Email is an effective channel for businesses to nurture leads, generate revenue close business, and keep clients updated. But only if you use it effectively. Research shows that 58% of adults wake up and immediately check their email, and 20.9% of people check their email more than five times per day.
B2B email marketing strategies are ever changing. Like all aspects of the inbound marketing methodology, valuable content plays a large part in the success of your email campaigns. However, there’s more to the equation than clever content to nurture leads and convert prospects. Recipients have to actually open your email first! If you’re disappointed in your email marketing results, check out these four mistakes that often happen and how you can take action.
You can perfect your copy, hyperlink text, and properly place a call-to-action (CTA), but if no one opens the email, all your hard work is null and void. If your email marketing campaigns aren’t performing, it’s time to evaluate your open rate and take a close look at your subject line. 35% of email recipients open email based on the subject line alone.
The next time your send an email, spend a large percentage of your time perfecting your email subject line by asking what your target audience care about. What is going to reach out and grab their attention? Don’t be afraid to use humor and personalize the subject line and message to get the recipient to take the first action in making you email campaign a success — opening the email!
A common mistake made in email marketing is not dividing your recipients into smaller groups to personalize your message. Email segmentation is an effective marketing strategy that can increase your email open rates by 203%.
HubSpot also notes, “marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue.” Setting criteria and breaking down your database to give your email recipients more relevant information is a vital part of creating a successful email marketing campaign.
Your first step when creating an email campaign should be to segment your recipients. Don't create your content until you have broken down WHO you are creating it for. Be intentional about who you send your email to; don't blast everyone in your database and see if there’s an improvement in your email marketing response!
The call-to-action (CTA) tells the recipient exactly what you want them to do. This is absolutely essential for increasing conversion rates. Does your CTA match your message? Is it a simple text link that’s easy to overlook? Are you using bold and inspiring language with clear instructions? Additionally, is your CTA in more than one place to grab the attention of the reader to click? Your email marketing will always fall short if you don’t include a relevant and attractive call to action.
Brevity is crucial in email marketing. However, because an effective email campaign requires strong copy, there’s a fine line between emails that are too long and those that provide just enough information. Some emails provide only copy rather than interactive content like GIFs and videos, making them appear boring and longer.
The Email Institute finds that GIFs can improve click-through rates (CTR) by 26% all by themselves. Wistia reports that videos have a similar effect, boosting click through rates by 22%.
If you notice your email marketing isn’t quite reaching the goals you set, take these four steps and reevaluate.
One last piece of advice: have fun with your email marketing! How many emails do you think your prospects and clients receive every day? Breaking through crowded inboxes has never been more difficult and showing your brand’s personality in your email marketing is an excellent way to cut through the noise.