10 Tips to Improve Email Marketing

In the past 15 years email marketing has grown beyond recognition. Every business understands that email marketing campaigns are important when promoting their brand. Here at Airship we ensure our clients only implement the best email strategies. Here are some tips from Airship that will help you to create your next email marketing campaign:

1. What is your objective?In order to create an email campaign, you need to know what your goals are. What are your goals for this email? What are your overall goals for this week, for this month? Before you can decide on the email content you need to know why you want to send this email. You need to focus on what you want to achieve.

2. Tell the reader what to doInstruct the reader what you want them to do after reading the email - this is called a ‘call to action’. Focus on a main call to action and prioritise what you want to achieve. Make clicking on the call to action easy and desirable, it needs to be very clear to see.

3. Develop a templateCreate a strong email template that you can use multiple times. If you have a template you can have different images and content added for each send. The template creates a sense of visual continuity for your brand. Create a template well in advance and you can put thought and care into the structure and design, thereby preventing last minute rushes to create an email from scratch.

4. Segment your marketTry a male and female version of the email for your latest campaign. You might be surprised which version performs better. You may also want to try different versions for different age groups.

5. Take reporting seriously. What worked previously? Look at the previous emails you have sent. Which emails had higher opens and clicks? How can you build on the idea to repeat that success?

6. Think about the language you use. The language you use should reflect your customers in addition to being positive and upbeat. It should match the tone of voice used by your brand and should feel natural. Ideally your emails should make people feel good, so approach them with a positive attitude.

7. Create a sense of urgency. Adding a sense of urgency can increase the need to interact with the email. If the offer is for a limited time it makes it more desirable, it creates a psychological need to take part and claim the offer. Make these deadlines at the forefront of the email. Urgency isn't about being pushy or threatening. It is about stressing the value of acting now, rather than just writing NOW in capital letters.

8. Tell the customer why they’ve received the email. Give the customer a reason for being sent the email. Customers need to know the reason for the email if they are going to pay it even a second of attention. This starts with the initial Welcome Email which states that the customer will now receive emails full of offers and news because they signed up to the mailing list. If the email is about upcoming events you could present it as a newsletter. Each email should remind the customer exactly who you are and what you represent.

9. Personalise your emails. This isn't necessarily just about using the person's first name. The road to being trusted by the customer is about understanding their individuality and their needs. As more data becomes available about customer transactions there will be more options than ever. Use this to understand your customers and give them exactly what they want. Just don’t forget...they are real people, not just names on a database.

10. Make it mobile friendly.A huge amount of people now use their phones to check their emails, it is a part of daily life. If an email won't fit on the screen people are much more likely to close the email immediately. Mobile responsive design is the way forward.Airship is an agency that specialises in the effective use of data and technology in marketing.

Our expertise in email and SMS broadcast enables us to improve the deliverability of broadcasts for our clients. We produce engaging email and SMS broadcasts and our design team work with clients to produce engaging visuals that drive customer actions.