Email marketing can be a fantastic way to build a continuing relationship with past, current, and future customers. When done right, it is highly effective, when done wrong, it can annoy people or worse, hurt your brand’s image. How do you know if what you are doing now is effective?
Email subscriber insight: Ask them
Most people view email as conversational. Yes, most email newsletters are more informational and less conversational, but that doesn’t mean that you can start a conversation with your readers. In fact, sometimes it is easy to get feedback fast because all they need to do is hit ‘reply’ to give feedback. Why do so many emails have noreply addresses?
Quite contrary to how many email marketers “do things” try to break out of the mold some and focus more on who is actually reading the email, and less on pounding information over someone’s head.
Email marketing statistics: Watch them
As you learn to make email newsletters and email communications to be more conversational, at the same time don’t neglect one important element is the email marketing ROI analysis.
If you spend the time and resources to compile, write, edit, design an email you also need to know the return.
Virtually every email service provider (ESP) will have built in email tracking reports. One of the most common email statistical pieces of information you can gather is click through rate, which is the number of unique individuals who click on one or more links in your e-mail expressed as a percentage of total tracked opens.
Many ESPs also offer open rate tracking, but these have been found to typically be less valuable information as it may or may not be accurate.
What else is important to monitor?
Watch how the links that you put in your email impact the traffic and sources to your website. Use tracking URLs to correctly tell your analytics software the source of the email campaign. If you are using closed-loop analytics and an email reader converts on your website, then you can accurately show the source and how they got there. This is valuable intel!
Make the email interesting, or else!
Please don’t send another email with a boring subject line or text that would even put Ferris Bueller’s boring economics teacher to sleep.
Unless your email newsletter is for graduate level academia shy away from grandiose, lavish language. Keep it simple, short and make it pop!
People will thank you for an interesting, concise, and visually appealing email newsletter.
Bonus Tip: Make the reader take some action
Don’t neglect to place a call to action somewhere in the email. Make it clear.
What, you mean you are just sending an informational email with no purpose? Shame shame. Your subscribers are expecting something, whether it’s more information that is available, or a way to find out more.
Keep the calls to action toned down, not too many, otherwise watch your click through rates drop dramatically.
Question: What email newsletters that you receive, you look forward to receiving?