“Second place is just the first-place loser.”
“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing,”
If you’re an email marketer, we take our hats off to you. It’s one of the toughest and most competitive businesses out there. Marketers are continually trying to one-up the competition, whether it’s a better database, a more up-to-date email list, more aggressive offers, and hooks, or just smarter targeting. It’s a huge business – over $1.13 billion huge.
And when you factor in an ROI of $36 for every $1 you spend, it’s one of the best businesses to be in so roll up your sleeves and let the fight begin. Here are some ways to win:
GO MOBILE
More than 75% of email campaigns are opened on a mobile device first, so you need to tailor your campaign to a mobile design. If you were thinking desktop, reverse it and think mobile. Make a “long scroll” email that fits a mobile user’s proclivity. Mobile-friendly design means your email campaign is created with smaller screens in mind. Provide plenty of white space to improve readability. This gives you a safety net for your design, plus leaves room for finger-friendly navigation.
Keep load times short: long load times cause readers to leave your email. Big images are the main reason file sizes are slow to load, so keep your image sizes down.
WRITE A KICK-ASS SUBJECT LINE
This single line of text determines if your email gets opened or not. In fact, 47% of people surveyed say they open emails based on the subject line alone. Practice. Practice. Practice. Test your subject line with a coworker, friend, or spouse. Do an A/B test – test one line against another. There are many articles about writing kick-ass subject lines. Here’s one: Secret Subject Lines Never Revealed Before
KEEP IT SHORT, SIMPLE AND ACTIONABLE
Your lead-in sentence needs to be as compelling as your subject line. This sentence will segue into the offer or hook in your email campaign. Make your offer or hook better. If you were offering 10% off, make it 15%. Spy on your competition. Offer something better. Check out this guide for tips: How To Spy On Your Competition Online Add urgency. Get right to the point. Keep it simple. Keep it short. Your email should be between 25 to 75 words. A shorter email always has a higher response rate. The key is to keep content short, engaging, and actionable.
GET PERSONAL
Personalized marketing drives growth: 93% of companies with “advanced personalization strategies” saw revenue growth, according to behavior expert Jennifer Clinehens. And personalization drives long-term customer value.
So, get personal with your email marketing. It’s worth the time and effort, and you can do it by simply adding a person’s name to an email and a subject head. You can expand your email personalization with birthday notices, anniversaries, location personalization that mentions events where they live, and loyalty offers.
GET A DAMN GOOD EMAIL LIST
A good up-to-date email list is the foundation of your email campaign. You can migrate your own list with an updated, verified email list from a reliable provider. We recommend The Email List Company because it segments prospects by business categories and locations for pinpoint accuracy. Plus, it has been a trusted source for marketing lists for over 20 years.
These are just a few of the many tips to improve your email marketing and take home the gold. We here at Octane Online Marketing hope you give your competition a solid beat down.