Today, marketers focus on social media and platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It may even seem that email marketing is out of the game. Surprisingly, but no! Email remains one of the most advanced tools for reaching and engaging customers.
No wonder the number of global email users will reach 4.73 billion users in 2026. So, before you delete the email option from your marketing strategy, let’s explore how you can use it to strengthen relationships and drive sales. Read on to learn how email can boost customer involvement.
Email and marketing – how it started.
Ray Tomlinson forever changed the way we communicate in 1971 when he invented email. The first time email was used for marketing was a few years later, in 1978. Gary Thuerk, a marketing manager at Digital Equipment Corporation, sent a mass email to several hundred users on the ARPANET. It was the dawn of email marketing.
The rapid growth of the internet led to the real explosion of email marketing in the 1990s.
As more people began using email, businesses quickly saw its potential. By the mid-1990s, email marketing had become a standard practice for enhancing a product’s branding by building memorability and driving sales. Especially with the rise of email management tools, email marketing offered companies a direct and efficient way to reach their customers. Today, it is still hard to imagine a marketing strategy that does not include email as a key component. However, there are tons of nuances to know before your effort succeeds.
Why do emails get ignored?
The biggest frustration for marketers is when their emails are ignored. Why is that? Competition for attention is severe. The studies show that the email open rate ranges from 32% up to 46%, depending on the industry. Your emails need to be relevant, valuable, and visually appealing if you want them to be noticed. But what exactly makes them end up unread? Here are some common reasons your carefully crafted messages might be getting lost in the digital abyss:
- Wrong heading. A boring subject line is a death verdict for your email. It is your first impression; if it does not spark interest, it will not get a second glance.
- Generic content. One-size-fits-all emails that lack personalization feel impersonal and irrelevant.
- Design disaster. Text-heavy emails with no clear hierarchy or visual elements are doomed to be deleted.
How to win back the customer’s attention?
It is a constant battle for marketers to capture attention with their emails. Here are some key strategies to ensure your messages get opened, read, and acted upon:
Compelling subject lines. An email should start with a strong subject line that demands attention. It must be clear, concise, and intriguing. In other words, it must entice users to open the email. How does it look in practice?
- Do not exceed 50 characters for visibility on all devices.
- Use action-oriented language like “discover” or “exclusive” to prompt engagement.
- Experiment with phrases such as “Limited time offer” for immediate attention.
- Personalize subject lines by including the recipient’s name or relevant details.
Segment your email list. This approach can significantly improve engagement rates. How to implement segmentation? Here are some practical tips:
- Gather subscriber data, including demographics, purchase history, and preferences.
- Make groups based on age, location, and buying behavior.
- Create personalized content and recommendations for each segment.
- Continuously monitor campaign performance and tune strategies based on findings.
Use the power of personalization. Personalization is key to capturing and maintaining the recipient’s attention. Take into account these tips:
- Insert dynamic, personalized elements like name, location, or purchase history into emails.
- Implement action triggers based on user behavior insights.
- Test various personalization tactics such as product recommendations email.
- Continuously collect and update customer data to ensure individual user experience. Automating this process can save tons of time and is one of the benefits of AI in marketing.
Offer valuable content. Your emails must inform, entertain, or educate customers. The main rules are:
- Focus on essentials: deliver key information and avoid unnecessary details. For instance, highlight your expertise in event photography to captivate audiences looking for quality visual content.
- Utilize bullet points or lists to make your information easy to scan and digest.
- Include clear CTAs with concise, actionable language to prompt desired actions.
- Optimize email content format for mobile devices.
Advanced email engagement techniques
Technology has become the backbone of successful email marketing. It turns emails into powerful targeted tools. How to leverage technology into your campaign?
Analytics. Analytical tools track key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribes. Besides, AI predicts future customer behavior and interests. This data allows to identify weak places and eliminate these for higher engagement and conversions.
Integration. Email tools can be integrated with e-commerce and social media platforms to send automated product recommendations, order confirmations, and follow-up emails. You can also integrate with an automated text message system to send SMS alongside your email in order to pack a bigger punch. Besides, you can sync your email marketing platform with your CRM software. This seamlessly arranges customer data into a unified view of your audience.
Compliance and security. The technology monitors that email marketing practices comply with regulations like GDPR – it manages consent, provides unsubscribe options, and secures user data. Furthermore, advanced security measures For top-notch security, use iProVPN alongside SPK, DKIM, and DMARC protocols.How do others do it?
Blue Apron, an American ingredient-and-recipe meal kit company, uses targeted emails to capture foodies. Potential customers receive emails with meal plans based on interests and enticing discounts. Existing subscribers get weekly reminders to choose meals, see recipe variations to prevent boredom, and receive delivery confirmations. To win back inactive customers, Blue Apron sends “Miss You” emails with new menu options and loyalty program reminders.
The company regularly sends promotional emails with discounts and special deals. These emails are often timed around holidays or seasonal events to entice customers to try new meal kits and attract new users.
This personalized approach brings excellent results. The company’s average spam score is 8.8 and its Authority Domain Ranking is 78! These metrics prove Blue Apron fosters a relationship with both potential and existing customers, driving sales and subscriber retention.
Wrapping up
Email marketing remains a crucial element in the digital marketing toolkit due to its direct reach and high adaptability. It allows businesses to connect personally with a wide audience. This direct approach consistently yields high results if marketing efforts are well-tuned to the target audience.
The key to successful email marketing lies in experimentation. By testing different strategies, businesses can uncover what is best for their audience. This includes personalized content for different audience segments. Experimenting helps businesses stay competitive, enhance engagement rates, and send relevant and compelling messages. Besides, marketers can continuously maximize their email impact by using insights received through analytical tools.