Include your visual brand
No matter what type of marketing you’re trying to implement for your business, you must always reinforce your visual brand, and email marketing is no different. Always ensure your logo and brand style is reflected throughout any email campaign.
Subject Lines
Always keep it strong but simple – we’d suggest no more than 65 characters to ensure the message isn’t cut off. Enticing your audience with a sense of mystery can also play on their inquisitive side and encourage them to open your campaign. Avoiding common spam words will dramatically increase your chances of getting beyond spam filters – check out our previous blog post for more advice on common words and phrases to avoid.
Have a strong call to action (CTA)
If you’re sending an email campaign, always ensure you have a strong message to encourage your readers to interact for a better response. Your call to action could be a PDF download, a click through to a service or product – using buttons within your email usually inspire your audience to engage.
Images – Use them but don’t rely on them
Ensuring your email campaign is visibly appealing is very important, however you must also consider that most email programs will not show images by default. This means that supporting the images with clear, effective wording is vital. You should always provide a descriptive alt tag to support your graphic – the image may not show but your alt tag will.
Be brief and don’t waffle on
Keep your content short and concise, especially when contacting new / prospective customers. Your readers aren’t likely to read endless amounts of content and your message needs to be delivered within 5 short sentences.
Consider all devices
People are now using tablets and mobile phones to browse the web, which in turn means they will be checking emails on the same devices. Keep your message brief, your call to action at the start of the email and ensure your content displays correctly on various devices without the need of lots of scrolling.
Timing is key!
The time and choice of day for sending your email can have a major impact on its success. Readers are less likely to engage with your campaign on a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon, so we recommend the middle of the week (Tuesday – Thursday) as the best days to send. However, the best times can vary depending on whether your campaign is aimed at B2B or B2C so please bare this in mind.
Check your stats
Using the statistics gained by previous campaigns will help you to adjust your approach to improve results. Open and click through rates are a clear indication of how your email performed and should be used to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Your contacts
Firstly, ensure your email addresses are current and all your recipients receive your well planned out email campaigns. Think about segmenting your addresses to ensure your campaign can be targeted to recipients that are interested in your message.