Since the first email was sent in 1971, this channel of communication has evolved to engage recipients with images, graphics, videos, links, and more.
With all these new capabilities, the flashier the email, the better the click-through rate, right? Not necessarily. Let’s discuss some subtle ways you can improve your next email campaign:
1. Make it personal.
One feature built into most email-building platforms are “personalization tokens.” They are commands that you can add to your email that pull from contact data collected in your account. HubSpot looked at data from more than 300,000 calls to action created using their platform over a 12-month period. They found that calls to action targeted to the user performed 212% better than calls to action that were generic (source).
2. Just wanted to make sure you saw my email.
While senders can be inclined to include as much info about the contents of the email as possible within the subject line, the most successful subject lines are are often the opposite. As you skim your own inbox, you probably skip those emails that you know are trying to sell you something. However, if you come across something like “Just checking in,” you may be more inclined to open the email to make sure you’re not missing something important.
3. Sometimes, less is more.
With so many ways to visually enhance an email, it can be easy to get carried away with template designs…But don’t underestimate the power of the simple, plain text email. Heavy use of graphics, themes, and loud fonts can distract from the message of your email. And an upside to using plain text emails is the consistency of their delivery and appearance across devices; HTML elements may be linked to placement in spam and promotions folders.
4. Don’t make it a one-man show.
Teamwork makes the dream work, so don’t send all your emails from the same person. Shake up your email campaigns by sending from different members of your team. The more touches your campaign has, the more likely your recipients will be to open at least one of your emails. Multiple senders give the impression of involvement, sincerity, and dedication to the mission of your campaign and your organization overall.
And remember…ABT!
Email remains one of a marketer’s most important digital channels. With each campaign you launch, you’ll learn more about your readership and what types of emails work best for engagement. So, don’t be afraid to try different templates, quirky subject lines, and personalized content. And more importantly, it’s critical to ABT — always be testing!
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