Top 10 Email Marketing Tips & Tricks

The retail and e-commerce industry is the one that can benefit the most from email marketing.

For this reason, it is undeniable that email marketing must adapt to two of the great challenges of the sector, which according to the Study of "Technological Trends in the Retail Sector" are the digital transformation and the improvement of interaction with customers.

The study, prepared by more than 700 experts who attended the 2016 Retail Forum, highlights that the present and future must be aimed at "achieving a personalized, effective and experiential purchasing process", in order not only to achieve a greater return on investment (ROI) but to create a brand image and with it ´lovers` that in turn increase potential consumers through recommendation.

To achieve an effective purchasing process, based on immediacy, usability, personalization, and good experiences, email marketing is configured as the leading communication medium for digital retailers, thanks mainly to greater audience segmentation and adaptation to new habits and consumer needs.

As a novelty, it is now possible to include in the email thanks to the Viwom online platform, the king content of the Internet, video, making it possible to carry out video email marketing campaigns.

Until now it was only possible to enter text and images, but now it is possible to implement audiovisual pieces that are automatically reproduced when the recipient opens the email.

This has made it possible to combine the communication format most desired by users, such as video, with the most consulted channel throughout the day, email.

Are you looking for the perfect combination between email marketing + digital retail + sales + engagement? Here are some useful tips for you.

 

 

 

The top 10 email marketing tips are as follows:

1) First Thing: Segmenting

To publicize a product with its characteristics, benefits, details, etc., is very good, but it is even more so to analyze the profile of our consumers or buyers.

Receiving an email with a sample of an infinite variety of products from a brand, without prior screening, is confusing and a waste of time for the user, who is increasingly looking for more products adjusted to their needs based on the type of product, age, sex, size or location.

It is about putting yourself in the place of the recipient, if he lives in a warm city, why would he want to receive an email with an offer of outerwear?

Retailers must adopt the 'Customer Centricity' strategy in their business model, investing time in segmenting their databases based on useful parameters to get the right content to the user.

In this way, we will avoid that the user loses interest in the site, does not register, or causes cancellation as a subscriber.

 

 

2) Always bet on 'Responsive Design'

If there is a device that is growing by leaps and bounds as a support for online shopping, it is the mobile. Everywhere you look there are constant typing and thousands of daily transactions that remind us of the tremendous rise of electronic commerce.

According to the Blue Hornet study “Consumer of Email Marketing 2016”, 72% of consumers use their mobile to check their mail. Now it's more than 72%.

Retailers assume as main business strategies related to the mobility provided by smartphones or tablets, and therefore the importance of adapting to these new media with ' Responsive Design ' or adaptive design.

It is very important to think that the user can see the emails from any mobile device, clearly, facilitate their reading, the viewing of promotional images and videos, the registration form, or the purchase button.

 

 

With these actions, priority is given to the user experience by betting on omnichannel and we will increase visits to our store, blog, social networks, and their conversion to sales.

It is not a passing fad, it has become an essential basic for every self-respecting 'marketer', excuses for not adapting emails are not worth it.

For this reason, contacting professionals specialized in email marketing such as Digital Response can be a reliable solution, as well as finding the necessary templates and support to create responsive video email campaigns in a simple and effective way.

Of course, we recommend carrying out a ´Responsive Design Testing 'later to test the results. Carry out a previous preview before launching, in order to detect defects and correct them with the most appropriate solutions.

 

 

 

3) Draw attention to your product

A CTA('Call to action', button, or incentive link to attract potential customers and convert them into sales opportunities) can take various forms and play various roles within an email.

Some offer a free download, leading to a web link, document, or registration form.

Until now, there were generally three types of 'Call to Action': images, buttons, and text links, to which must be added the possibility of using the video as a call to attention about a product ... it sounds very interesting but, how to take it to cape?

In the first place, it would be necessary to plan what product you want to communicate, the message and background, and the form that the email is going to take. We would opt-in second place, for the choice, design, and placement of one or more CTAs, always in line with the general objective.

If this is loyalty you can bet on a free eBook, yes, better if it is accompanied by another guide that talks about the benefits of your product.

 

 

If what you want is to attract buyers or conversions to sales, opt for a CTA that leads directly to the product of interest.

A good idea is to implement a video in the email that links directly not to the site of your online store but to the specific product of the ad, thus preventing the buyer's attention and interest from being lost.

Third and last, we will follow the instructions of the email content editor that we use to insert the CTAs into the template.

In summary, key steps to take into account to not only attract attention but impress your audience: Product, Objective, CTAs, and… Action!

 

 

4) Cross-selling through email

Although the behaviour of the digital buyer can never be predicted in the face of the ever-increasing supply of the Internet, what is clear is that in the face of a sale, a more related one can always occur.

We like to rummage and rummage as if it were a market, but if this search is given to us and it is offered personalized, much better.

When a sale is achieved through the network, a good formula to inform and encourage buyers to continue buying items from the rest of the stock is what in relationship marketing is called “cross-selling”.

 

 

For example, we went online to look for a dress (Yes, I'm just going to look at dresses and buy one! Or so we thought…) on our favourite fashion website.

We find one that fits our taste and price, when right next to the shopping cart button we see the possibility of clicking on other garments and/or accessories that complete a magnificent 'look'.

Almost without realizing it, the cart is overflowing with clothes and the card fuming ...

That is the "subliminal end" of cross-selling pursued by many 'retailers' or 'e-commerce, who not only apply it on their websites but also that the tactic has jumped to the emails of their brands.

A formula that is frequently given is that after a purchase on the web - for example of that favorite dress - we immediately receive an email with possible matching garments or accessories.

 

 

 

5) Create Buzz ... zzzzzz by viralizing your emails

What does 'buzz' mean? Its literal translation is buzz and is a viral marketing technique that aims to turn your product or brand at a certain point of contact, into a positive and unique experience.

Let them talk about her! Who does not remember the video of "I Love Laura" with which MTV announced his arrival in our country?

It was a total success and this idea can be perfectly applied to an email marketing campaign, taking advantage of the impact that video pieces have on video channels and social networks.

Provide added brand value and add buttons to the main social networks in which you have a presence and want the content of the email to be shared and ... your `lovers' will take care of the rest.

 

 

6) Choose a good headline for the topic

Good news hooks for a successful headline that draws attention to the information. This same formula is transferred to emails, in which the subject line should not be wasted to provoke the action of its opening.

A good subject should be treated as a good headline, simple and concise, which avoids toxic words for `retail mailing` such as“Free ”,“ Buy now”-identified by many ESPs as spam- but that on the contrary includes“magic words” Such as` Video '.

This word surely arouses the curiosity of the recipients and they will not ignore the email when checking the inbox. And it is that just adding 'video', the opening rate can be increased by up to 10%.

 

 

 

7) The power of video

Video email is a powerful medium, which fills emails with their mere presence or complements the text very well. It allows to display products with a 360-degree view and persuade customers with real product test samples, testimonials… etc.

If you bet on making the video the protagonist of the email, it is proven that its placement and duration is vital so that the buyer does not skip it or directly do not see it, in the absence of scrolling down, with the consequent loss of campaign objectives of email marketing.

 

 

For this reason, it is recommended that as soon as the email is opened, the audio-visual and important piece appears at first, its duration, that it doesn't turn into a "short film", yet rather that it be brief, concise and that appeals to the emotionality of the viewer.

According to a study by Animoto, viewers react better to videos of about 60 seconds or less. In addition, this video model has advantages on smaller screens such as smartphones, where video occupies 100%.

Consumption habits have revolutionized the way of consuming video on the Internet and the new generations called 'Millennials' are used to the short, fast format and with a greater predisposition to watching quality content and entertainment than consumers of previous generations.

 

 

8) Video and template in tune

Video branding is very good if you want to generate a brand image and attract viewers, but it is not as effective in achieving sales conversions, at least in a more immediate way.

To get them to press the long-awaited buy button in emails, the product must focus the attention on the video content.

As we have seen before, the video can be implemented as a CTA, or just below another of the CTA formulas, so that it links directly to the description, details, and purchase of a said product.

 

 

9) Launch time: When and how

In the email marketing strategy of any 'marketer', it is important to previously configure the days and hours of the launch, as well as its "technical" characteristics. And it is that hitting the right moment is crucial for your emails to be more effective.

 

 

During business days, there are those who say that the best times are Tuesdays and Thursdays since this is when more people are in front of the computer and there is a better predisposition to opening emails.

It is usually avoided on Mondays when the inbox is probably full of emails sent the Friday before and there is a risk that your campaign will be in the queue pending to read. The same thing usually happens on Friday, when we are closing all the tasks and it is usually chaos.

 

 

If you bet on a video campaign, it is important that it is set to the 'mute' option (without sound), or accompanied by a smooth and pleasant tune if it is going to be sent during business hours, since otherwise and it is safest that the user chooses to immediately close the email without accessing its content.

On the contrary, if your launch is after working hours, it is recommended that it be with sound and thereby stimulate another sense that captures attention and reinforces the message of the video.

 

 

10) Choose an 'anti-spam' sender

Choose a name that inspires trust and is consistent with the potential segment to which it is directed is important for the recipient of your emails since anti-spam filters tend to pay a lot of attention to them in order to evaluate the security of the email.

A common mistake to avoid is sending info @ noreply @ communication @, since with these senders your emails can in all probability end up in the spam tray.

 

 

It is also advisable to indicate from which email address the email originates, although it is not visible at first glance in the message, in some email clients when you move the mouse over the "Sender's Name" it can be seen. Likewise, if the source code of the message is displayed, said email appears.