By 2023, the number of people who actively use email is expected to reach 4.3 billion – that’s half of the world’s population! But wait, there’s more:

• In 2019, 293.6 billion emails were sent and received each day, which is expected to increase to over 347.3 billion daily emails by 2022.
• Almost nine out of every 10 marketers - 87% - use email marketing to distribute content organically.
• 81% of small businesses rely on emails to generate leads and acquire customers.
• 80% of small businesses use email marketing to nurture and retain customers.
• For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $42.

Since almost half of buyers across the board say they want to receive promotional emails from their favorite brands, you have the power to reach your customers 24/7/365 with email marketing. Consider this: The average open rate for a welcome email is 82%!

In this article, we’ll give you six ways to immediately improve your email marketing strategy and send better emails.

1: Keep content short.

Most email marketers work on the premise that people want to read only one main message. When they open an email, they’re not committing to reading an entire article.

Keep your emails simple by writing clear, concise messages with a conversational voice. This usually means cutting out the fluff. Get straight to the point and tell people exactly what you can do for them. 

Leave stiff greetings like, “I know you’re busy, but…” on the editing room floor in favor of openings that capture people’s attention. Address their needs with something of value and offer a lead-in to content with a single call-to-action (CTA) to visit your website to read more.

2: Format content so it's easy to digest.

One of the best practices of email marketing is to make sure your emails are easy and enjoyable to read. Use large, readable fonts that your customers can easily see. For instance, use black text on a white background for text-heavy emails, which is the most readable combination.

3: Optimize for mobile devices.

Recent research indicates more than half of us open and read our emails on mobile devices. Utilize device detection and consider using a stacked vertical layout for text that ensures the best readability on narrow screens and smaller mobile devices.

When determining how much content to include, remember that multiple lengthy sentences in an email on mobile can look like a novel – another reason to write concise messaging.

Since a button format CTA stands out in content that’s being scanned quickly, try including both a button CTA and a CTA text link for the number one call-to-action within an email. Write subject lines to improve open rates.

4: Quality subject lines.

The best subject lines for your emails entice people to open the email when they’re scanning their inboxes. For instance, emails with personalized subject lines generate 50% higher open rates.

Good subject lines are usually helpful and relevant to the reader, don’t waste their time, and grab their attention. They shouldn't sound pushy or use a hard sell to make a sale.

The trick is to craft subject lines in combination with the preview text, the content seen under the subject line in most email applications. The 15-word preview text can add a sense of urgency and shows why it’s important that people take a moment to view the email.

5: Link to landing pages rather than home pages.

The job of the email marketer is to make your recipient’s life as easy as possible, so give them exactly what you intend for them to have. This means ditching a link to the general information typically found on a home page. Provide one clear CTA that leads to a landing page made to match your recipient’s expectations created for them in your email content.

If your email includes images, link them to content too, whether it’s the landing page or another resource offered on your website other than the home page.

6: Try sending text-only emails.

Sometimes it’s great to send emails with images and links to videos. However, emails with video or images can filter into an inbox's promotion tab, which is why it’s smart to focus on the email text first to improve your email marketing strategy.

Text-focused emails should be short, to the point, and useful for the recipient. Use images sparingly, if at all, to keep the focus on a single call-to-action.

One content idea for text-only messages is to send a personal email written by a company executive. Research shows emails sent by a real person are more likely to be clicked on than emails sent from a company name.

11outof11 for Email Marketing

If you want to immediately improve your email marketing, connect with 11outof11. Request a complimentary call with an 11outof11 expert. Contact us to learn more