With new marketing strategies on the horizon, it's time to find out if your email marketing campaigns are ready to convert customers.
More than half of consumers still prefer brands to contact them via email rather than social media or other channels. So don't ignore this important tool in favor of fancy new social media platforms or other approaches.
The ability to personalize and automate so many aspects of your email marketing campaign makes it a powerful channel for directly addressing customer pain points and encouraging purchases.
But high-converting email marketing campaigns don't just appear out of thin air. Maximizing your ROI requires careful planning, executing your plan well, and regularly analyzing and adjusting your campaigns.
Our guide to creating email campaigns that convert will walk you through all the steps you need to make your 2024 a profitable one.
plan ahead
Planning is the key to a successful email marketing campaign. Start by creating a master list or calendar of upcoming sales and promotions to get an overall idea of what your campaign should look like.
From there, create an overview of your email sequences and get templates for each email type into production. (Some marketers say it can take up to a week to fully craft one email, so be sure to start well before your campaign launches.) )
image source
While most of the email design focus will be on major deals and promotions, don't forget about other types of emails as well. Your email template should also include a welcome email, abandoned cart email, order confirmation email, and follow-up emails. These are very important for moving prospects through your funnel.
Make sure your email design is eye-catching and matches your brand's aesthetic. It doesn't take much to make a first impression, so every email should look good at first glance.
Finally, make sure you have all the data and tools you need to run a successful campaign. Gather target market research to help design your email sequence. If you don't already have an established email marketing tool, set one up to help you manage your campaigns. Make sure it's ready for analysis.
Split your email list
Segmentation is the key to high-converting campaigns for email marketers.
You can segment your email subscriber list based on location, previous purchases, or other demographics that make sense for your business. For example, some brands choose to send different emails based on a subscriber's age or gender.
image source
Once you've created segments for your list, make sure your email sequences and templates are tailored to each segment. This can affect the content of the email, the subject line, the exact promotion you send, and even the time it is sent.
Personalizing your emails with this level of detail makes your customers feel like you know them, which can lead to higher conversion rates.
You should also make sure that your email campaign reports reflect these segments. This will be explained in more detail in a later section.
Automate email sequences
Automation may be the best thing that ever happened to email marketing.
By setting up specific triggers and email sequences, you can ensure everyone on your email list receives the right email at the right time with just a little startup effort.
One of the best examples of email automation is abandoned cart emails. Sending a follow-up after a customer leaves an item in their cart for a few hours or days to remind them of their purchase will keep some customers coming back.
image source
Other uses for email marketing automation include:
- Welcome new customers with special emails and offers
- Recapture old customers with email reminders
- Send countdown emails weeks or days before important holidays or sales
- Ask customers for reviews and testimonials after they receive the product
- Automate learning and lead warming processes from online course platforms and webinar sign-up campaigns.
Email automation allows you to scale your email campaigns and You can make them more effective with just a little effort.
Personalize, personalize, personalize
Whenever you can personalize some part of your email marketing campaign, do it. This is a proven method to increase conversions.
Customers want to feel known instead of thinking they are just another number in a marketing strategy. Leverage your customer data to deliver a personalized experience to everyone on your email subscriber list and see an increase in conversions.
The name is the easiest to customize. Be sure to include it in the subject line and email greeting. However, there are several other ways to personalize your emails.
- Deliver emails based on your location, so you receive them at the right time.
- Feature products in promotional emails based on what customers have previously purchased or viewed.
- Send abandoned cart emails and recommend related products
- Use segmentation to send specific promotions based on other demographics
You might even be able to make it a little more personal, like Spotify does with its year-end email roundup.
image source
Some email marketing software and landing page builder tools also allow you to personalize your landing pages. You can create dynamic landing pages that address customers by name, highlight specific products, or include custom offers.
Personalization builds trust and makes it easier for customers to buy. Many email marketing tools make it even easier by allowing you to personalize emails based on segments and customer data.
Optimize your landing page
Getting your emails into your customers' inboxes is only half the battle. For the other half, you need a well-optimized landing page to serve the specific needs of your target audience.
Landing pages are where conversions actually happen. This is an important part of achieving high conversion rates.
Your landing page should be eye-catching and motivate your visitors to buy right away. It should be easy for customers to evaluate your offer and make a purchase, as in the Fabletics example.
image source
A great landing page includes the following elements:
- Mobile optimization: 43% of emails are opened on mobile, so make sure your emails look good on smaller screens.
- Snappy headline: Draw your visitors in right away with a memorable headline that tells them exactly how you can meet their needs.
- Sense of urgency: You don't want your customers to act later. Customers need to act. Evoke this emotion through limited-time offers and countdowns to the next holiday.
- Clear focus on the product: The more specific your landing page, the better. Tailor these pages to specific segments and make sure the products highlighted match what was promised in the email. If customers can't find what they're looking for quickly, they'll quickly leave.
- Obvious CTA: Don't make it difficult for customers to buy your product. Include a bold and bright CTA for her that encourages people to buy now. You can also include the CTA directly in the email to speed up the process even more.
- Secure transactions: Customers want to know that their data is protected. Make it clear on your landing page that you take user privacy seriously. Consider investing in a VPN for an additional layer of data security.
Make sure your landing page includes all of these elements while also matching the overall aesthetic of your campaign. Keep an eye on your landing page performance and make changes as needed to ensure high conversions throughout the new year. Segmentation is the key to high-converting campaigns for email marketers. There are also various market segmentation techniques that can help you run highly personalized and effective campaigns.
Execute while analyzing and adjusting
Email campaigns require near-continuous monitoring to maintain high conversion. You can't just set it and forget it. Minor adjustments may be necessary to maximize effectiveness.
Understand what KPIs are important to your business and email campaigns, and get daily reports on the success of these efforts. Most marketers (63%) track the following metrics:
- Open rate
- click-through rate
- conversion speed
Don’t forget to track KPIs for each segment of your email list. This will help you understand where and how to optimize your campaigns to ensure maximum conversion rates for all types of customers.
If you notice a drop in open rates or other performance issues, it's time to start tweaking your emails. Run A/B tests on your subject lines and landing pages to fine-tune your strategy for consistently high conversions.
conclusion
Email marketing is a powerful tool for any business. With careful planning and attention to detail, you can create powerful email marketing campaigns that deliver high conversion rates at every stage of the sales funnel.
Don't forget to take advantage of the tools at your disposal. Segmentation, personalization, and automation all make your email campaigns more powerful while making your life easier. Take advantage of these tactics to give your customers an irresistible email marketing experience.