Email marketing is a great way to turn data into personalized experiences that resonate with your consumer. Email marketing is far from being a strategy of the past. In fact, it is one of the most effective ways to connect with consumers and build lifelong relationships. Investing in email marketing is more than just hitting the send button!
Personalizing messages to maximize rates
Personalizing messages to tailor to different customer segments seems like a no-brainer – yet only 5% of businesses do it. Here are some tips in order to stand out among your competitors in your target market:
- Ask questions to your subscribers that will help you further segment your list. Use their answers to send separate messages to each segment. For example, businesses can segment college students based on age, gender and involvement in clubs. Segmenting your subscribers allows you to market more effectively.
- Define your ideal customer by identifying what they enjoy, what motivates them and what interests them
- Use location data to see where your consumers are at and what time is the best to send emails to them
- Track and analyze the results of your campaign to see open rates, click through rates and response/retention rates
Get the timing right
According to an infographic by onblastblog.com, 24% of emails are opened within the first hour of delivery. However, it is important to note that this 24% does not necessarily equate to the open rate percentage as it depends on what time your email is sent. For example, some students may check their email before or after their certain class times. Track and analyze what times yield the most open rates according to the specific college segment you are looking to target. The top open rates hours according to the infographic are from 8-9am and 3-4pm. Early afternoon yields some of the best open and click through rates, although it is not the most popular time it is sent out. Almost 40% of messages are sent between 6am-12pm, but it is best to avoid this time period in order to avoid getting lost in the clutter.
Engage with them after they open it
Having your target customer open your email is only half the battle. In order to engage with them after they open your message, make sure to display a call of action that clearly tells them what you would like them to do without making the reader have to scroll. Strive for small goals by introducing your reader to new features/products offered in order to build trust, engage in a real conversation and gain momentum towards a bigger goal.
