Marketing teams and leaders know that email is an essential communication channel for increasing brand loyalty and engaging more deeply with customers. But, it can also drive some serious revenue, with an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. How can you make the most of your email strategy? Demand generation expert, Jay Schwedelson, (CEO and Founder, Outcome Media/SubjectLine.com/GURU Events) shares some top email trends and what marketers should be incorporating into their strategy. Read on for more tips and tricks from Jay’s 2022 INBOUND session “Email Marketing Tips: Do This, Not That” and don’t forget to register to catch Jay at INBOUND23!
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
One trend you should be tapping into if you’re not already? Testimonials and reviews. As Jay shares, “We don't want to do anything unless somebody says it's good.” Lean into the power of shared-thinking by including product reviews, customer quotes, and other types of user-generated content. “That one tie-in of that user generated content near your call-to-action button is increasing click through rates 28% on the consumer side and 32% on the business side,” Jay explains.
An easy way to incorporate this into your emails? Use “The Most” in your subject lines to denote popularity and social proof. Examples include:
- “The Most Popular Checklist”
- “This is Our Best Seller”
- “These Are the Most Read Articles”
All of these subject lines convey to your audience that other people are fans of your product and service and they most likely will be too. User-generated content is a low-lift, high-ROI tactic to drive increased email engagement while showcasing to potential customers that your product or service is valuable.
[Jay Schwedelson presenting at INBOUND 2022]
SEGMENTED CAMPAIGNS
With so much email competition these days, it’s important to deliver the right content to the right audience. Boiled down, a segmented campaign is simply an email that is not sent to your entire database. That leaves a lot of possibilities for what types of segmented emails you could be doing. But as Jay says, “You can’t do everything, there’s too much to do, so prioritize segmented campaigns.” And which are the top types to focus on?
- New Buyer/Subscribe
- Abandon Cart
- Products Viewed
- Birthday/Celebration
- VIP or Top 1% Customers
One of the most overlooked segmented emails, New Subscribe emails can actually make or break your relationship with a customer. “That first email is going to have the highest interaction rate,” Jay explains. Do you ever wonder why so many companies include an offer or discount in a new subscriber email? It’s because that email is not only the first interaction you have with a customer — it’s the first interaction you have with their email system as well.
When a new contact opens this email it signals to their email system that they are interested in receiving communication from you and the likelihood of your future emails ending up in their inbox vs. the junk folder is much higher. How high?
net new contact who opens that first email actually converts to a customer 225% more than those that don't. Getting that first email opened to a new recipient will increase the likelihood of you staying in that person's inbox 85%.
RAPID FIRE TIPS FROM JAY
Words matter in subject lines:
- Using “tomorrow” vs. including the actual day of the week in garners a 28% higher average open rate
- Including “free” vs. “complimentary” will increase the open rate by 2x
- Saying “Watch now” vs. “on demand” will increase open rates by 34%
Simplified landing pages work best. “Landing pages that allow navigation only to the offer have 240% higher conversion rate than those with multiple destination options,” Jay shares.
Go against the grain and don’t send emails on the hour. Over 80% of all email campaigns are sent on the hour and 70% of all email traffic occurs within the first 10 minutes of every hour. As Jay says, “You don't want to show up to the party when everybody shows up to the party. No, you want to walk in 10 minutes late.”
Don’t wait on re-engagement campaigns and start them sooner than you think. “ If someone goes 30 days without opening your emails, 70% of those contacts will never open anything from you again,” Jay adds.
Still craving more email tips and tactics to integrate into your work? ICYMI, in June we hosted our first-ever joint live event between INBOUND and GURU Events featuring Jay and Sheri Otto (HubSpot): 20 Email Marketing Tips in 45 Minutes. Catch the full webinar below:
This is just a sneak peek at some of the powerhouse content you can expect from INBOUND (Sept. 6-8) and the GURU Conference (Nov. 8-9). For more email marketing and community-building expertise, catch Jay at these INBOUND 2023 sessions:
- Build Connected Communities
- Debate: Email — Get the Open! vs. Get the Response!
- Meetup: GURU Events Email Marketing Community
- New Email Marketing Test Ideas and Pitfalls to Avoid
- Online and In-Person Event Marketing: What’s Working Now!
Are you ready to level up your email marketing? Join us at INBOUND for all of the latest email tactics that B2B marketing and sales pros need to know about.
