The great thing about email marketing is that it’s fully measurable. So you can mix things up, take something away, put something new in and test it all before you press send to everyone on your list.
We’re often asked for our advice on how to progress a firm’s email marketing. So I passed round the last of the Quality Street chocolates from Christmas and asked our resident experts to give me their top tips. It made for a very enjoyable and engaging conversation!
But, before you even read our top 10, check out these three tips from our technical team to get it right from the very start.
Our Top Three Email Marketing Essentials
UK marketers should opt to work with an ESP who does not send your data to servers based outside of the EU as the Safe Harbour agreement is no longer valid. |
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You should send from a unique, dedicated IP address so you are not affected by other sender’s poor data hygiene. |
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Ensure your ESP provides 3 essential DNS records. These being Reverse DNS, SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) for best deliverability. |
Our Top Ten Email Marketing Tips for 2016
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Ensure your website has prominent e-news sign up links on as many pages as possible Collect essential but minimal information at this stage to make the process as easy as possible. You can collect more data via a ‘maintain my preferences’ form or a survey in the future. Incorporate the same sign up link into your e-newsletters as this is extremely useful if you are sending emails to generic email addresses (such as marketing@ or info@) and help to grow your data list organically.
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Create the right expectation from the start and send the subscriber what they signed up for Your sign up notification shouldn’t just say ‘thanks for signing up’. It should tell your subscriber what they can expect to receive from you, the frequency and how they can change their preferences and even opt out. Also, you’ll get more sign ups if you offer a sign up incentive such as a discount.
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Get a fresh new mobile optimised template Start with analysing your past campaign results. Are there links and buttons that hardly ever get clicked? Or a regularly used link? Create a new look and feel that drives more conversions and looks great on mobile too.
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Segment your non engagers and create a reactivation campaign Your open and click rates will steadily decline over time if you don’t remove subscribers who continue to receive your emails, but don’t actually do anything with them. Try to re-engage those subscribers by offering an alternative incentive and if they still don’t bite, exclude them from your regular lists and send less frequently. Less damage to your list health this way.
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Subject line test each and every single campaign Subject line testing is dead easy with Campaignmaster so use it for every send. In fact, with Campaignmaster you can conduct A/B/C/D/E multivariate testing and automate the final send based on a choice of multiple conditions, or simply select a version to launch manually. The results may surprise you.
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Create clear call to actions You’re sending your campaign for a reason right? So whether it’s a read more, or buy now, or Tap To Call button make it stand out. Campaignmaster’s built in button tool will allow you to create aesthetically and ergonomically perfect buttons in seconds that are fully customisable.
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Create short snappy content with links to read more We scan our emails to read/find what we want so rather than making your subscriber scroll and scroll, create links to more detail and keep your e-newsletter brief. Long, text heavy emails can affect your deliverability, get cut off by certain email clients and could be difficult to load on mobile devices.
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Give something away Whether it’s a free cookie or a useful whitepaper, occasionally give something back to your subscribers to show they are valued and there was good reason to sign up in the first place.
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Use pre-header text This is your opportunity to expand on your subject line or give more information about other content in your email, helping to increase open rates. Your pre-header can be hidden within your content or displayed as a sub heading at the top, all of which our designers can advise you on.
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Keep important content above the fold An oldie but a goldie! Keep your most important message above the fold in your campaign to keep your subscriber engaged.
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