Successful Email Marketing

Emails still rank at the top of the charts in marketing and are crazy-successful  if you execute them correctly. 

Even with new social media platforms bursting onto the scene at what seems to be daily, a good old-fashioned email campaign still performs the best. Here are a few stats from HubSpot showing just how big of a punch emails throw at the competing platforms.

• There are 4 billion (with a ‘b’!) daily email users. 

• Smartphone users prefer to receive brand communications via email.

• 99% of email users check their inbox every day, with some checking 20 times a day. Of those people, 58% of consumers check their email first thing in the morning. 84.3% of consumers say they check their emails at least once a day. 

These stats are proof that you have a willingly captive audience that your organization only needs to tap into.

So, how do you create an email marketing campaign that engages your audience, generates new leads, and increases revenue? Don’t worry. We reached out to our partners at Lucent Creative, a female-owned digital marketing agency, and they agreed to give you the exact formula for a wildly successful email marketing campaign!

Set Your Goal

“Casting a wide net with your email campaign isn’t the key to success. You want to be specific by setting an overall goal for each campaign.”,  Lucent Creative’s Founder and CEO, Kendall Walker shares. 

Here are a few examples of goals you can associate with your email campaigns:

• Increase sales by nurturing warm leads
• Generate new leads
• Build brand awareness
• Incentivize involvement from investors, partners, or collaborators

Lucent Creative’s copywriter, Nikki Newbauer, spoke to the value of setting specific goals. “Knowing your overarching goal for the email campaign will create synchronicity for your creative team. Everyone from your copywriter to graphic designer will be on the same page which creates a clear and concise path for your readers to follow.”

Below are the general categories most email campaigns fall under.

• Announcement (new product/service launch)
• Promotional (sale on a product/service)
• Educational (company updates i.e. collaboration, new leadership, etc.)
• Customer Appreciation (VIP discounts, special thanks, etc.)

The more specific you are with the intention of your email campaign, the more success you will have in reaching your intended audience and reaching your goal. 

Create Enticing Subject Lines

“Readers will either opt-in by opening your email or deleting based on the subject line. Of course, you always hope your content will be enticing enough that email subscribers will open every email from your brand, but that isn’t the case.”, Nikki added.

Pro Tip: Spruce up your email subject lines with emojis and by using the subscriber’s first name.

Here are great subject lines to stir some engagement with your emails.

• You don’t want to miss this! 👀
• [Subsciber’s first name], did you miss the news? 🫢
• Our biggest announcement of the year! 🥳
• A peek behind the scenes 👀
• [Subscriber’s first name], we messed up 😬
• [product] is launching in 3…2…1 🚀
• [Subscriber’s first name], you’re not alone 💛
• [Subsriber’s first name], don’t forget to [action step]*  *i.e. Subscribe, purchase, etc.
• Don’t delete ❌ 

Write for Humans

Of course, you want your writing to reflect the underlying goal of the email, but nothing gets people to unsubscribe from your email list faster than impersonal content. Write for humans, not sales (or whatever your email campaign endgame is). “If you choose to use AI platforms like ChatGPT to generate your email copy, please edit with a heavy hand. AI platforms may be able to churn out copy on a whim, but the writing is typically riddled with impersonal verbiage that isn’t relatable to readers.”, Nikki stresses.

Deep-Dive: To see more of our take on ChatGPT in marketing, read this post.

Nikki gave us a few tips to follow to make your email campaign a success. 

• ✔️ Set your email platform to address subscribers by first name.

• ✔️ Address the subscriber’s potential struggle (with empathy) before presenting your solution.

• ✔️ Offer a minimum of two CTAs (calls to action) in your email so readers can engage.

• ✔️ Include 4-6 emails in your campaign, spacing them out 1-2 days.

• ✔️ Incorporate your company’s social media outlets for readers to follow.

• ✔️ Have a privacy policy in fine print at the bottom of each email.

• ✔️ Create a consistent brand voice across all emails and marketing efforts.

• ❌ Don’t make assumptions about your readers (i.e. “You probably don’t know…”, “We bet you don’t…”).

• ❌ Don’t write long emails (300+ words). Get to the point quickly.

• ❌ Send emails without working CTA buttons (test, test, test!).

• ❌ Send emails without an opportunity for readers to unsubscribe at their will.

• ❌ Don’t pitch an opt-in without thoroughly explaining the product/service.

Watch Your Analytics

Test your emails to see what your subscribers are engaging with. Knowing how your emails are performing is vital to your email campaign’s longevity. Use an email campaign platform that allows deep-dive analytics through A/B testing. Testing your emails is an entire science in and of itself so research how to set your platform to do the hardest work for your team.

Before You Go

Remember, your email campaign won’t be perfect. Use analytics to learn and adjust accordingly. Emails are a great way to build rapport with leads and build brand awareness. Follow these tips and let us know how your future email campaign goes!

Please do us a favor. Reach out and let us know if you’re finding these marketing posts useful in your business. Have a suggestion? Let us know!