25 Ways to Up Your Email Marketing Game
Forget billboards, TV ads, and direct mail - there’s no marketing tool that’s faster or more effective than email. Even better? You don’t need a lot of time or money to start sending better emails. Small changes can make a big impact. Here’s a list of 25 small changes you can make yourself to take your email marketing from boring to brilliant.
1. Personalize your confirmation, welcome, and thank you emails
Don’t forget to customize these emails! Your email service sends the same generic copy to everyone unless you change it. Edit in your personality to give your subscribers a seamless email experience.
2. Use a consistent “From” name
People learn to recognize your emails by your “From” name. If one email comes from “Jerry@xyz . com” and the next from “info@xyz . com”, your recipient will get confused - and a confused buyer is an unhappy buyer! Keep your “From” name the same for every email you send so people know it’s you.
3. Check your links before you hit send
No one wants to send one of those dorky “Oops! Wrong link“ emails. Instead, take 10 seconds to double check links before you send your list a broken link. An ounce of prevention? PRICELESS.
4. Avoid trigger words in your subject lines
Spam filters are watching for words that sound suspicious. Keep them out of your subject lines for better deliverability. Check out this list of words to cut from Hubspot. (Some of them will definitely surprise you!)
5. Keep your paragraphs short
No one wants to read a huge block of text in their email. Write short, easy to scan paragraphs to make your emails easier to scroll through. Bada bing, bada boom.
6. Use a branded email address
Emails coming from @yahoo.com or @gmail.com get penalized by Gmail’s DMARC policy, which means they might not be delivered, AND readers take them less seriously. Susan at gmail, is just some random chick, but susan at queenofcopy dot com? Sounds profesh. Set up a professional email address using your domain. (You can get one for $5/month from Google for Work. Sign up with my affiliate link here.)
7. Don’t use a no reply email address
While we’re on email addresses, don’t use a no-reply@yourdomain.com address. It looks uninviting and does nothing for your engagement. Send your emails from an address that someone will check and respond from.
8. Write more than one subject line
Don’t just send out the first thing you think of. The only info people have to decide if they’re going to open the email is the subject line. Write 5-10 subject lines for each email. (Trust me, it gets easier with practice!)
9. Double check your automation rules
Make sure subscribers don’t get thrown into multiple sequences at once. A good practice is to exclude subscribers in your welcome sequence from your general email blasts. That way you can avoid sending cart closing, FOMO-filled launch emails to someone who just subscribed a few hours ago.
10. Stick to a consistent schedule
There’s no shortcut with email marketing -- you have to keep showing up consistently to build trust. When people can count on your emails, they know they can count on you. Pick a schedule that works for you and commit to it.
11. Resend to unopens
Get more subscribers reading your emails by resending them to people who haven’t opened. Sounds like a lot to manage, but fear not - you can incorporate it into your email marketing schedule. For example, you might send out emails on Monday mornings and resend Wednesday evenings to hit different people at different times.
12. Keep your voice consistent
Nothing makes me sadder than when I find someone online with great website copy, a fun social media personality, and boring AF email copy. Keep your brand voice consistent across ALL your communications, including your emails.
13. Stop using link shorteners
You know who likes to mask their url? Spammers. You know who doesn’t like spam? Email services. Using bit.ly or tinyurl links could send you straight to the spam folder, so let those long and beautiful links show!
14. Optimize your emails for mobile
According to Litmus, 54% of emails are read on mobile. Make it easy for subscribers to digest your content by using 16px or larger fonts and buttons that are big enough to tap with a finger.
15. Clean your list
Keep a tidy and engaged list by regularly purging subscribers who don’t open. Your open rates will go up and your email service bill will go down. It’s a win-win!
16. Focus on value first
When you’re drafting emails, create value above anything else. Your emails need to give your reader a reason to open it and a reason to care. If it doesn’t add value? Don’t send the email.
17. Follow spam laws
You don’t want to get into trouble for sending emails that don’t comply with your local regulations. If you’re in the US, here are the rules you need to follow. If you haven’t been compliant, find out what you need to change and move forward.
18. Survey your list
Find out who’s on your list and what they want from you. You’ll gain great insight you can use to create new content and offers. You’ll also learn if your marketing is attracting the right people to your list.
19. Segment your list
Once you know who’s on your list, you can segment them. Segmenting lets you customize your subscriber’s journey based on what they want and a more customized experience, my friend, equals higher sales.
20. Use email for more than sales
Email marketing can be an incredible way to make more sales, but to really work it has to be more than pitches. Use it as a way to get to know your audience and build a relationship with subscribers.
21. Analyze your stats
Don’t blindly send emails week after week. Dig into your stats to see what’s working and what needs adjusting. If you’re not sure where to start, check out this article with the 6 email metrics you should be tracking.
22. Follow the Rule of 1
Each email you send should be written to 1 reader, have 1 goal, and include 1 call to action. Focused, clear emails help with click-through rates and conversions.
23. Go all soap opera on ‘em
Open story loops act like cliffhangers. They get subscribers to open your emails and keep them reading by teasing a bit of content (but not giving it all away).
24. Don’t write a “newsletter”
Don’t send general updates or digest style emails with everything you’ve been up to in the past month. Send content that’s relevant to your subscribers — not an email all about you.
25. Share a story
People love stories and email is the perfect medium for sharing them. Hook readers in with an interesting story, then transition into your marketing message.
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