Five Tips to Increase Your Email Click-Through Rates

Email marketing is the perfect tool to increase your website traffic or conversion rates. Email recipients will click the hyperlinks in your well designed email.

Here are 5 tips to help you increase your email’s click-through rates:

1. Ensure your emails are opened

Admittedly, this sounds obvious, but it isn’t as easy as it seems. Just because your email is delivered to your recipient’s inbox doesn’t mean the recipient will open your email. There are many ways to increase the open rates of your emails. Here are the most important ones:

Increasing your open rates starts with using a reputable Email Service Provider (ESP) that will host your opt-in database.  Be very clear on your sign-up forms of what subscriber is signing up for, and what kind of information they can expect to receive.

How many times will they receive your emails?  You’d rather have one opt-in who reads your newsletter, than many that delete it without even opening it.
Identify yourself: Make it perfectly clear for the recipient who the sender is. Use your name, your company name or both.
Write an appealing subject line: A well-written subject line invites the recipient to open the mail. Be sure to stick to a maximum of 50 characters (20 if you have a lot of mobile readers) to prevent it from being cut off in most email clients.
Compose a strong snippet or pre-header: This is the first text that’s displayed underneath or next to the subject line. Often the snippet contains text like “Unable to read this mail? Open the web version.” You can do better.

2. Have a clear call to action

Click Here!    Call 1888 456-7155

“Create an account now!” “Buy product X!” Having multiple calls to action (CTAs) only makes it confusing for your recipients. Determine what the main goal of your email is, and make sure your call to action serves that goal, and that goal only.

Also, a CTA should make clear for the reader…

What is expected of him
Where the CTA will take him
Why he has to go there

The best CTAs answer those three questions, using as few words as possible:

Contact us.
Apply now.
Sign up now.
Create an account.

and so forth.

Avoid CTAs that state the obvious. The internet has been around long enough even for the biggest technophobes to understand that they have to click on a hyperlink to make it work. In other words, don’t use “click here.”

3. Create mobile-proof emails

In 2012, the amount of mobile online traffic was 12 times the size of total Internet traffic in 2000. And mobile data traffic is still skyrocketing. But while more and more companies prepare their websites for mobile visitors, only few of them do the same with their emails.

In the meanwhile, according to Litmus research, 38% of all emails are opened on a mobile device. That makes mobile phones the most popular medium for reading emails.

Not preparing your emails for mobile is a mistake you can’t allow yourself to make. Create your email templates using responsive design, which will adjust the email to, for example, screen size used or the orientation of your screen (in the case of smart phones, which you can hold horizontally or vertically).

Also, keep in mind that mobile users click using their fingers instead of a mouse. Make sure all your calls to action are large enough and your hyperlinks have enough space between them. Tip: a finger takes up, on average, about 44×44 pixels on a mobile screen.

4. Be relevant

Your database is one of the most powerful assets you have to increase the number of clicks in your emails. Using the information in your database, you can send your recipients relevant emails that fit their needs.

The most efficient form of email relevancy based on the data in your database is event-driven email marketing. For example, you send emails based on someone’s interests, products someone purchases or didn’t purchase. Abandoned shopping carts, for example, are known to increase click-through rates 20%.

5. Test and measure

Not every target group is the same. That’s why you should use the previous four tips merely to get started. From there, the best way to improve your open rate is by testing various strategies and to keep measuring the results.

Test emails with split-run and A/B tests, including different send times and different subject lines. Keep tweaking and molding until you find the right format and the click-through rate until your reach your campaign goals.

SalesForce Integration with eMail Networks White Cloud

eMail Networks Integration with Salesforce

Yes, you can integrate your Salsforce Portal with your eMail Networks Portal

Our Email Marketing platform creates a seamless bridge between Salesforce and your email marketing activities.

Want to simplify the task of sending mass email campaigns to leads in Salesforce? Are you tired of manually exporting and importing between Salesforce and your email marketing platform?

With our integration it couldn’t get any easier. Just select the message you want to send, choose the Salesforce report(s) that you want to receive the email message, and deploy. Job done.

Once your email is deployed, tracking statistics populate each lead record, making it a “breeze” for sales reps to see and act upon your marketing initiatives. Email opens, clicks, and bounces become visible in Salesforce at both an individual lead level as well as an aggregate level. These results can also be leveraged to create new reports and action-oriented dashboards for sales reps.

Using our Integration with Salesforce, you will achieve:

*More highly targeted marketing campaigns, improving email engagement rates

*More event driven emails that connect you closer to your customers, improving retention rates

*Elimination of the need to manually upload/download subscriber data, saving valuable time

*A more complete picture of prospect’s and customer’s behavior, leading to a better understanding of how to market to them

*Increased visibility for your sales team into which leads to focus on, leading to more revenue with less effort

Contact your eMail Networks Sales Rep at sales@eMailNetworks.com for more information.

Okay, Here’s the answer on purchased lists – Just say NO

Do not purchase or rent lists. Many purchased, rented or stolen lists contact “honey pot” email addresses maintained by the SPAM filtering organizations. If you sent to these address the organizations send an automated report to all major ISPs and SPAM filtering companies that mark you as a spammer or potential spammer. This flags the sender and sending IP addresses that there is problem and scrutiny of the sender and IP are increased. If a problem is severe or persists an IP or sender block is issued which can have a negative effect on your delivery results in the short and long term. Contact our support team at support@emailnetworks.com to discuss any questions about new lists before you import them into your White Cloud system.

Talk to you soon!

Stephanie

Mobile Email … Is it the right time for your organization?

There is much email industry discussion about whether to design and send a mobile version of your email.

Our eMail Networks’ White Cloud technology allows users to easily create and send a mobile version.  We offer free consulting to help your organization determine if a mobile version is right for you at this time?

Our mobile vs. non-mobile statistical reports will help make the decision.  We will also review your breakout of how all of your emails are viewed an on which browsers.

Contact your sales representative today for assistance in making this important email marketing decision.

 

 

 

 

You have email subscribers, now what?

SUMMARY: Email subscribers can be skittish and wary, particularly after just signing up for your email list. A recent MarketingSherpa webinar, “Three Strategies to Convert New Subscribers to Loyal Buyers,” focused on three tactics for optimizing your email campaign to create long-term relationships with subscribers.

In this webinar recap, learn to ease new subscribers’ fears and lead them to conversion. Gradually get to know your subscribers, and turn them into loyal buyers by utilizing the following three tactics.

“Even as email marketing becomes an elder in the family of marketing tactics, practitioners are still having trouble sending relevant communications,” said W. Jeffrey Rice, author of the MarketingSherpa 2012 Email Marketing Benchmark Report.

“Only 28% of marketers reported that their messages contained relevant content, sent on time, and sent to their subscribers [with] a clear conversion goal,” Rice added, further citing the report.

According to Rice, email marketers need to address the problem of how to create an optimal onboard experience to build a long-term customer relationship with the subscriber.

“Just like in life, it is critical to make a great first impression,” Rice said.

Rice and Meghan Lockwood, Senior Research Analyst, MECLABS, solve this problem with three strategies to convert new subscribers to loyal customers. The webinar can be viewed in full below.

Tactic #1. Invest in long-term relationships
“I just want to remind you that a subscriber is not just an email address. There’s an actual person attached that you’re communicating with,” Rice said. “If you start with the understanding that all marketing comes down to relationships, you need to be ready to improvise as the relationship progresses over time.”

He lists three keys to making a long-term investment in a new subscriber:

Make a good first impression

Gradually learn more about the subscriber

Extend the conversation with a welcome series

Make a good first impression
“People do not fall into your sales and marketing funnel. It’s not a fall, it’s a climb,” said Rice. “It’s a climb onto a steep mountain where each customer makes a conscious micro decision to move forward. … Marketers must keep helping them up this funnel, fighting against the constant pull of gravity, which slows the sales process.”

To help subscribers overcome the friction and downward forces that face them at every micro decision, marketers must lend them a helping hand. Sharing information of value to the consumer –, information that will make their life or job easier — creates an emotional connection and will leave an enduring positive impression.

Newsletters, welcome emails and nurturing campaigns can be excellent opportunities to lay a foundation of trust, and this is especially true when the sale is not imminent.

As a way of showing this good grace to subscribers, Rice encourages the practice of paying it forward.

“The act of giving without any expectation shines a positive light on your brand and distinguishes it from the cold business of facts and figures. Again, marketing is about relationships. When you respect the reader enough to reveal your culture, demonstrate your culture … and serve their needs, you’re going to effectively engage.”

Single opt-in welcome messages

Remind the subscriber of where and how they opted-in to your list.

Deliver value immediately, because, “as in most relationships, manners are important,” Rice said. He advises starting with a sincere thank-you. Give more than expected, share evergreen content (past newsletters, video links, webinars or podcasts), and give a discount or exclusive access.

Confirm content and frequency expectations.

“You also want to consider asking to be whitelisted,” Rice adds. Whitelisting provides subscribers the opportunity to do something to ensure their own deliverability.

“Whitelisting, yes it’s a falling best practice because ISPs are looking at engagement practices and sender reputations, but whitelisting is still critical, especially when you first send a welcome email message.”

Additionally, the initial welcome emails should feature links to both the unsubscribe and privacy settings.

“If a subscriber has buyer’s remorse and wants to unsubscribe, let them. It doesn’t hurt your deliverability at all. For people who are worried about what a company is going to do with their email address, you really want to calm their fears,” said Rice.

Gradually learn more about the subscriber
“You want to take it slow. Just like when you go on a first date, you don’t want to ask someone their whole life story. … You want to get to know them on a gradual pace,” Rice said.

Since opt-in pages request as little information as possible, take advantage of the high open rates of welcome emails to ask follow-up questions. Doing this will harvest more data and remind the subscriber of the win-win proposition.

This is an opportunity to obtain additional demographic and preference data. By including a link to a preference center, you will collect more data to better customize your emails and offers to the subscriber’s specific desires.

Extend the conversation with a welcome series
To illustrate this idea, Lockwood cites a MarketingSherpa case study of StudentBean.com, who set up its own welcome series.

In this case study, StudentBean.com’s first step was setting up timing to where those who opted in received a confirmation email immediately, and a welcome email 24 hours later. The welcome series spanned six days total.

Rice advises two general objectives to abide by for setting up a welcome series:

Design the first welcome email: The first email’s goal was alerting the subscribers to the upcoming messages. This email is a reminder of the value of subscription.

Set up offer strategy: Except for first email, each email should feature a single offer to spur action, based on popularity and profitability, as well as customized by location and self-reported gender.

The goal of the series of emails is to quickly move the subscriber from “kicking the tires” to an educated buyer. Give the new opt-in something to look forward to with a popular strategy of developing a four-part series or a five-week education course.

“You want to create content that they’re going to look forward to and anticipate receiving,” Rice said.

For more information on starting a welcome series, read the full MarketingSherpa case study, “Email Marketing: Six-email welcome increases revenue 13%, open rate 66%.”

Tactic #2. Increase responsiveness
“The second step to converting subscribers to loyal buyers is to really focus on increasing the responsiveness,” said Rice.

To increase responsiveness, Rice recommends automated emails, especially for the initial welcome email.

Automated emails are a single or series of emails created by a defined set of rules based on dates, events or behaviors that are automatically sent to a subscriber, and they consistently achieve higher open rates due to timing and relevancy. Research in the 2012 Email Marketing Benchmark Report shows that 80% of organizations already send automated welcome emails.

“For many, the importance of the welcome email message cannot be understated. This is the first two-way conversation that prospects are going to have with your brand. Hopefully this is going to be the first step in transforming them from a fan to a customer to a brand advocate,” said Rice.

Tactic #3. Reduce reader anxiety
Lockwood sites a MarketingSherpa case study to illustrate a reduction of reader anxiety with a campaign by SavvyMom, a Canadian digital publisher.

SavvyMom’s first step was to define its messages and timing with the readers’ perspective in mind. This allowed the digital publisher to anticipate any needs or anxiety the readers might face.

The overall goal of the series was to gradually warm the readers up to the brand, and then to teach them how they can best engage with it.

The purpose of the first message was to guide subscribers to their next step, the second message to enhance the subscriber experience, and the third message increased the awareness of future emails.

Personalizing content was SavvyMom’s next step. The personalization was based off how subscribers signed up. If they had done so through the website, dynamic text filled in the reader’s name and simply thanked them. If they had entered through one of SavvyMom’s contests, dynamic text reminded readers of the contest name.

For more information on reducing subscriber anxiety, read the full MarketingSherpa case study, “Email Marketing Case Study: 5-step update of welcome campaign leads to 450% increase in new subscriber clickthrough rate.”

Communicate cautiously
Immediately sending a welcome message can prevent future spam complaints while reinforcing expectations set during the opt-in process. This is a place to confirm the subscription, and restate the frequency to the subscriber.

Rice also suggests sending a double opt-in welcome message from a separate server until you determine the addresses are accurate, to avoid hurting the sender reputation of your main IP address.

Establish explicit expectations
Rice suggests the following steps to establish expectations and reduce anxiety:

WHAT – Clearly state what type of content you will be sending

WHEN – Identify how often you will be sending email communications

WHY – Spell out the features and benefits to crystallize your value proposition

WORRY – Add a link to your privacy policy

“You have earned a click to your registration page. That’s huge, that’s a gigantic win. So you want to maintain that momentum by paving a path of logical next step for new subscribers to follow,” Rice said.

To establish those expectations with regard to design, Rice advises reviewing registration page design to maintain creative consistency. The registration page’s style should be similar to the style of the ad or email that brought visitors to it.

With a consistent brand image, language and tone, the potential subscriber will be comforted in knowing he or she has landed on the correct page.

This comfort also relies on keeping the page clean of clutter and multiple messages, said Rice, adding, “It is critical that you just have one purpose.”

Finally, Rice says the key to enacting these tactics is to “review your email from your subscriber’s point of view.” The brand definition of compelling content may differ from recipients’, and consistently delivering what was promised to the subscriber, with consideration to their needs, should be the primary goal of marketers.

Using Triggered Email Messages to Entice Your Customers

You can increase client response and eCommerce conversion by using the Triggered Email Message” feature our White Cloud eMail Marketing system.  Here is an example of how one business increased their response:

Goldfig Travel caters to both consumers and business customers looking to book high-end, upscale travel. The company’s business clients are unique in that they are just as likely to jet off to to an overseas business meeting as they are to take colleagues on a personalized safari. Email marketing is an important part of Goldring’s overall marketing strategy.

Over the three years the company has had its email program in place, Eric Goldring, the Colts Neck, N.J.-based company’s CEO, has learned a lot about what gets people to open and click through to the company’s website or blog. One of the most interesting, he said, is that while his email metrics are high—open rates hover around 75%—customers rarely purchase what’s featured in the emails. “They will see my emails and then call me up asking for something completely different,” he said. “The content of the emails is definitely not the hook or the bait. It’s the little splash in the water that attracts their attention.”

Below, Goldfig details four other email tactics that he uses to entice and interest his business customers.

Take advantage of multimedia options. Goldfig Travel belongs to the Ensemble Travel Group, a member-owned organization of more than 850 travel agencies across the U.S. and Canada. As part of that, Goldfig gets access to an e-newsletter populated with video links and images related to destinations, cruise lines and other travel-related collateral. It’s that content, Goldfig said, that gets people excited about traveling, even on mundane business trips. “I know which offers are in the emails and can target users depending on past travel and destinations,” he said. “Twice a month is the max that I am touching my clients, so something that’s exciting and visually appealing really inspires them.”

Use triggered emails to support sales, and not just before you make a sale. Most companies use triggered emails to remind people when their subscriptions are almost up or when new products are released. Goldfig, however, uses triggered emails post-sale with good results. A week before clients leave, an automatic email is sent to remind them of the trip. Customers get another email soon after they return. “It gives them a way to tell me if they had a great trip or had any problems,” he said. “I want to reach out to them before they reach out to me.” It also presents a perfect way to inquire about future travel needs, he said.

Employ humor to boost interest. Humor is a big part of Goldfig Travel’s email marketing program. For instance, once a month a welcome email goes out to new subscribers. It includes a survey designed to gauge the type and frequency of travel that new subscribers are interested in. “I’ve got funky things in there as answers,” Goldfig said. “Like, “Complete this survey and you might win something—not really.’ I use humor to project my personality, but it also makes people remember the company. I always get comments about it when I get people on the phone to book travel.”

Treat business clients like consumers. Although his business clients get emails that consumers do not, they also receive everything that goes out to his b-to-c clients, Goldfig said. “Business clients do leisure travel, too,” he said. “The consumer emails remind them that I am there for them no matter when they need something.”

Email Template Tip from the Email Marketing Experts

Please help! (from a client) – My images in the editor preview look fine but when they arrive in my inbox they are blown up and they distort the rest of my newsletter. Is it something in the tables of my template layout? Thanks for your help!

Response from eMN Team –

Hi Client,
I looked over your e-newsletter and I don’t believe that it’s because of the tables. I noticed that you sized the images with code, and that is what is causing everything to blow out. If you look at the newsletter the images at the bottom all look larger, and that is what is causing the tables to expand. For example in your code image X is set to be 161 px wide, but in reality it’s 788px wide. The best rule of thumb is to size the images to the desired width and height before you load them into the system, this can be done in photoshop. If you do not have photoshop there is a free tool online at http://www.webresizer.com.

It’s All About Timing of Your Email Sending

If there is any topic that makes a marketer wonder, it’s email launch times. Most marketers don’t want to send on Monday or Friday, fearing their email will be ignored; Mondays feel too early in the workweek, while Fridays are too late. Tuesdays have been noted by many as being the best time for sending B2B emails, but does that hold true for your database? Here are some tips for planning your email schedules and testing which days and times work best.

First, consider your message and audience.  B2B, B2C, etc.  Who is receiving the email and when would “they” most likely want to receive it?  Or better yet, when have they responded the best in past email campaigns?

Pay attention to time zones. Find the optimal time to send emails across time zones, or segment your lists by region to be conscious of time differences. An email sent at 3 p.m. PDT may be ignored by your East Coast audience.

Send in the early morning or after-hours. Some marketers are seeing better response rates with after-hours and early-morning sends (between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.)—times when recipients’ inboxes are not as jammed.

Consider Sunday evening sends. Weekend warriors or busy executives seeking to get a head start on the week check emails on Sundays.
Follow up after events, whether live or virtual. Sending a follow-up email 24 to 48 hours after the event is optimal to connect with attendees. For live events, be aware of travel times so your follow-up does not get lost in the shuffle of attendee travel.

There are no hard and fast rules for scheduling an email send. Variables such as list segments, time zones and channels make it necessary to test your lists and sends. Create a baseline with your open and click-through rates, and trend against these metrics to figure out which days and times work best for you.

 

Happy Email Sending!

Live Webinar Black Friday Email Critique by the eMail Networks Team

Join our eMail Networks Online Webinar to Critique YOUR Email Campaigns

– Send us your eMail blast for a Free live critique
– Increase reach and stir up conversation in 2014
– Wake up in bed with your clients (your email of course)
Date and Time: Jan 31st 2014
Click here- to sign up for this webinar

Do you want your eMail critiqued live?

Please forward your eMail to contact@emailnetworks.com for a complimentary eMail Evaluation