the effort on the campaign objective and tailor the message, both in content and structure, to gain the immediate interest of your consumer. What’s in it for consumers if they choose to open an email and start a conversation? Compose your prose in a manner that creates value to the prospect. With 68% of email recipients reporting that they identify most email as spam, getting the subject line wrong can be deadly. Opening statements should elicit interest and evoke curiosity. Provocative “the aliens have landed” remarks will only scare qualified receivers off. “Every aspect of testing should be focusing on the “click to open rate” of the main call to action in your email,” says professional email marketing strategist Dain Hanson, Co-Founder of CYT Marketing.
Ever receive a message from a department, department title or mega-company? The “from” line of any email should be from a warm and real person, someone who is personable and welcomed. Your salutation should share your personal side, not your corporate image. A Campaign Monitor study recently revealed that 62% of customers open emails due to a personalized subject line.
The most successful emails are clearly written, attract attention to the message purpose, are never dull or offensive, and are personal and designed to solicit an immediate action. Interesting graphics are very effective and all content must be viewable on desktop and mobile devices. Depending on the targeted audience, mobile email will account for 20 to 75% of email opens.
Email marketing should be about having a conversation with your ideal customer. Failing to edit your master email list to target specific customers with a tailored message will only serve to annoy disinterested customers and waste valuable marketing time and assets. Treating every prospect the same will only result in filling their “Trash Bins”. The smart campaign will have different lists which focus on the varied messages of interests to a variety of customers. Connecting with an interested target market will improve your email “open rates” and produce future, mutually beneficial conversations.
For information on how Junction Creative Solutions (Junction) can enhance your email campaign efforts, call 678.686.1125.