by Jerrik Neri Welcome to 2018! Now that the parties and presents are behind us, it’s time to start thinking about your business. ...
by Jerrik Neri
Welcome to 2018!
Now that the parties and presents are behind us, it’s time to start thinking about your business.
More specifically, how you can totally kill it with email marketing this year.
Just like most people make some sort of New Years Resolution to hit the gym or focus on self-improvement, your business should consider how it can whip itself into shape in 2018. And this the perfect time to reassess your email marketing campaigns. You want to start the year off right, don’t you?
Maybe you’re looking to score twice as many email leads this year.
Perhaps you’re trying to triple the email traffic to your business’ website.
Regardless of your goals, you’re going to need to come up with a sound strategy to get you started. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered in that department.
By sticking to these tips, you can keep focused and make your 2018 a year to remember as a marketer.
Eight Ways to Reach Your Email Marketing Goals This Year!
1. GROW YOUR SUBSCRIBER COUNT
The more subscribers on your list, the better.
Here’s the deal, though. As more and more businesses learn just how powerful email marketing can be, it’s important to come up with a compelling reason for people to subscribe to your list.
So, how do you make it happen?
How to Aggressively Advertise Your List
You can’t expect to grow your list unless your current readers, fans and followers know about it. Simple enough, right?
But ask yourself: Are you giving your readers, fans and followers enough opportunities to become long-term subscribers?
To guarantee that your list isn’t getting lost in the shuffle, consider some additional tactics to hype up your list such as:
- Promoting your newsletter and email offers on Facebook. While email marketing is better than social media in so many respects, there’s no denying how much time the average person spends in the social space.
- Increase opt-in opportunities on your blog. Anyone who lands on your business’ blog should be a subscriber, plain and simple. Whether through opt-in widgets, squeeze pages and pop-ups, integrating email marketing with your company blog should be a top priority.
- Make your email list seem like a “must-see” affair. Sometimes scoring more subscribers means writing better copy. Get your readers pumped up by promoting exclusive or potentially game-changing content, just like Sendlane does through our Inbox Better ebook (peek those bullet points!)
Nowadays, marketers need to take a more aggressive and proactive approach to promoting their lists in the face of so much competition. Combining these tips ensures that your list doesn’t go unseen.
2. CREATE AN IRRESISTIBLE NEW LEAD MAGNET OFFER
And speaking of must-see, let’s talk about one of the absolute best ways to encourage more subscribers in 2018.
Lead magnets.
Free ebooks, webinars and digital courses are the bread and butter of marketers today. Growing your list through freebies is a time-tested tactic to grow your list.
Using your email list as a gateway to your content not only makes your list seem more exclusive, but also gives you a direct line of communication to your warmest leads.
Every business today should strive to have some eye-popping piece of content that points directly to their email lists.
And if you already have a lead magnet offer to promote your list, that’s awesome!
But you’re not quite off the hook yet.
After all, it’s 2018! If you’ve been pushing the same offer over and over again, it’s time for something fresh.
Creating a new lead magnet does double duty by encouraging first-time subscribers and giving your current ones something shiny and new to look over.
If the idea of coming up with a lead magnet freaks you out, relax! You don’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel or write an entire ebook. Some low-hanging ideas you can use as inspiration for a lead magnet include:
- A list of current, shocking statistics relevant to your audience
- Surprising results from a recent case study or story from one of your customers
- Revising an old lead magnet with new information or examples
- A compilation of tips and tricks pulled from your best-performing blog posts
No matter how big or small, lead magnet offers provide that ever-so-important incentive for readers to become subscribers for the long haul.
3. IMMEDIATELY INCREASE YOUR OPEN RATE
Among the many email marketing metrics for businesses to focus on, your open rate represents a big-time priority.
Because if your emails aren’t getting opened, they aren’t getting read.
Thankfully, taking action to improve your open rate doesn’t have to be a guessing game with the help of Sendlane’s features.
For example, paying close attention to your reporting can help you understand which types of subject lines are winners for your list.
Maybe your list likes seeing their names in the subject line.
Maybe they respond well to questions.
By tracking your email analytics, you can see by the numbers which of your emails are killing it and which might be falling flat.
Additionally, many businesses hurt their open rate by sending one-size-fits-all messages to their list.
Did you know segmented messages drive more revenue and boast higher opens than generic, blanket messages? That’s why crafting up your campaigns based on where your subscribers came from is a must-do for boosting your open rate.
Even something as minor as when you send you messages can have a huge impact on whether or not they actually get opened.
Rather than assume your readers are going to open your emails at a particular time, why not let Sendlane do the legwork for you?
Features such as Sendlane’s optimized timing effectively “learn” when your list is most likely to engage with your content. This sets each and every one of your campaigns up for more success without having to worry about when your emails will be sent.
4. MONETIZE YOUR LIST
Email marketing beats out the likes of social media or direct mail because of its sky-high ROI.
$38 for every $1 spent is nothing to scoff at.
So if you haven’t monetized your list yet, what better time than now?
Monetizing your list doesn’t mean blasting offer after offer. It doesn’t mean coming off like a salesperson in your messages, either.
Seeing bigger returns from your email marketing means selling to your list without spamming them. You can turn email leads into buyers over time, but only by building trust first and foremost.
That’s why educational emails and lead magnets are so important to warm up your list. Once your subscribers have engaged with your content or free trial, then you can monetize.
Sprinkling sales, limited-time offers and discounts to your list doesn’t have to feel pushy. Offer messages such as this one from Evernote are a prime example of sensible selling via email:
5. MAKE YOUR MOBILE READERS HAPPY
Regardless of your industry, there’s a strong chance that your business’ emails are being read on-the-go.
Given nine-out-of-ten people are checking their mobile inboxes at least once per day, mobile optimization is a matter of “when,” not “if.”
This means that marketers should fine-tune how their messages look when confined to a smartphone screen ASAP.
The good news? Appealing to mobile readers doesn’t mean starting your campaigns from scratch. In fact, crafting mobile-friendly messages is pretty simple when you stick to these principles:
Make your messages scroll friendly. Rather than intimidate readers with a wall of text, break your emails into sections for people to swiftly swipe through. This makes your messages easier to read and won’t overwhelm people at a glance.
Calls-to-action should be crystal clear. When your CTA is loud and clear thanks to front-and-center buttons, you’re more likely to win readers over. Oh, and think “taps” versus “clicks” when it comes to your CTAs. Fun fact: the average human fingertip is around 44pt, so design your buttons accordingly.
Colors count. A clear contrast between your text and background is easier on your readers’ eyes. Also, bright colors for your call-to-action makes them harder to miss.
This email from DataCamp ticks all of these boxes, represent a scroll-friendly email with near-perfect design for readers away from their desktops:
Applying these design principles to future emails can help boost your performance with readers regardless of where their opening your emails.
6. PUT PIECES OF YOUR MARKETING ON AUTOPILOT
Work smarter, not harder.
That’s the sort of mentality we advocate here at Sendlane.
That’s why more and more businesses are automating their email campaigns to take some much-needed work off of their plates.
With email automation, you can reach and respond to your subscribers efficiently without doing so much legwork.
For example, Sendlane allows users to create custom workflows send perfectly timed emails based on the behaviors of your list.
Let’s say some didn’t click through or take a particular action on a piece of content. No problem! Thanks to automation, you can touch base with those subscribers with the right messages to keep them engaged.
Someone walk away from their shopping cart on your site? Reel them back in with automated cart abandonment emails.
Tired of tagging subscribers manually? We can take care of that.
Hey, it’s 2018. Email marketing definitely deserves your undivided attention, but shouldn’t eat up all of your time. By automating pieces of your campaigns, you can spend more time focusing on your customers rather than tedious tasks.
7. GET TO KNOW YOUR SUBSCRIBERS
If you want to squeeze more of an ROI from your email campaigns, you can’t be strangers to your subscribers.
The more you learn about your list, the more likely you are to craft content and messages that resonate with their wants and needs.
Familiarize yourself with your subscribers’ pain points. Check in every now and them. Stand out from the crowd by showing your concern.
Doing so is simple when you master the art of asking questions.
Question-based emails represent a quick way to pick the brains of your list while also giving people a taste of your personality.
Such emails are easy for you to craft and are likewise easy for your subscribers to quickly respond to. This question-based email from Insurify represents a smart way to survey readers in a single click:
Let your subscribers know that you’re listening. Asking questions is a win-win strategy as you gain crucial knowledge from your list while also letting your personality shine.
8. KEEP IT SIMPLE
Finally, let’s talk about an emerging email trend that spells great news for marketers.
Simple emails.
Think about it. People are busy. Crazy busy.
As a result, more and more businesses are taking a “less is more” approach to their email marketing.
Shorter messages. Minimal imagery. Plain text, straight to the point.
Why are such emails gaining steam, though?
For starters, they’re easier to scan and understand at a glance for readers on-the-go. Also keep in mind that the less there is to take in for an email, the easier it is for people to respond to whatever your call-to-action might be.
On that note, this tip really touches on an overlooked aspect of email in 2018.
That is, anyone can get started with email marketing. If you have a business and a message, you already have the building blocks for an amazing campaign.
And remember: with all of the awesome features that Sendlane has to offer, taking action to jumpstart your email campaigns has literally never been easier.
What Are You Doing to Make 2018 Your Year?
Inspired? Ready to get down to business? Good!
At the same time, looking at all eight of these goals at once might be a bit overwhelming, right?
Don’t sweat it!
After all, so many people give up on their New Year’s Resolutions because they try to do way too much at once.
So take it step by step. Over the course of the year, you can check each and every one of these tips off your list.
Make 2018 your year with the help of email automation. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or someone just getting started with email marketing, we invite you to give Sendlane a spin today to make your business’ goals a reality!
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