Email marketing is not going anywhere. It takes less effort and money to create an email marketing strategy than focusing on sophisticated marketing tools which do not generate the same ROI. Emails can be mass scheduled, so you do not need a large team to take care of this aspect.
But, of course, it doesn’t mean that you get maximum ROI with minimum effort. First of all, there is a huge crowd of marketers who use this strategy. According to eMarketer, 90.9% of marketing interactions in 2019 took place via email.
The World of Email Marketing: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Thus, the bad thing about using email as a marketing channel is that everyone else, including your direct competitors are using it. The ugly is that consumers have their inbox full of such marketing messages and perform a quick clean-up by unsubscribing or even sending emails to the Spam folder if they feel that their time is wasted.
The good, however, is that emails will survive the direct messaging and social media revolution. As Oberlo noted in their annual email marketing report for 2019:
- In 4 years the number of email users will grow from 3.9 billion to 4.3 billion;
- In 2022, 347.3 billion emails will be sent every day;
- 81% of SMEs rely on email marketing as the number one channel for finding new clients;
- 49% of consumers enjoy receiving emails from their favourite brands once per week.
With these positive ideas in mind, let us move forward to the gist of this article.
The Best Practices for Winning at Email Marketing in 2020
The key new trends in email marketing are the widespread use of mobile phones as primary internet browsing devices and the demand for personalisation. Thus, our recommendations for a successful email marketing strategy are:
1. Micro-Segmentation of Audiences
Personalisation becomes more obvious as audience groups grow smaller. Yes, it means more work for you. But it also means higher chances that your subscribers will open your emails, read them and follow through with the CTA.
What exactly is micro-segmentation? If one of your target audiences is new moms, you can go further with the targeting by splitting this group in several more:
- New first time moms
- New moms with one or more children
- New moms who stay at home
- New moms who return to work as soon as feasible.
Each of these groups has different needs, pain points, expectations and outlook on life. And you should address each of these groups in a more personalised way, taking into account all the specific circumstances of their lives in order to present your products or services as the right solution.
2. Apply the Double-Validation Subscription Model
In view of the tight privacy security rules adopted by the European Union (GDPR) this is not just a best practice, but a basic requirement if you are marketing to people in this territory. But even if your clients are based exclusively in Australia, you should still use a double-validation subscription for your email marketing strategy.
How does it work? After someone subscribed to your email on your website, send them an email with a verification link. If the person clicks the link, they confirm once more that they want to receive your emails. This will also prevent your competitors from flooding your email list with fake email addresses which will raise a flag for your IP address.
3. Reward Your Most Active Subscribers
Analysing the metrics of your email marketing campaigns is a must. It shows you if you are actually generating sales and revenues, or just spending money with no benefit. But there are several gems you may discover in these metrics.
One of this is those subscribers who are most active in terms of opening your emails, answering them and following through with the CTA. These subscribers are likely to become brand ambassadors if you nurture them. Thus, you should create special reward campaigns for this specific segment of subscribers.
4. Make Your Templates Mobile Friendly
You made your website mobile ready in order to avoid penalties from Google. You should also make your email marketing mobile ready to avoid penalties from your subscribers. Hitting the Unsubscribe or Spam buttons are these forms of penalty and they will cost you a lot. You will lose subscribers who could become loyal clients. And your IP address may be flagged by spam filters.
If you are not sure whether your templates are mobile friendly, test them using platforms such as Testiat or Email on Acid.
5. Avoid Spam Filter Trigger Keywords
Your email may not even reach a subscriber’s inbox if the spam filters decide that it is suspicious. Some of the most common words and phrases that trigger these filters are:
- Incredible (deal, offer, opportunity)
- Zero investment/risks
- Act now
- No obligation
- Limited time offer.
If you really find a legitimate need to include any of these phrases, do not put them in the email title, but in the body of your email message.