Here’s the scenario:
You know you need a compelling email program, but you’re stuck on exactly how to use email to successfully generate revenue for your business.
Sound familiar?
If so, you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve rounded up five tips to help maximize the emails you send to customers. Following best practices in sending emails will position you to build revenue for your business. Below are five ways to do just that.
#1: Keep It Simple
To keep emails as digestible as possible, try to avoid including too many different content images and colors on your email templates. Consistency and simplicity will help drive clarity of message. For eCommerce email design, make sure that the email is easy to navigate so that customers will use it often. Using too many images/colors/texts will lose your customer.
The example below from Ebay isn’t a horrible email; it’s personalized and presents its sections clearly. However, photos are not used consistently. Some photos have backgrounds and others do not. As a result, it’s not as visually appealing as it could be.
Instead, opt for using compelling visuals in a simple, consistent way. By way of branding, Constant Contact suggests sticking to five or less colors choices in an email design. Below is an example of an email from Gap.com. Gap uses these images to link to popular category pages on their site. While Gap uses a different image for each category, it’s done in a simple, consistent, and clean presentation.
Overwhelming a customer with too much content will create anxiety and cause users to close or delete your emails. Be strategic on what your most important messages/CTAs are for a specific email, and stick to just a few.
When it comes to good email design, we love drawing inspiration from Really Good Emails. Yes, they’re really good, just as its name suggests.
#2: Keep It Visual
According to Super Office, the average email is opened 22% of the time. The more visual your email is, the better chance of engagement. With this in mind, Trinity recommends utilizing email designs that include eye-catching images with CTAs in an email format.
In email marketing, images can act as CTAs. It’s not uncommon to find email campaigns with large images that cover the entire email. The image will have a prominent call to action or offer appealing visuals. Here’s an example of an image taking up the entire email from Abercrombie.
Another email to consider is this one from Target. Target choose to highlight their products rather than using text and graphics (which are also included).
Simply stated, the more appealing the email content looks, the better chance you have of increasing engagement from users.
Here’s our caveat on visuals, though: Photos and videos must be high-quality. If they’re not, you’ll create a negative brand experience and potentially lose a customer.
#3: Keep It Mobile Friendly
According to Litmus, 46% of all emails opened are opened on a mobile device. So, if your emails are not optimized to be viewed on a mobile device, you’ll be missing out of providing a good experience for almost half of your customers.
Real estate on a mobile device is valuable, so make sure you’re very strategic about the hierarchy of your email content. Be sure to avoid tiny text, and do not use any text under a 14pt font.
Another way to ensure a good mobile experience is to ensure your CTAs are touch friendly, leaving some white space to prevent accidental button touches. We recommend avoiding text hyperlinks used as CTAs… They’re difficult to select and are not very engaging. When deciding between a CTA button and hyperlink, opt for buttons: They’re more compelling and easier to click with a finger.
Below is an email from Madewell. Their use of white space and clickable links helps mitigate accidental openings or difficulty clicking on their intended selections.
#4: Keep It Personal
According to Experian, personalized emails drive 6x higher transaction rates. Emails that include personalized language can help build more trust with customers. Personalized email content in email campaigns will not only make your company stand out, but also help you improve email open rates and conversions.
Segmenting your audience into groups based on behavior is a necessity for any dynamic email program. Using segmentation with an automated program ensures you’ll efficiently reach customers with relevant offerings and reminders that will build a trust in your business. In fact, according to Campaign Monitor, marketers note a 760% increase in revenue from segmented campaigns.
Other personalization tactics include suggesting relevant products based on purchase history, timely reminders, tips on how to use recently purchased items, well-timed triggers, name personalization, and more.
If you need help when it comes to personalization, we’re big fans of Klaviyo. Klaviyo lets you pull in dynamic blocks for order details, cart content, product recommendations, and custom web feeds based on a user’s behaviors. If you’re interested in learning more about dynamic, personalized emails, let us know. We’d be happy to show you how Trinity partners with Klaviyo in delivering powerful emails that drive revenue.
#5: Keep It Tested
When it comes to email marketing campaigns, testing should be a major initiative by your brand. There are unending areas to test, but areas to consider testing include CTAs, subject lines, hierarchy of messaging, CTA placement, and timing of sends. Making a more effective email only will drive ROI, but it takes testing to know if you’re as effective as you could be.
Here’s an example of how to use testing:
You may already place product recommendations in your email campaigns, but do these recommendations include the products that are best for each individual customer? Try pulling up stats from your eCommerce website and using that data to create new content personalized just for each of your customers’ email inboxes. After A/B tests, you may notice users presented with personalized content converted at a higher rate than those who weren’t.
Next Steps
Now that you have a few ideas on how to improve your email program, it’s time to incorporate those best practices into your program. Before jumping in to make changes, make sure you have a baseline of how your program is currently performing so you’re able to measure the success of your changes.
If you’re interested in an expert analysis on your program, Trinity is happy to help. We offer a free 30 minute consultation (a $795 value!) with a personalized growth opportunities for your business. Request your free session here.
