With our reliance on social media and instant communication, email marketing campaigns may seem clunky and slow. However, there are plenty of ways to ensure a company’s message and mission is not getting lost in the inbox.
We recently completed an email check-up of sorts for a B2B consulting firm looking to measure how well its email campaigns were doing. This company has a database of nearly 100,000 email addresses and email is one of its primary modes of communication. We were already developing a thought leadership platform, including media relations, social posts, events and a company blog. It was important to also leverage the company’s robust database to deliver this type of content in a way that would be well received and not cause an onslaught of unsubscribes.
Our first step was to use analytics from their email provider to measure open rates and click-through rates (CTR). We examined data collected from more than a dozen email blasts sent out over the course of a month. Unfortunately, due to limitations of the platform, we could not access data more than 30 days. We also looked at Google Analytics to see what happened once the recipients landed on the company’s website.
With our findings as our guide, we created a recommendation that included simple changes to email length and content as well as to timing. While every client – and every campaign for that matter – has unique goals, we’ve found that applying these fundatmental guidelines can help optimize email campaigns:
- Think mobile: People are using their phones more often to check their emails, and so emails should be optimized for mobile browers. The message should be brief and contain clickable content whenever possible to direct traffic to the company website or another desired target, with the reward of additional information.
- Narrow the scope: Successful marketing is focused and creates a sense of urgency, and so email blasts should also be based on geography, industry, an offer, etc. Avoid generic subject lines – like November Newsletter – and focus on the most compelling element of the message.
- Expand the network: Adding a “Forward to a friend” button and/or including an invitation to share the information within the copy of the email can also increase the chances of someone in the targeted audience opening the email and clicking through to additional information.
- Enhance signatures: Email signatures provide quick and easy references for contact information. They also can help spread the word about other channels of communication the company may use, such as social media.
- Go beyond email: Use your database to create a custom audience for targeted ads using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or another social media channel, providing additional opportunities for the audience to access information about the company and its services.
Our recommendations reshaped and redirected our client’s email campaigns. As a result, open and click-through rates have doubled, and our client is confident that its message is reaching the target audience more effectively and, ultimately, accomplishing their specific objectives.
When was the last time you gave your email campaign a check-up?