5 Best Tech Practices For a Successful Email Marketing Campaign
Email campaigns have always been one of the most effective marketing tools because they allow you to directly interact with your clients in a friendly and informal manner.
Plus, with 61% of consumers saying they like receiving weekly promotional emails, you can't go wrong with this proven marketing method.
But have you ever felt proud of an email you spent hours creating only to discover that not many people actually read it?
It’s possible your email was filtered into the spam folder or didn't reach your audience at the right time. There are many possibilities as to why your message didn't land after hitting send.
However, learning about what goes on behind the scenes with your email campaigns may help increase your chances of reaching more people.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Be aware of the DMARC policy
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) email policy is a security measure designed to prevent spammers from sending messages that could be confused with authorized mailings from your business. It protects you and your recipients from spammers, phishing scams, and spoofing.
DMARC policy is implemented on most free email services, such as Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com, AOL Mail, and Gmail, to flag potentially fraudulent emails passing through the servers.
For example, if you send a marketing email using a free Gmail account, DMARC policy could automatically classify your email as spam or even entirely block your messages. For this reason, we recommend you use your private domain name email address, like yourname@yourbusiness.com.
Additionally, free email platforms have limitations. Most don't allow for bulk emailing, limiting you from sending more than 100-500 emails daily, and lack email automation or analytics capabilities that prevent you from tracking crucial metrics.
So while email platforms like Gmail and Yahoo are great for day-to-day personal activities, you should avoid using them for professional business.
2. Avoid spammy subject lines
The subject line is your first point of contact and a crucial element in your email campaigns because it's what drives a customer to open your email.
However, it's important to remember that while you want your subject line to be catchy, you don't want it to come across as spammy.
Avoid using ALL CAPS or phrases that could be considered spam, such as Special Sale, Check this out, or Limited Time. Stick with a short subject line, around 60 characters, and limit emoji use (yes, you can use emojis!) to one per subject line.
Remember to keep your target audience in mind when writing your subject line. It may be tempting to lean into easy seasonal hooks, like Summer Sale, but try to convey the benefits of your offer or call attention to the main details.
If you're having trouble coming up with a subject line or aren't sure if you're hitting the mark, you can search the web for subject line checkers and use one of many free tools to help you create better subject lines.
3. Use a combination of images and text
While it may look nice when you paste an electronic flyer you created in your favorite design software into the body of your email, this is not the best design practice.
First, it increases the likelihood that your email gets sorted into the spam folder. It can also cause slow loading times due to image size, and who has the time or attention span to sit around waiting for an image to load pixel by pixel?
Plus, using images instead of text can make it inaccessible for customers who need assistive technology to understand the message. A picture might say a thousand words, but with email marketing, it might end up not saying anything at all due to accessibility constraints.
Use an email platform with a built-in template creator to easily design marketing emails that are both stylish and accessible. Inspire by STX offers an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop email builder that allows you to insert a variety of content, like text, images, logos, social icons, and more, in a single email.
This approach guarantees that your email will look good on any computer or mobile device, which is fundamental as 60% of all emails are now viewed on mobile devices. Responsive email design is a required practice for today's consumers — don't neglect it!
4. Schedule your sends at the right time
Sending your email campaign at the wrong time can unintentionally derail your other efforts. Almost 22% of all campaigns are opened in the first hour after they’re sent, and then open rates decrease as time goes on. Hence why hitting that open-rate sweet spot is so crucial.
If you're just starting out, try sending campaigns at different times of the day and monitor the open rates using your email platform dashboard, like the one in Inspire by STX.
After a while, you'll start to notice a pattern with your customers. If your emails are more successful in the afternoon, you have found the perfect time to send your most important campaigns.
5. Pay attention to your sender reputation
Believe it or not, email servers use different criteria to determine your reputation as a sender.
Use the marketing dashboard in your email platform to actively monitor your open rates, unsubscribe, and bounce rates. The best way to avoid high unsubscribe rates and bounced emails is by getting a client's consent to receive your marketing emails and confirming the validity of their email address.
You can also use your email platform to send test emails to your personal email addresses hosted on free email clients (like Gmail) to verify whether your campaign is being flagged as spam before you send to your entire list. This method will give you the chance to troubleshoot the problem.
Having a few unsubscribes per campaign is normal and won't hurt your reputation, but too many may mean that you may need to evaluate your marketing strategy.
Are you ready to ace your next email campaign? Book an Inspire by STX demo to see how its easy-to-use editor, advanced statistics, and syncs with your existing customer database can take your marketing to the next level!
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