It’s not just the digital landscape that is changing quickly; our entire lives are becoming faster and more hectic seemingly every day. We are constantly plugged into our technology, bouncing from business to personal and back again. It can be difficult for our friends and family to grab a few moments of our time; how can you possibly get someone to slow down and pay attention to your business? It isn’t easy, but an effective email marketing campaign can break through and reach your customers! Ready to learn more? Keep reading below to find out the important steps that go into a high-performing email marketing campaign.

Format for Success

Love it or hate it, we live in a nonstop always-connected world. We conduct business, handle our finances, spend leisure time, and even look for romance around the clock instantly on our phones. It is estimated that there are well over 290-million smartphone users in the United States. An estimated 80-percent of those users will check their email on their phones. If your email marketing campaign isn’t formatted to fit mobile devices, you are going to be missing out on a lot of views!

No matter how catchy and full of quality content your email may be, if it isn’t formatted to be easily viewable on mobile devices, customers won’t click on it. A properly formatted email will flow and be easy for your customers to read. Attention spans are short, so information needs to fit and be adjusted for your customers.

An Effective Email Marketing Campaign Begins at From

Whether on mobile or desktop platforms, one of the largest and most prominent parts of an email is the From section. If your potential customers don’t recognize who an email is from, your email marketing campaign will be dead in the water. 

Your company’s marketing emails need to be from your brand’s name, not just an employee that your customers won’t know. Once your potential customers know, trust, and use your brand, they will be much more likely to go ahead and open up your emails when they see it is from you. The important thing is to build an association between quality and service, so when they see your name pop up in their emails, they will be excited to click and open them!

An Engaging Subject Line

Along with the From line, the Subject Line is arguably the most critical part of your email. It’s often bold to stand out and lets readers know right away what to expect inside the email. If it’s boring, outdated, or nonsensical, your readers will quickly delete your email. 

To be the most effective for your email marketing campaign, your email’s Subject Line needs to walk the line between being the proper length, usually 25 to 30 characters, and utilizing the appropriate keywords. Those keywords will depend on your business and the services you provide.

An essential factor in forming the perfect subject line is tone. Depending on the body content of your email, establishing the right tone can set the expectations for what’s to come. Here are some style ideas you can use to create a Subject Line that sets the stage for the remainder of your email.

• Create a sense of urgency to open the email.
• Get your readers curious as to what’s inside.
• Use humor to draw them in.
• A personalized touch will make them feel connected and not just another number.

Don’t Forget the Pre-Header

Often appearing near the Subject Line is a Pre-Header. This section is used to give a brief description of what’s to come in the email. To most effectively use this section, play it off of the Subject Line. When these two parts work in tandem, it can create a compelling narrative for your customers to open your email and find out what’s inside!

Effective Body Content

If your email marketing campaign has been successful so far, and you have gotten your readers to check out the body of your content, it’s time to deliver! The body content of your email doesn’t have to be Shakespeare but does need to clearly define and solve a specific problem for your readers. Or drive them to your site to find out how they can have their problems solved.

Over 100-billion pieces of spam email are sent out daily! Your customers are savvy and know how to recognize fluff and buzzwords. To build trust and ensure your emails won’t be sent directly to the spam folder, it’s essential your emails are personal, direct, and beneficial to your reader.

Buttons and Call to Action

With every other part of your email marketing campaign working flawlessly, you don’t want to miss out on conversions or clicks to your website because of a poorly worded Call to Action. People want simplicity and won’t slow down and do what you want them to if they feel hassled. Certain words that are frequently used to try and drive traffic to sites are viewed by consumers as forcing them to take extra steps. Avoid these words when designing your Call to Action Buttons.

• Download
• Submit
• Order
• Apply

Avoid the Spam Folder

You can have the best email marketing campaign in the world, but if it’s going straight to your customers’ Spam Folder, they will never see it. There are certain words research has shown spam filters are singling out the most, so to avoid the quick trip to email obscurity, try to avoid using the following terms in your emails.

• Buy
• Here!
• Today!
• Shipping!
• Fingertips!
• Free
• Online!

The best way to get around email spam filters is to ask! When having your customers sign up for your email list, simply ask them to include you in their Contacts List. Then you will bypass those pesky filters and ensure all your emails reach their destination!

Now that you know some of the more essential aspects of a successful email marketing campaign, how can you put this into practice? Well, we can help! Web Rocket Media are the digital marketing experts that will get more of your emails opened and more customers to your site!