By Rahimah Sultan
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Read Email Marketing Best Practices (Part 1) here.
15. Include CTA
Include a clear call to action (CTA)
CTAs are little nudges that tell subscribers what you want them to do next and help guide them through your sales process.
An example is sending an email to your list that asks them to Like, Learn More, Buy Now, Download Now, or Check Out your new product. Keep it simple and to the point.
16. Layout
A lot of people scan or read emails on the go, so design your content with this in mind.
Here are some email marketing best practices for writing emails that subscribers can read on the go:
For better readability, include plenty of white space.
Keep it lively with short paragraphs, bulleted lists, and headlines.
Reduce image sizes
Use a 14-16 pixel font for body text
17. Fonts
Don’t overuse fonts
A major design flaw is using too many fonts. This makes your email cluttered, and won’t look right in your customer’s inbox.
Use one or two fonts throughout your email that are sans-serif (non-serif), like Arial, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, or Verdana. Always send a test email first to be sure they work well in the email client.
18. Responsive Design
Use responsive design, which is a web development approach that automatically adjusts website layouts, images, and content to fit any screen size or device.
If you’re not sure whether your email design is mobile-friendly, send yourself a test email and view it on your phone. If it’s hard to read or if your images don’t appear, you need to make some changes.
19. Email Signature
Create a custom email signature. It can help build trust with your audience and enable you to stand out.
Use it to include information like:
Brand name
Disclaimers or legal requirements
An unsubscribe link
Special offers or promotions
20. Video
To boost sales, use video in your email marketing. With video, you can:
Show off how a product works and share cool customer stories.
Add a screenshot of the video with a play button and a link to the full video on your website or YouTube channel.
Include a snippet of a recent podcast episode or webinar.
Create a personal email, such as sharing your company’s story or spreading some seasonal ambiance.
21. Subject Line
Personalize your subject line. Customers want the personal touch.
Emails like “Dear Valued Customer” or “Hello Friend” aren’t personal and will probably be ignored.
We’ve all gotten those generic emails that address us as “Dear Valued Customer” or “Hello, Friend.”
Subject lines like these tell us the email isn’t personal, and we’ll probably ignore them.
Here are some email marketing best practices for added personalization:
When creating your subject line, think about using personalization tokens for names and locations.
Send emails with a discount for things like birthdays.
Share content that matches customers’ interests or buying behaviors; you’ll find this in your purchase history data.
If a subscriber shows interest in a product/service and purchased it, send that person an email with a time-sensitive discount.
You can even blend some of these tactics for an irresistible email offer.
22. Email Subject Line
Keep your email subject line short and to the point.
Your subject lines should be 4-7 words (41-50 characters) for best email open rates.
23. Avoid Spam Filters
To avoid triggering spam filters, do not use words like “free,” “help,” “percent off,” and “reminder.”
For example, you can change “Get your free e-book now!” to “Download your e-book now!”
“10 percent off all shoes” can become “Looking for a new set of sneakers?”
Here are a few other things you can do:
To avoid feeling like you’re shouting, don’t use all uppercase letters in your subject line. It looks spammy.
Be careful when using symbols. Some symbols, like $, !, and %, can trigger spam filters.
Keep your email list squeaky clean by only emailing people who actually want to hear from you; those who signed up for your emails.
For large audiences, split (segment) them into groups. This helps your emails get to the right subscribers.
If you follow these email marketing best practices, you can stay clear of the spam zone and ensure your email goes where you want it.
24. Ask a Question
Questions create curiosity and make people want to learn more.
By segmenting your email list and asking questions that matter, you can create emails that sound like you’re having a personal chat.
For example:
Say you run an online sporting goods store that sells mountain bikes. An email that asks, “Are you all set for your next ride?” hits your target customer.
And for new people, use something like:
“Hey! Need a hand picking the perfect mountain bike?”
25. Test Your Subject Lines
Split test your emails and find out what works best. You can test by:
Email type
Audience or segment
Email content, copy, and design
Once you have the results, continue to regularly test.
26. Keep Your Email List Clean
Validate your subscriber list to remove inactive, bounced, or non-engaged email addresses.
This reduces deliverability issues and bounce rates, and protects sender reputation.
Sending to inactive subscribers costs resources that you can better use on your most engaged subscribers.
To clean your lists, do the following:
Scrub your list using an email verification service
Remove inactive subscribers
Keep an eye on bounce rates
Make unsubscribing easy
Launch a re-engagement campaign
27. Social Sharing
Adding social sharing buttons in your emails is a great way to get your list to spread the word, and many perks come with it, like:
Getting your content seen by a bigger crowd (brand visibility)
Reaching more people beyond your immediate subscriber base
Getting subscribers more involved
Boosting brand credibility with user-generated content from likes, comments, and shares
Giving you analytics so that you can see how your marketing is doing on social
Remember to consider the placement of your social sharing buttons to make it a breeze for your subscribers to share. It should only take one click.
Consider the types of social sharing buttons you offer and choose platforms suitable for your content and audience.
28. Monitor and Adapt
Since online marketing doesn’t stand still, you’ll want to keep up with emerging trends and best practices in email marketing to stay on top of your game.
Here are some ways you can do just that:
Try new tactics and play around with things like subject lines, CTAs, or email design as part of your A/B testing.
Monitor competitors by signing up for their emails and seeing what they’re doing. It’s an awesome way to keep up with trends and get inspiration.
Stay in the loop with changes in email marketing regulations and privacy policies, such as GDPR or CCPA.
Get information from industry newsletters and blogs that give out useful insights, case studies, and expert advice.
Follow thought leaders and pros in email marketing on their social media channels to stay in the know about the latest trends and best practices.
The email marketing industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds. By implementing email marketing best practices from the start, you’ll be ahead of the game. Remember: email marketing is a powerful tool, but it’s not a magic bullet. You still need to put in the hard work to see results.
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