Top Email Marketing Strategies to Increase Open Rate & Click-through.

Top Email Marketing Strategies to Increase Open Rate & Click-through

According to Salecycle, 50% of people buy from marketing emails at least once per month. Their report stresses how email remains one of the best-performing marketing channels and I am not surprised in the slightest as I have observed the same type of data during my professional experience.

I can also concur with the findings by HubSpot, which reflect that the most effective strategies for email marketing campaigns are subscriber segmentation (78%), message personalisation (72%), and email automation campaigns (71%) (HubSpot Research).

Also in that report, polls to B2B marketers highlight how new product and feature announcement marketing emails have the highest click-through rate. And B2C polls found that 8 out of 10 people will open a welcome email, generating 4x as many opens and 10x as many clicks as other email types.

So, if you want to know what makes a killer email marketing campaign, keep on reading because I show the top strategies in this article.

1. The Base: Continual Branding

Consistent branding is a critical component of effective email marketing. It contributes to the maintenance of a professional image, which increases your credibility in the eyes of your subscribers. It enhances brand awareness and generates trust with your consumers. When subscribers see recognisable branding in your emails on a continuous basis, they acquire a sense of connection and reliability, which leads to increased conversions. You build a unified and recognisable identity for your brand by using consistent branding elements such as logos, colours, and typefaces on the design of your email templates.

2. Slice and dice: Otherwise known as Segmentation

Subscriber segmentation is a core tactic of any effective email marketing strategy. It entails organising email recipients into smaller groups such as prospects and customers and their types of engagement. For example, a user abandoning your site´s cart can be a prospect – who may be converted into a customer – if they receive an email reminding them of the items they desired to purchase).

Segmentation is essential for basic personalisation and the bedrock of automation, which takes us to…

3. The Humanoid Approach: Ultra Personalisation and Automation (Hello, Sequencing)

“Email marketing ROI can be as high as 3800%, generating as much as $38 for every $1 spent. An email sequence adds even more value because of the time it can save. In addition, they’ve been found to generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails.” (Matthew Scott from FEED.The Agency, contributing to Hubspot Blog)

When it comes to personalisation, as well as using first names we can tailor our emails to our recipients according to their:

Location (and local festivities – for example, Pride is a major celebration in Brighton and Hove)
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Interests
Transaction history

In terms of subject lines, it is proven that those that are precise and succinct work best to capture the recipient’s attention. Including an emoji or two can also help attract their engagement. Use pre-header text to provide further context to your email content.

Overall, the most effective email subject lines pique the recipient’s curiosity, feature promotional offers, and are tailored to the recipient’s specific interests.

Do not forget to select a personable sender name and a professional email address using your domain instead of a generic one (which breeds spam suspicion) and you are set.

Next step, Sequencing.

We would use sequencing to automate the process of nurturing, converting, retaining and reengaging our customers. An email sequence can be either trigger-based or time-based.

Trigger-based sequencing is tied to user actions such as visiting a particular page on your website, subscribing to your email list, purchasing a product, or, when it comes to events, attending one of your events, amongst other user behaviours.

Drip campaigns are a sequence of pre-scheduled emails that deliver targeted content to subscribers over time. By strategically designing these campaigns, you can provide valuable information, address pain points, and showcase the benefits of your products or services, all of which help to increase conversions.

4. Content is King of every realm

The aim is to craft content from which your recipients not only would not dare to unsubscribe but actually look forward to receive like a royal visit. These are the main aspects to consider in mastering successful commercial email crafting:

  • Appearance
    Using eye-catching images is a great approach to make your emails visually interesting and captivate your subscribers’ attention. Using attractive, high-quality images can help showcase your products or services most appealingly, allowing subscribers to connect with your offerings. Graphics, such as infographics or charts, can effectively convey information in an easily digestible format.

    Videos are another powerful visual tool that can deliver your message in an engaging and interactive way. Whether it’s a product demonstration, a tutorial, or a behind-the-scenes look, videos can increase viewer engagement and leave a lasting impression. By leveraging eye-catching visuals, you not only enhance the aesthetics of your emails but also make them more engaging, memorable, and effective in conveying your message to your subscribers.

  • Length
    It is critical to keep your emails succinct in order to capture and hold your receivers’ attention. Breaking material down into small parts, and using bullet points, subheadings and short paragraphs, allows readers to rapidly comprehend the important points without becoming overwhelmed. Also, concise emails respect your subscribers’ time while also increasing the likelihood that they will read the full message.
  • Substance & Context
    Offering unique material, promotions, or discounts to your recipients does certainly assist in enhancing their engagement. As a I mentioned earlier, sending birthday offers or anniversary emails can help you foster customer loyalty and create a strong connection.

    Also, by analysing customer behaviour, purchase history, and preferences, you can deliver targeted and relevant product recommendations or tailored offers that demonstrate that you understand your customers’ needs and interests. All of this makes your emails exponentially more valuable and engaging which boosts conversion rates.

  • Motivation
    Use scarcity: Including the concept of scarcity (limited time / availability or amount of stock) in your email content can help create a sense of urgency which functions as an incentive to increase engagement.

  • Accessibility
    By following accessibility rules for email design and content, you ensure that people with disabilities can properly access and engage with your email content. Consider adding features like alt text for photos, which gives descriptive text for visually impaired users who use screen readers. Use legible typography – and appropriate colour contrasts – plus avoid relying only on visual cues.

    Structure your emails with headers, subheadings, and proper HTML code to also make it easier for screen reader users to navigate. By making your emails accessible, you meet legal requirements and demonstrate your dedication to inclusion. This, in turn, will help you reach a larger audience.

  • Social proof & sharing
    Including social proof such as customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials helps build trust and increase engagement.

    Additionally, by integrating social media sharing buttons in your emails, you enable recipients to easily share your material with their own networks. This not only raises brand awareness but also has the ability to bring in new subscribers.

    Furthermore, connecting social media helps you to cross-promote your social channels, encouraging email recipients to connect with your company across several platforms. This is what I call an all-round win.

5.  CTA your way into their heart

But, for the love of all that is nice and true: Use a single CTA.

Using a single call-to-action (CTA) in your email will help increase engagement by reducing confusion and making it easier for the recipient to take action.

6. Legally subscribed

It is very important that you respect your recipients’ preferences and that they have explicitly agreed to receive your emails via an Opt-in. This contributes to the maintenance of a healthy and engaged subscriber base that is really interested in your material.

It is also critical to provide a clear and easy-to-find unsubscribe option. While it may appear counterproductive making it simple for users to unsubscribe is ultimately more advantageous. It enables people who are no longer interested in your emails to unsubscribe, ensuring that you keep a high-quality and engaged audience. At the same time, it serves to build trust and credibility while preventing potential complaints and spam reports by prioritising openness and allowing recipients choice over their subscriptions.

7. Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3…

Test your emails across many email clients and platforms to provide a consistent and ideal experience for all recipients. This involves inspecting image rendering, text formatting, responsive design, link functionality and CTA behaviour. Email clients like Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, and others may render emails differently, resulting in differences in formatting, layout, and overall presentation. You may uncover errors or inconsistencies that will alert you to make the required tweaks in order to reduce the chance of broken layouts or distorted content.

Additionally, it is always a good idea to carry out A/B Testing. Testing different subject lines, email content, and CTAs helps optimise campaigns for better open rates and engagement.

8. The good, the bad, the ugly and the efficacy you learnt

Monitoring email analytics is vital to understand the performance of your email marketing efforts. It will allow you to make data-driven decisions to increase their efficacy. Analysing key email metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates on a regular basis will provide you with a comprehensive perspective of how your audience interacts with your content and aid in the identification of trends, strengths, and places for improvement.

For example, if you detect a drop in open rates, you can experiment with different subject lines or adjust your sending schedules to enhance interaction. If your click-through rates are low, you can improve the relevance of your content or optimise your calls-to-action. You will only fully understand what resonates with your customers by regularly monitoring email stats.

9. Grow that raw list and prosper organically

Email list growth is a continuous effort in email marketing. Actively advertising your email newsletter on all channels helps to increase your subscriber base. Make it a focal point on your website, blog, and social media accounts to encourage visitors to sign up and stay engaged. To encourage subscriptions, provide subscribers with special information such as industry insights, how-to guides, or valuable tools.

Consider offering special discounts, promotions, or freebies to new subscribers as a welcome gesture. By providing these incentives, you not only attract potential subscribers’ interest but also demonstrate the value they will gain by joining your email list.

Remember to optimise your sign-up forms so that they are user-friendly and gather essential information so that future messages can be personalised.

10. Last golden Jedi trick

Introduce a CTA in your autoresponder email. According to GetResponse, the single message autoresponder email had an astonishing 98% open rate and a 37% click-through rate.

Who would have thought, right?
Well, now you know, Obi-Wan, so use it to bend the force of digital communication in your favour.

– End of article –

How to Create an Effective Content Strategy and Marketing

How to Devise an Effective Content Strategy Plus Top Content Marketing Tactics

According to a research by Demand Metric, 70% of people rather get information from blogs than traditional advertisements and Content Marketing generates over 3x as many leads as outbound marketing and costs 62% less. When it comes to video content, Google asserts that 70% of viewers bought from a brand after seeing it on YouTube.

The aforementioned are just some of the stats that confirm how Content has become the cornerstone of efficient marketing in today’s digital landscape. A well-defined Content Strategy is critical for meeting your company objectives. It serves as a road map for your efforts, ensuring consistency and maximising the effect of your content throughout your audiences. Creating an efficient Content Strategy starts with a clear and solid Brand Strategy. If you are starting your business, do not hesitate to consult my article “How to Build a Successful Brand Strategy”.

Let’s look at how a Content Strategy will benefit your company:

1. Recognise Your Audience

A Content Strategy compels you to delve deeply into your target audience’s psychology. Analysing their needs, pain spots, and wants provides significant insights into the content you generate, allowing you to deliver relevant and interesting material that resonates with your audience, encouraging trust, loyalty, and eventually generating conversions.

2. Establish Brand Authority

Consistent and high-quality content builds your brand as an industry authority. You establish yourself as a trusted expert by continuously contributing useful ideas, educational materials, and thought leadership content. This not only draws potential consumers, but it also distinguishes you from competition, giving you a competitive advantage.

3. Encourage Customer Engagement

You can engage with your customers with your content using a variety of platforms and channels, whether this is as blog entries and videos, podcasts or social media campaigns. This multi-channel approach boosts customer engagement, increases social sharing, and develops meaningful interactions, all of which lead to improved brand exposure and customer loyalty.

4. Increase your search engine visibility

Search engines prefer content that is current, relevant, and of high quality. You boost your website’s exposure in search engine rankings by continuously offering useful material that is optimised for relevant keywords. This raises organic traffic, attracts potential consumers, and increases conversion rates, all while lowering your paid advertising costs.

In the following section, I show you how to create a winning Content Strategy step-by-step.

How to devise a winning content strategy.

The process of creating an effective Content Strategy

Step 1:

Set Clear Goals: Define your business objectives and align your Content Strategy accordingly.

Are you aiming to generate leads, increase brand awareness, or drive conversions? Setting clear goals ensures your content efforts are purpose-driven and measurable.

Step 2:

Identify Your Target Audience: Research and analyse your target audience to gain a deep understanding of their demographics, preferences, pain points, and challenges.

Create buyer personas that represent your ideal customers, and tailor your content to address their specific needs.

Step 3:

Conduct a Content Audit: Evaluate your existing content assets to identify gaps and areas for improvement.

Assess the performance of your content in terms of engagement, conversions, and SEO. This helps you identify what’s working and what needs optimisation. For helpful tips, you can check out my article “The Best SEO Tactics to Increase Traffic and Sales” where I include info on content optimisation tactics as well as top tools.

Step 4:

Develop Content Themes and Topics: Based on your audience research and business objectives, identify key themes and topics that align with your brand.

These themes will guide your content creation efforts and ensure consistency across different channels.

Step 5:

Create a Content Calendar: Plan and organise your content creation and distribution using a content calendar.

This helps you maintain a consistent publishing schedule and ensures you cover a variety of topics relevant to your audience throughout the year.

Step 6:

Create Compelling Content: Craft high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that aligns with your themes and resonates with your target audience.

You can use different content formats such as blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media posts to cater to diverse preferences. I explain what formats work best according to B2B or B2C further down in this article.

Step 7:

Implement a Distribution Strategy: Identify the most effective channels and platforms to reach your audience.

Fully utilise social media, email marketing, SEO, guest blogging, and other distribution channels to maximise the reach and visibility of your content. You will find tips on what channels work best depending on your type of audience next, after this section.

Step 8:

Analyse and Optimise: Regularly monitor the performance of your content using analytics tools.

Measure key metrics such as engagement, conversions, and ROI. Use this data to refine your strategy, identify areas for improvement, and optimise your content efforts.

Next, I unveil what types of content and topics you will need to create to delight and convert your audiences both in B2B and B2C contexts.

Top content strategies for B2B

Top Content Marketing Tactics

Best-Performing Content Formats, Themes & Distribution Channels for B2B

Educational Blog Posts and Articles

B2B audiences often seek in-depth knowledge and insights. Create comprehensive and insightful blog posts that showcase your expertise and provide value to your B2B audience. These blog posts can be instructive guides, articles about industry trends, challenges and solutions. They will help you promote your brand as a reliable resource and thought leader.

Contribute guest posts to reputable industry publications or partner with complementary businesses to expand your reach and gain exposure to a wider B2B audience.

Whitepapers and Case Studies

Publishing whitepapers that demonstrate your expertise and provide valuable insights can greatly influence B2B decision-makers.

Highlighting your previous successes by showcasing case studies and success stories help you demonstrate the impact and value you’ve provided to other B2B clients. This also enables prospects understand how you can solve their pain points.

These formats provide a deeper analysis of specific topics or showcase successful implementations, building trust and credibility.

Content Upgrades and Gated Resources

Valuable content upgrades such as ebooks, the aforementioned whitepapers, or industry reports in exchange for contact information will help you capture leads and build your email list.

Webinars and Online Workshops

B2B professionals appreciate opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge. Hosting webinars and online workshops allows you to engage with your audience in real-time. Provide valuable insights and engage with participants to generate leads and foster relationships.

Infographics and Visual Presentations

Complex information can be effectively communicated through visually appealing infographics and presentations. These formats simplify data and statistics, making them easier to understand and share within B2B circles.

Interactive Helpful Content

Create interactive content such as quizzes, assessments, or calculators that allow B2B prospects to engage actively and receive personalized insights. This type of content encourages interaction and captures valuable data.

Email Newsletters

Regularly sending targeted and personalised email newsletters can keep B2B audiences informed about industry updates, product/service offerings, and relevant content. It helps nurture relationships, drive engagement, and generate leads.

Overall, a very effective marketing strategy in B2B is to adopt Account-Based Marketing (ABM) to personalise your content tailored to specific target company accounts. Customising your messaging, case studies, and proposals to resonate with individual companies or decision-makers, and showcasing your understanding of their particular needs, will go a long way toward increasing your chances for lead generation.

Social Proof and Testimonials

Leverage social proof by featuring testimonials, reviews, and endorsements from satisfied B2B clients. Displaying positive feedback and success stories builds credibility and trust, encouraging others to engage with your brand.

LinkedIn Distribution and Networking

Leverage LinkedIn’s professional network to share industry insights, thought leadership content, and engage with potential B2B clients. Utilising LinkedIn groups and sponsored content will help you expand your reach and generate leads.

Industry-Specific Forums and Communities

Participating in industry-specific forums, online communities, and professional networking platforms relevant to your B2B niche can be an effective way to distribute content. Engage in discussions, share valuable insights, and link back to your content when relevant.

Best Content Marketing for B2C.

Best-Performing Content Formats, Themes & Distribution Channels for B2C

Compelling Product Reviews and Demonstrations

Create engaging product reviews and demonstrations that showcase the benefits and features of your B2C products. Use videos to show how your products work and include user testimonials to build trust and influence purchasing decisions.

Engaging Social Media Posts

B2C audiences are highly active on social media platforms. Create visually appealing and engaging posts that evoke emotions, tell stories, or offer valuable tips and advice. Use videos, images, and interactive elements to capture attention. Create an emotional connection by focusing on the value and experience your products provide.

Generally, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube , TikTok and Pinterest highly effective for B2C social media content distribution. YouTube is a powerful platform if your content has a strong educational element.

Identify the platforms where your particular target audience is most active.

How-to Guides and Tutorials

B2C consumers often search for practical information and step-by-step guidance. Develop how-to guides and tutorials that address their problems, provide solutions, and showcase the value of your products or services.

User-Generated Content

Encourage B2C customers to create and share their own content related to your brand. This can include testimonials, reviews, unboxing videos, or social media challenges. User-generated content builds trust, authenticity, and fosters a sense of community around your brand.

Influencer Collaborations

Partnering with relevant influencers or micro-influencers can amplify your reach and tap into their loyal B2C followings. Collaborate with influencers who have a strong following in your niche or industry and create sponsored content, reviews, or product endorsements to reach their loyal followers. Influencer endorsements can greatly influence consumer purchasing decisions and expand your reach.

Customer Loyalty Programs

For existing B2C customers, email newsletters and customer loyalty programs can be effective channels for content distribution. Provide valuable content, exclusive offers, and personalised recommendations to nurture customer relationships and encourage engagement. Your satisfied customers are your best brand ambassadors.

Interactive Contests and Giveaways

B2C consumers love the opportunity to win prizes and engage in interactive experiences. Host contests, giveaways, quizzes, or interactive polls to encourage participation, gather user data, and generate buzz around your brand.

Limited-Time Offers and Discounts

Create a sense of urgency and exclusivity by offering limited-time promotions, discounts, or flash sales. This encourages B2C customers to take immediate action and make a purchase.

Content Amplification Networks

Consider using content amplification networks like Outbrain or Taboola to distribute your B2C content on high-traffic websites and media publications. These networks can help you reach a wider audience and generate more visibility for your content.

Social Media Advertising

Come to terms with the fact that sooner or later you will have to pay for advertising to reach your social media audiences. All social media platforms adjust their algorithms over time to force business accounts to use their advertising tools. Use targeted social media advertising campaigns on platforms where your B2C audience is most active. Leverage demographic and interest-based targeting to reach potential customers who will drive the most sales.

Top content marketing expert in UK.

Conclusion

A well-crafted Content Strategy is a powerful tool that can propel your business towards success. By understanding your audience, building brand authority, and optimising for search engines, you position yourself for growth in both B2B and B2C contexts.

Follow the step-by-step process outlined above, align content formats and themes with the preferences and behaviours of your target audience and track and analyse the performance of each channel to optimise your content distribution strategy and ensure cost-effectiveness. You will watch how your content strategy becomes a driving force behind your business achievements.

And if you need to hire a professional, do not hesitate to book my consulting services.

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