7 Tips to Optimize Your Emails in 2016
To ensure that your business gets the robust sales figures it needs in 2016, use these tips to add some revenue to your email program:
1. Segment your lists. Group customers by demographics and past buying patterns. This tactic can help create messages that are most likely to resonate.
2. Personalize your greetings. Address the customer by name in your greeting and whenever possible throughout the message. Emails that are personalized in the subject line have open rates that are six times as high as those that are mass mailed. Since only 70 percent of brands use personalized subject lines, you can get an edge on your competition by engaging in this practice.
3. Revive triggered emails with personalized content. It’s common to think of triggered email campaigns as a "set it and forget it" strategy. However, get extra oomph out of these powerful messages by customizing them to each subscriber. Change your subject lines and subheads to reference the current season. Include the products browsed by the shopper. By customizing your message, you can make it feel more like a live conversation. People are more engaged when they feel a human presence on the other end of the line.
4. Add preview text to lure people inside. Strong subject lines are a must. Be sure to also include a short snippet of preview text to show a bit more about what's inside. Think about what sorts of things would intrigue your prospects. Whether it's helpful advice or a sneak peek at list-only specials, make their day a little brighter by building some anticipation for something sweet.
5. Use social media to find out what your customers want. No need to guess which of your products are most in demand. Many consumers let you know by creating must-have lists via social media. Pinterest is an especially great place to check, as many people create boards to keep track of the goodies they want. Polyvore lists are a good place to see what's trending in fashion. You can even re-pin images onto a special board and embed it into your email to give recipients ideas.
6. Make messages mobile-friendly. Shoppers frequently use their phones to research local sales, find directions and scout for retailers in their area. Make sure that your emails are mobile-friendly so that you can catch their attention when they're already shopping. Mobile-friendly emails include features like templates that adjust to screen size, quick-to-load images, descriptive subheads and short, easy-to-read paragraphs.
7. Look to the past to improve future performance. Before planning your email strategy for the new year, think about what you did in the previous year. What worked well and what didn't seem to generate much more than a ripple? This is an area where email analytics can be gold. Which messages got the best open rates? Were there any deals or offers that triggered lots of clicks and conversions? Employ the tactics that have been successful for you before — they're likely to be a hit with your customers again.
This time of year is great for reflection and planning. Make it an extra-special 2016 by providing these friendly touches to make your email program soar!
Paul de Fombelle is the global development director for Mailify, a cloud-based responsive email marketing software provider.
