What Makes a Great Email Marketing Campaign?

With over 205 billion emails sent and received every day, email marketing remains one of the best ways to reach your customer. Despite the success of social media and mobile marketing during the past decade, email has not only survived, but it has managed to evolve and stand the test of time. To see for yourself, just read this report published by research-based marketing group Ascend2, showing email as the #1 most effective online tactic for lead generation.

To make email marketing an effective lead gen tactic for your company, you need to make sure your campaigns stand out in your customers' crowded inboxes. Read on for some quick, inbox-tested ideas that will help you create great email campaigns that are sure to capture your customers' attention!

Personalize your emails

This goes beyond including the customer's name in the greeting or subject line. Personalization in the email world can also include: optimizing send times by segmenting your subscriber list by location, driving engagement by setting up triggered emails that are activated when a customer takes a specific action, and delivering a more permission-based experience by allowing your customers to manage their preferences for the kind of emails they would like to receive from you.

Create urgent calls-to-action

In addition to making sure your calls-to-action (CTA's) are concise and compelling, you should also create a sense of urgency with them. If a customer finds out that your sale is ending soon or they only have a day left to sign up for your service or event, they will feel more compelled to take action now. Whether your CTA should be placed in the subject line, opening copy or somewhere on an image will depend on your campaign goals and template design, but taking the time to make sure it encourages the customer to focus on the value of acting now will be what gets you the increased conversions you're looking for.

Offer content that is useful and relevant

A good subject line will catch your customer's eye, but it must be followed by quality content that they can relate to. Sales messages should tap into your customer's interests and convince them that they need your product or service. Pairing sales emails with exclusive/private promotions and friendly informational emails are also proven tactics that give your customer a "one-in-a-million" feeling that will keep them coming back.

Use clever, responsive template designs

In the era of mobile phones and 8-second attention spans, you can be sure that far more customers are scanning your emails than actually reading them. Rather than filling your emails with static walls of text, use colorful, eye-catching images and interactive animations in your template designs. Customers respond well to visual stimulation, and small bits of animation here and there in your design helps to separate your email from all the other immobile messages in their inbox. Just make sure that you test your templates in multiple browsers and devices to ensure the look and feel of the design is attractive and consistent across the board.

Don't be afraid to follow up

According to the Baymard Institute, 69% of all e-commerce shopping carts get abandoned. Sending a cart abandonment email is a great way to connect with lost customers and reengage their interest. Create a seamless second-time online shopping experience by using a friendly, inviting tone and providing a direct pathway to the check-out. Another good idea is sending a useful informational email that updates the customer on new products and recent changes. Hopefully they will see what they're missing out on!