Want to boost your email marketing success in 2023?

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience and drive conversions. With the right strategy in place, you can use email to build relationships with your customers, promote your products or services, and increase brand awareness. In this blog, we'll explore the latest trends and best practices in email marketing, and provide tips and tricks to help you create effective campaigns that get results. Whether you're a small business owner or a marketing professional, my goal is to empower you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed in today's digital landscape. So, let's get started!

The average benchmarks in email marketing according to a 2022 report from MailChimp is as follows -

• Open Rate - 21.33%
• Click Rate - 2.62%
• Conversion Rate - 1.22%
• Unsubscribe Rate - 0.30%

Source: https://mailchimp.com/en-ca/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/

Even if your data is higher than the above averages, you still have work to do! I set my standards way above the average benchmarks and so should you. Your email marketing channel should be the biggest or one of the biggest revenue generators. Mainly because the Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is very low (almost free) and generates "free" traffic to your site. Email marketing is all about right email to the right person at the right time.

A lot of people have asked how I create email marketing campaigns with 30-40% open rates and 9-12% click rates which are way above industry standards. The answer is relatively simple and there are a few key steps that can be generalized and applied to any email campaign.

Prerequisite steps - Choose a relevant and appropriate email service provider (ESP) depending on the size of your email list. This step is extremely important for the success of your campaigns. The tool must be powerful, efficient and display accurate analytics for every email sent. Whether you have 4 million subscribers or 1,000 subscribers, take your time and decide on a good tool. Some recommended tools are Hubspot, Klaviyo, MailChimp etc.

One key point to remember is that don’t sell the product instead communicate the value of your product/service, it will help build trust and credibility with your audience, which will lead to more sales in the long run. Now, let’s get to the steps from initiation to execution of successful marketing emails.

STEP 1 - ESTABLISH KEY OBJECTIVE FOR THE CAMPAIGN

It’s important to set the correct expectation from a campaign before you execute it. If the campaign matches the objective or expectation then, it is considered to be a success.

Make sure you write this objective and choose relevant KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to track them later. Some of the KPIs to be tracked are open rates, click-through rate (CTR), bounce rate.

• Define the objective: The objective should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). For example, "Increase website traffic by 20% within the next quarter through email marketing campaigns."
• Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs): Once the objective is defined, identify the KPIs that will help you track and measure the success of the campaign. For example, if the objective is to increase website traffic, the KPIs could be open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
• Set a budget: Determine how much you're willing to spend on the campaign. This will help you make decisions about how many emails to send, how often to send them, and what types of content to include.
• Create a timeline: Set a schedule for when you'll send out emails and plan out the content for each email. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you're meeting your objectives.

STEP 2 - UNDERSTAND THE TARGET MARKET

Gather information about your ideal customer, including demographics, pain points, and other characteristics. You should have a deep and thorough understanding of your target audience. Who is your ideal customer? Their age, gender, geographical location etc. What is the problem your product/service is solving? Once you know this vital information, it’s time to segment your email list.

• Identify your target audience: Gather information about your ideal customer, including demographics, pain points, and other characteristics.
• Create buyer personas: Create buyer personas to represent your ideal customer. This will help you create more targeted and effective campaigns.
• Research your competition: Study your competitors' email marketing campaigns to identify what's working well for them and what could be improved.

STEP 3 - SEGMENTATION OF EMAIL LIST

It is important to segment your email list based on relevant factors so that you can send targeted and personalized messages to each group of subscribers. This can help increase the effectiveness of your email campaigns and make your subscribers feel valued.

For example, if you segment your email list by location, you can send location-specific information and deals to subscribers in that area. Similarly, if you segment your list by gender, you can send gender-specific promotions and content. Segmenting your list by average order value can also be useful. Subscribers who spend more than a certain amount can be considered as VIPs and can be given exclusive offers and discounts.

Additionally, you can also segment your email list based on their purchase history and behaviour. For example, you can create a segment for customers who frequently purchase from your store and send them exclusive offers or recommendations based on their purchase history.

In short, by segmenting your email list, you can create targeted and personalized email campaigns that are more likely to be successful and make your subscribers feel valued.

• Identify the relevant factors: The first step in segmenting your email list is to identify the factors that will be used to segment your email list. The factors can be demographic information (age, gender, location etc.), behaviour data (website activity, purchase history, email engagement), or a combination of both.
• Collect the data: Once you have identified the relevant factors, you need to collect the data necessary to segment your email list. This data can be collected through sign-up forms, surveys, website analytics, or purchase history.
• Segment the email list: Use the data collected to segment your email list into different groups based on the relevant factors identified. For example, you could create segments for male and female subscribers, or for subscribers in different geographical locations.

By segmenting your email list, you will be able to create more personalized, relevant, and effective campaigns that will lead to better engagement and conversion.

STEP 4 - EMAIL TEMPLATE AND COPYWRITING

Once you have established the objective of your email campaign, identified your target audience, and segmented your email list, it's time to focus on the template and content of the email. The key is to provide value to the email reader and not just to sell them the product directly.

When creating the email template, strive for elegance and simplicity. Make sure it is easy to read and navigate, and consider getting feedback from your team members or friends to ensure that it is effective.

When it comes to copywriting, it's important to be straightforward and to the point. Keep the objective of the email campaign in mind and think about how you can add useful information to make the recipient's life better. Identify the benefits and pain points of your customers and draft a copy that addresses them.

In summary, step 4 of email marketing campaign is to create an elegant and simple email template, provide valuable and useful information to the email reader, use straightforward and to the point copywriting while keeping the objective in mind, and in the next step, we will talk about testing different variations of the email before sending it to the whole email list.

STEP 5 - A/B TEST

In step 5, you will A/B test your email campaign to determine which variations of the email perform the best. This is an important step to help you achieve high click-through rates.

To A/B test your email campaign, you will create two sample groups of subscribers, typically around 20% of the email list or atleast 1,000 contacts to get meaningful results. These two groups will be used to test different variations of the email, such as different subject lines, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, and colours.

It's important to note that human psychology is often linked to colours and each colour can evoke a certain feeling, vibe, or mood. For example, blue is often associated with trust and reliability, while red is associated with urgency and excitement. By testing different colours in your email, you can see which one resonates the most with your audience and use that colour in future campaigns.

There are tools available online that can help you with A/B testing and automatically segment your email list. You can search for these tools on Google and choose the one that best fits your needs. These tools will help you to easily track, analyze and optimize your email campaign results, and make data-driven decisions to improve the performance of future campaigns.

In summary, step 5 is to A/B test your email campaign by creating two sample groups of subscribers, and testing different variations of the email such as subject lines, CTA buttons, and colours. Keep in mind that different colours evoke different emotions, and you can use tools available online to help you with A/B testing and segmenting the email list, to improve the overall effectiveness of the campaign.

STEP 6 - MASS EXECUTION

In step 6, you will execute your email campaign to the remaining subscribers on your list after you have identified a variation that performed well in the A/B testing phase. This is often referred to as the mass execution step.

By A/B testing in the previous step, you have increased your chances of a successful email campaign. You have identified which variations of the email performed best with a small sample group, and can now confidently send that version to the remaining subscribers on your list.

It's important to note that even though you have A/B tested your email campaign, it's still important to continue monitoring and analyzing the results. This includes tracking the performance of the email campaign, analyzing the data, and making adjustments as needed to improve the overall effectiveness of the campaign.

In summary, step 6 is the mass execution of the email campaign to the remaining subscribers on the list after A/B testing, to ensure that the email campaign is successful. Even though you have A/B tested the email campaign, you should still monitor and analyze the results, making adjustments as needed to improve the overall effectiveness of the campaign.

STEP 7 - POST ANALYSIS

In step 7, you will conduct a post-analysis of your email campaign after the email has been sent to your subscribers. This step is crucial in understanding the effectiveness of your email campaign and identifying areas for improvement.

After sending the email, wait for a minimum of 72 hours for all recipients to have an opportunity to interact with your email. Then, review your key performance indicators (KPIs) that you established in step 1. Analyze the data to understand who interacted with your emails the most and which segments of your email list had the highest engagement rates.

It's important to remember that email marketing is a process and it takes time to see successful results. You should keep learning, keep executing more email campaigns and constantly improve your skills. Consistent practice over time is key to success in email marketing.

In summary, step 7 is the post-analysis of the email campaign, where you wait for atleast 72 hours after sending the email, to analyze the data and understand the effectiveness of the campaign by looking into the KPIs from Step 1. This step is crucial in identifying areas for improvement and learning from your mistakes for future email campaigns. Keep in mind that email marketing is a process that takes time and consistent practice to become successful.

To summarize, you should remember that Email Marketing is all about crafting the perfect message and delivering it to the right audience at the right time.. I’ll elaborate on each point now:

1. Right Email - The email should have relevant and useful content that is tailored to the interests and needs of your target audience. This could include information about new products or services, special promotions or discounts, or industry news and updates.
2. Right Person - The email should be sent to the target customer who looks forward to your email. This means segmenting your email list and sending targeted messages to specific groups of customers based on their demographics, behaviour, and preferences.
3. Right Time - The email should be sent at the appropriate time during the customer marketing funnel. The funnel consists of awareness, evaluation, purchase, and delight. Your email should have an objective and should be sent when the customer is most likely to purchase your product/service (Evaluation stage).
   

By keeping these three key steps in mind, you can increase the chances of your email marketing campaigns being successful. Remember, the more personalized and timely your emails are, the more likely your customers are to engage with them and take action.

That’s all. Remember the below two points and you’re golden -

1. Seven key steps
2. Right email, Right person, Right time.
   

I hope you get all the success in your email marketing campaigns. Good luck!

If you have any doubts or questions, don't hesitate to reach out and I'll be happy to assist you. And don't forget to share this blog post with your friends, colleagues, or family who may also be interested in email marketing. Thank you for reading!