Mastering email marketing takes years, but focusing on just a few key tips can significantly improve your ROI.
This post is the 80/20 of the email marketing tips you need to know to increase your open rates and generate more revenue.
The best part?
These email marketing tips are simple enough that beginner email marketers can implement them, and even more advanced marketers should still prioritize these best practices over many of the more complex yet less effective email marketing tactics.
1. Use Proven Subject Lines
Your emails are useless if prospects don’t click on them.
Before optimizing the copywriting or improving the content ideas within the email, spend time improving your subject line.
While we have a separate resource that explains how to write a great headline, the best email subject line tip is to first identify the subject lines of your emails that have produced the highest open rates and then turn those subject lines into repeatable formulas.
This strategy is effective because each audience responds slightly differently to different tones and writing styles. Therefore, looking at a list of generic headline formulas isn’t always a great approach because a headline formula that works for one audience might not work for your audience.
The only caveat to this is if you’ve only tried one style of subject line (e.g., “how to X” or “10 tips for X”), you might need to branch out and test other styles (e.g., “The ONE thing I changed to double my open rates”) before dialing in on a specific subject line formula.
If you’re looking for subject line inspiration, sign up for your competitors’ email lists and analyze their subject line styles. You can also draw inspiration from other brands outside of your industry, though keep in mind that their audience may resonate with a different style and tone of voice.
2. Test Content Topics And Ideas
If your email marketing strategy is underperforming, altering the time of day, you send it, or the design/layout probably won’t improve your email engagement by an impactful percentage. The real problem is likely that people don’t want or need the content you’re sending. Unless you solve this problem, the email marketing tips we’ll discuss below won’t help.
The best email marketing tip to increase your open rates is to send content the receiver wants.
If your content is so good that readers are looking for your email in their inbox, you can overlook many common email marketing best practices, like optimizing your subject line or the time of day you send your emails because your loyal fans just love your content.
For example, I love Ed from Film Booth’s content. I rarely even read the subject line and just click on any email I see from him because I know that the value he delivers in the email is always amazing.
Of course, creating great content for your emails requires a lot of effort, and there isn’t a single strategy for creating great content.
However, I’ve noticed that the email content I find most engaging usually has these characteristics in common:
- The email itself delivers the value: You don’t have to click a link in the email to receive value. Sure, there might be a link where you can click to learn more, but you still receive value from the email itself rather than just a list of links.
- It includes a story: Email marketing is a fairly personal marketing channel. The more you can insert your own voice/opinions/experiences or those of others, the more original, relatable, and entertaining the content will be. If you’re writing emails for a brand, you can use storytelling and case studies and speak from the brand’s experience.
Note: The point of growing an email list is to eventually sell them something and earn revenue. Therefore, it’s okay to send the occasional email exclusively designed to sell. However, keep the value-to-ask ratio at roughly 5:1.
If you want to check out some examples of stellar email content, here are a few examples of newsletters I subscribe to and frequently open:
Also, track the topics of your most successful emails. For example, we’ve noticed that our emails discussing social media strategies tend to produce higher open rates and engagement than our emails discussing copywriting. Therefore, we should send more emails that focus on social media strategies.
3. Segment Your List
If you write to everyone, your content won’t resonate with anyone. One of the best ways to improve email engagement is to segment your audience and then only send content that the avatar subscribed to a particular segment of your email list will enjoy.
Some specific ways you can segment your audience include:
- By topic/interest: If your niche is photography, you could segment your lists by different topics within the photography niche. For example, you could create a lead magnet on selecting the best lens and another one on the best gimbal tips. People who download the gimbal tips are clearly interested in gimbals, and you could, therefore, pitch gimbal products exclusively to that email list. This also makes your list very valuable from a monetization standpoint, as gimbal companies would prioritize partnering with you because your list is hyper-targeted to people who own gimbals rather than general photography.
- By buyer education/awareness level: Some people reading your content may be beginners or in the early stages of their journey. If you have a photography website, you could have a beginner email segment and a lead magnet like “10 tips to choose the best camera.” You could also have a lead magnet to attract more advanced photographers like, “5 advanced composition techniques.”
By segmenting your list, you can send content that is more relevant to that avatar, which will increase engagement and build a stronger relationship with your readers. Additionally, you can avoid pitching products that aren’t a great fit for them and save your “ask” emails for products and services that are relevant to them (which will result in higher conversion rates).
Segmenting your email list can make it easier to develop email marketing ideas as you’ll know exactly what content your audience wants. This also helps you avoid pitching irrelevant products and save your “ask” emails for products and services that are more likely to convert. Furthermore, evaluating your email capture strategy and collaborating with other brands can help increase your email subscribers, leading to more effective email marketing efforts. Finally, following copywriting best practices, such as writing in the first person and addressing the reader’s pain points, can enhance the effectiveness of your email content.
Some newsletters, such as Morning Brew, focus on providing links to news articles while also including entertaining written paragraphs and the occasional meme. This unique copywriting style has helped Morning Brew stand out from other newsletters, showcasing the importance of engaging and entertaining content even in short paragraphs.
To enhance your own copywriting skills, consider exploring resources like Copyblogger’s website or joining the Copyblogger Academy for more in-depth guidance and support from other copywriters.
Automating and scheduling your emails is crucial for maintaining consistent communication with your audience and preventing them from forgetting about your brand. Setting up welcome email sequences and engagement email sequences can help keep your subscribers engaged and informed about your content.
Optimizing your emails for mobile devices is essential, as most subscribers view emails on their smartphones. Designing your emails to display correctly on different screens, using short sentences and paragraphs, and keeping subject lines concise are all ways to improve mobile engagement.
Regularly scrubbing your email list to remove inactive subscribers can improve email deliverability rates and ensure that your content reaches engaged audience members. Additionally, making the unsubscribe button visible in your emails can leave a positive impression on subscribers who no longer wish to receive your content.
Identifying what content resonates with your audience and doubling down on successful strategies is key to maximizing the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts. Analyzing metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribes can provide valuable insights into what works best for your audience.
Lastly, actively seeking feedback from subscribers through polls and encouraging responses to your emails can help you better understand your audience’s preferences and create content that truly connects with them.
In conclusion, email marketing remains a profitable and effective marketing channel when approached with a focus on engaging content, automation, optimization for mobile devices, and continuous analysis and adaptation based on audience feedback.
Studies have shown that the average ROI of email marketing is between $36 and $40 on every dollar spent.
The costs associated with email marketing are minimal, with the only expenses being the platform (like ConvertKit or Beehiiv) and the copywriter/designer to create the email. The revenue potential, on the other hand, is limitless, depending on your product and how effectively you market to your list.
How can I be successful in email marketing?
To succeed in email marketing, focus on mastering the following 80/20 of email marketing tips:
- Using proven subject lines
- Testing content topics and ideas
- Segmenting your list
- Evaluating your email capture strategy
- Cross promoting your email list
- Following copywriting best practices
- Leveraging automation
- Optimizing for mobile devices
- Scrubbing your list regularly
- Doubling down on what’s already working
What are the five steps of email marketing?
Here are the five steps of email marketing:
- Select an email platform like Beehiiv or ConvertKit
- Create a lead magnet to capture emails.
- Place CTAs on your website to download your lead magnet
- Select a weekly email send schedule
- Ask for feedback from your audience
How To Take Your Email Marketing To The Next Level
These tips cover the 80/20 you need to know to elevate your email marketing strategy and increase revenue. For more advanced email marketing tactics and personalized guidance, consider joining the Copyblogger Academy.
The Copyblogger Academy is a community of copywriters, marketers, and entrepreneurs dedicated to enhancing their marketing skills. With access to over eight full courses on various topics, including email marketing and copywriting, you can learn from industry experts and receive direct guidance on growing your revenue.
If you’re ready to invest in yourself and take your marketing skills to the next level, join the Copyblogger Academy today. And if you’re not completely satisfied, we offer a money-back guarantee. Start now and see the results in your marketing efforts!
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the average ROI of email marketing?
The average ROI of email marketing is between $36 and $40 on every dollar spent.
2. What are the key steps to be successful in email marketing?
Key steps to succeed in email marketing include using proven subject lines, testing content ideas, segmenting your list, and leveraging automation.
3. How can I optimize my email marketing strategy?
To optimize your email marketing strategy, focus on mastering copywriting best practices, scrubbing your list regularly, and doubling down on what’s already working.
4. What tools can I use for email marketing?
You can use email platforms like Beehiiv or ConvertKit for your email marketing campaigns.
5. How can I take my email marketing to the next level?
To take your email marketing to the next level, consider joining the Copyblogger Academy for advanced tactics and personalized guidance from industry experts.
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