Email marketing is widely praised as giving the highest return on investment of all the marketing channels. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you make the most of it.
Do spend a little time on your subject line. It’s easy to focus on the content of your email campaign, carefully crafting the images and message, and add in the subject line almost as an afterthought before you hit send. Your subject line is the biggest deciding factor on whether a subscriber opens your email – and if they don’t, they’ll never see that killer content! So, it’s actually one of the most important elements. Take your time – write down five or six options and then pick the strongest, it’ll be well worth the effort.
Don’t overload your subscribers. It’s tempting, especially if you have achieved some great results, to up the frequency of your sends. The key here is to experiment – you may well be able to send a little more often and continue to enjoy good results. But, there will come a point where your open rates decline and unsubscribes increase. So, keep a close eye on these metrics to identify the sweet spot for your business. You can also use those metrics to identify users who are happy to receive more regular content – why not put them into a separate list to send to more frequently? That way you are keeping your activity going without annoying your less engaged list members.
Do take advantage of automation. When a person joins your subscriber list, rather than just adding them to the next generic newsletter, why not send a welcome email – which can be automatically triggered to send once a person subscribes. It’s a chance to build some anticipation for your next campaign and could also be used to share an exclusive voucher as a thank you for joining your mailing list. You may wish to have a whole series of automated emails – most platforms will give you the option to send several, and you can specify how many days apart they should be sent. Automation really is win-win – you will be sending timely and relevant emails, and generating traffic to your site, all without lifting a finger!
Don’t forget about mobile. The default view for building an email campaign is usually desktop, but remember that over half of emails are opened on smartphones – even more in B2C marketplaces. So, a few design points to bear in mind. Firstly, make sure your call to action buttons are clear, spaced out and large enough to be easily tapped. Keep an eye on your font size too – no-one wants to be squinting at their smartphone! Finally, consider the length of your email. On mobile, content stacks and the width is also far smaller than a desktop screen. This means that there is far more scrolling needed for the same content on mobile, and it can be off-putting to have to go a long way! To avoid lengthy scrolling, house longer content on bespoke landing pages that your email can link through to.
Do give us a call if you need a hand! Fat Media are a leading digital agency with a wealth of email marketing experience in the hospitality sector. Whether you are looking for a new template design, help setting up automation, or simply some advice on how to improve your email marketing, we can help. Get in touch on 01524 548948 or info@fatmedia.co.uk – or check out www.fatmedia.co.uk for more information.
