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Email marketing is a powerful marketing tool that allows you to reach your audience with personalized messages, offers and valuable content.
In this article, we’ll lay out a range of email marketing tips that are not only actionable but also crucial for building your email marketing efforts. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your strategy, these insights will guide you through the process of creating more effective email campaigns and help you achieve better engagement and conversion rates.
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses email as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It involves using email to send advertisements, request business, solicit sales or donations and is meant to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness.
When it comes to business communication, email marketing takes on a significant role. It allows you to reach out to your audience in a personalized way at scale. As digital marketing continues to evolve, email remains a consistent marketing strategy due to its ability to provide direct contact with customers and prospects alike.
With consumers increasingly relying on online channels for information and communication, emails have become an essential tool for businesses looking to connect with their audience effectively. Whether it's through newsletters, promotional campaigns or transactional messages, email marketing offers versatility that few other channels can match.
A newsletter builds a base of engaged subscribers eager to hear directly from you. It allows you to develop content that resonates with your audience, even if it falls outside of top search engine results. Newsletters let you forge deeper connections through content crafted specifically for subscribers, not just optimized for keywords. You can provide value on topics and in formats that speak to their interests, driving loyalty. A newsletter audience is there because they actively want to consume and engage with your content in their inbox. This owned and direct channel allows you to enrich relationships beyond what the blog alone can do. Dor Cohen, Distribution Specialist at Wix.com
15 email marketing tips to elevate your strategy
To succeed with email marketing, it's important to adopt a strategic approach that resonates with your audience and aligns with your business goals. Here are 15 email marketing tips that can help you enhance your campaigns and drive better results:
01. Understand your audience
Knowing who you're emailing is the first step to a successful campaign. Segment your email list based on demographics, purchase history or engagement level to deliver more personalized content. Personalization goes beyond just addressing recipients by their first name; it's about tailoring the email content to meet their interests and needs.
02. Craft compelling subject lines
Your subject line is the first impression you make on your recipients. Make it count by being clear, concise, and intriguing enough to prompt them to open the email. Use A/B testing to determine which subject lines resonate best with your audience. Choose from some of these best email subject line examples.
03. Design for mobile-first
With most emails now being opened on mobile devices, it's crucial that your emails look good and function well on smartphones and tablets. Check that your email design is responsive and test it across different devices to make sure.
04. Use A/B testing
A/B testing allows you to compare two versions of an email to see which performs better. Test different elements like subject lines, call-to-action buttons or even send times to continually improve your email marketing performance.
05. Focus on deliverability
Make sure your emails actually reach the inbox by keeping your list clean and avoiding spam triggers in your content. Regularly update your list by removing inactive subscribers who don't engage with your emails.
06. Implement automation and trigger-based emails
Use automation tools from platforms like Wix to send timely and relevant emails triggered by specific actions taken by users, such as signing up for a newsletter or abandoning a cart.
07. Encourage social sharing
Include social media share buttons in your emails to encourage recipients to share your content with their networks, expanding the reach of your message.
08. Regularly audit your email list
Maintain a high-quality list by periodically removing unengaged subscribers who can negatively impact deliverability and engagement metrics.
9. Rely on analytics driven decision making
Platforms like Wix offer analytics that can provide insights into how well your campaigns are performing so you can make data-driven decisions for future emails.
10. Personalize and segment your messages
Go beyond basic personalization techniques by segmenting your audience into groups with similar interests or behaviors for more targeted messaging.
11. Integrate with other marketing channels
Ensure that email marketing works in tandem with other marketing channels like social media, content marketing or paid advertising for a cohesive strategy.
12. Offer value in every email
Whether it's educational content, an exclusive offer or insider news, make sure each email provides something valuable to keep subscribers engaged.
13. Include clear calls to action
Every email should have a clear purpose with a call-to-action (CTA) that guides recipients towards the next step you want them to take.
14. Ensure legal compliance
Stay compliant with laws like CAN-SPAM in the US or GDPR in Europe by including unsubscribe options and respecting user privacy.
15. Test and learn from each campaign
Continuously learn from each campaign by analyzing what worked well and what didn't so you can refine future emails for better performance.
Types of email marketing
Email marketing can be categorized into several types, each serving a unique purpose in your overall marketing strategy. Understanding these types of marketing will help you tailor your approach to meet your business goals and the needs of your audience. Here are the four primary examples of email marketing:
Promotional emails
These are designed to promote special offers, new product launches or events. They aim to drive sales or prompt a specific action from the recipients. Promotional emails are often time-sensitive and include compelling calls to action.
Informational emails
This category includes newsletters and announcements that keep your audience informed about your company, industry news or product updates. Informational emails are great for nurturing customer relationships and establishing your brand as a thought leader.
Transactional emails
Triggered by a customer's action, transactional emails include order confirmations, receipts, password resets and thank you messages. Although their primary purpose is functional, they also offer an opportunity to enhance customer experience and promote other products or services.
Behavioral emails
These are sent based on the behavior of the user with your business. For example, if a customer abandons their shopping cart, you might send them an email reminding them of their incomplete purchase. Behavioral emails are highly personalized and effective in nudging users towards completing an action.
Getting started with email marketing
Starting email marketing may seem daunting at first but with a step-by-step approach, you can launch successful campaigns that resonate with your audience. Here's a beginner-friendly guide to help you get started:
Choose the right email marketing platform: Select a platform that suits your business needs and budget. Consider features like automation, templates, analytics, and integrations. Popular options include Wix, Brevo, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign and Constant Contact.
Build your email list: Start collecting email addresses legally through sign-up forms on your website, social media channels, or in-person events. Offer incentives like free ebooks or discounts to encourage sign-ups.
Segment your list: Organize your subscribers into segments based on criteria such as behavior, demographics, or purchase history to tailor your messaging for better engagement.
Create engaging content: Develop content that provides value to your subscribers. This could be in the form of informative articles, exclusive deals, product updates, or personal stories about your brand.
Design your emails: Use a responsive design template that reflects your brand's style and is easily readable on all devices. Ensure that your call-to-action (CTA) buttons are prominent and clear.
Test and optimize: Before sending out an email campaign to all subscribers, test different elements such as subject lines or images on smaller segments to see what yields the best results.
Schedule and send your campaigns: Determine the best times to send emails based on when your audience is most likely to engage. Use automation to schedule campaigns for optimal delivery times.
Analyze results: After sending out emails, analyze key metrics like open rates, click-through rates (CTR), conversions and unsubscribe rates to understand the performance of your campaign.
Refine your strategy: Use the insights gained from analytics to refine future email campaigns—adjust content, design elements, segmentation or sending frequency as needed.
Be compliant: Always follow email marketing laws by providing clear unsubscribe options and respecting user privacy.
Benefits of email marketing
Email marketing offers a multitude of advantages that can significantly contribute to the growth and success of your business. Understanding these benefits can help you leverage email marketing to its fullest.
Cost-effective marketing
Compared to traditional forms of advertising, email marketing is incredibly cost-effective. It eliminates the need for printing, postage, or advertising fees associated with more conventional methods. The return on investment (ROI) for email marketing can be substantial when executed correctly.
Building customer relationships
Emails provide a direct line to your customers, allowing for personalized communication that can strengthen relationships over time. By consistently providing valuable content and engaging experiences, you can foster loyalty and encourage repeat business.
Measurable and trackable results
One of the most significant benefits of email marketing is the ability to measure and track its effectiveness. With analytics tools provided by platforms like Wix, you can gain insights into open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and more. This data enables you to make informed decisions about future campaigns and strategies.