Are your email marketing practices creating a listless experience for customers? You may be sending out spammy emails without even realizing it.
We’ve all been there — finding ourselves on a company’s email list and sending it straight to the trash. If you’re not careful, your emails could end up there, too.
To avoid this, you need to create an email marketing strategy that keeps readers engaged and happy — and keeps you out of the spam folder.
1. Make sure your emails are mobile-friendly
Did you know that over 60% of U.S. email opens are on a mobile device? That’s a lot of people checking their email on their smartphones.
If your email isn’t mobile-friendly, you could be missing out on a lot of potential opens and clicks. That’s because most people won’t bother to read an email if it looks bad on their phone.
Make sure your email design looks great on any device by using a responsive email template. These templates adjust to fit the screen size of the device your email is being viewed on. You can also use an email marketing tool that offers mobile preview options such as Outreach alternatives.
2. Use a double opt-in
A double opt-in is a two-step process that requires a user to input their email address into a form and then confirm their subscription to your newsletter via a confirmation email.
This extra step is a great way to ensure that the people on your list actually want to be there. It also helps to prevent any unwanted spam complaints.
Spam complaints can occur when a contact receives an email from a sender that they did not sign up to receive. If you receive too many spam complaints, it can lead to your account being suspended or terminated.
Using a double opt-in can help keep your complaint rate low and your email deliverability high.
3. Personalize your emails
Personalization is a great way to make your emails more engaging. When you personalize your emails, you’re able to create content that’s more relevant to your audience, which makes them more likely to open and engage with it.
There are a few different ways you can personalize your emails. You can use your audience data to create segments and send targeted emails to different groups of people. You can also use dynamic content to personalize your emails based on the individual recipient. Many teams now use AI agents for customer support and marketing to help power this personalization by responding to behavior, preferences, and intent in real time.
Another great way to personalize your emails is to use the recipient’s name in the subject line and throughout the email. This is a simple but effective way to make your emails feel more personal and engaging.
4. Segment your lists
Segmentation is the process of dividing your email list into smaller, more targeted groups based on specific criteria. This allows you to send more personalized and relevant emails to your subscribers.
There are many different ways you can segment your email list, such as by location, age, gender, purchase history, website activity, etc.
Segmentation can have a big impact on your email marketing engagement rates. In fact, according to a study by Mailchimp, segmented email campaigns had a 14.31% higher open rate and a 100.95% higher click-through rate than non-segmented campaigns.
By sending more targeted and relevant emails to your subscribers, you can improve your engagement rates and drive more conversions for your business.
Brands also use ReferralCandy to keep campaigns targeted by segmenting emails around referral, affiliate, and influencer activity—so advocates, partners, and creator audiences get messaging that matches what they’ve actually done.
5. Create engaging content
The most effective way to drive engagement with your emails is to create high-quality, engaging content. This can include a number of different things, but it should always be valuable to your audience.
For example, you might create a blog post roundup email that highlights your most popular blog posts of the month; or even a roundup of the top performing blog post examples to pique reader interest. Or, you could share a free resource, like a downloadable guide or checklist, that your audience will find helpful. You can also create a video or podcast episode that you share with your email list before anyone else.
Whatever type of content you choose to create, make sure it’s well-written, informative, and relevant to your audience. This will help you build trust and credibility with your subscribers, and it will also encourage them to engage with your emails in the future.
6. Send your emails at the right time
The timing of your email campaigns can have a significant impact on your open and click-through rates. That’s why it’s important to send your emails at the right time.
The best time to send an email will depend on your audience and your industry. For example, if you’re targeting business professionals, you might find that sending your emails during the work week, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., is most effective.
On the other hand, if you’re targeting consumers, you might find that sending your emails in the evening or on the weekends is best. The only way to know for sure is to test different send times and analyze the results.
You can also use your email marketing platform’s analytics to see when your subscribers are most likely to open your emails. This will give you a good indication of when to send your campaigns.
7. Use A/B testing
A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a method of comparing two versions of the same email to see which one performs better.
You can test different elements of your email, such as the subject line, the call-to-action, or the images you use. Then, you can use the results of the test to improve your email marketing strategy.
A/B testing is a great way to see what works and what doesn’t when it comes to engaging your audience. It allows you to make data-driven decisions and continually improve your email marketing efforts.
8. Create a sense of urgency
If you have a sale, event, or important announcement, let your subscribers know. But, don’t just send an email and expect them to know how important the message is.
Instead, use language and design to create a sense of urgency in your email. You can do this by highlighting important information in the email’s preview text (the first part of the email that appears in your subscriber’s inbox) and subject line. Then, use bold text and design elements to make the most important information in your email stand out.
In this example, the most important information in the email is the sale. The email’s design and copy make it clear that the sale is the most important part of the email.
As a result, subscribers will be more likely to act quickly and take advantage of the sale.
9. Make it easy to unsubscribe
It may sound counterintuitive, but making it easy for people to unsubscribe from your email list is a good thing.
If you make it difficult, people will get frustrated and may end up marking your email as spam. This can have a negative impact on your sender reputation.
Instead, include a clear and easy-to-use unsubscribe link in the footer of your emails. This shows that you respect your subscribers’ choices and can actually help improve your email deliverability.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to improve your email marketing strategy, it’s time to get started.
