To this day, email marketing provides the best return on investment of any marketing channel, with an average return of $38 per $1 spent. Compared to social media, you can expect a whopping 4000% higher conversion rate, according to McKinsey & Company. However, the average newsletter database degrades by just over 22% annually.
Whether it’s due to changes in your recipient’s email addresses, opt-outs, or not using active emails when signing up, the potency of your email marketing campaign can slowly dissipate if you don’t take the right steps to maintain and grow it. With this in mind, we’ve put together a quick list of five effective ways to upgrade your newsletter in 2019.
Provide Valuable Content
If your emails are filled with spammy sales copy and advertisements, why would anyone want to subscribe? Your audience likely has enough marketing spam in their inbox as it is, so be an exception and provide value in every email. Stand out by answering common questions, solving common problems and discussing interesting topics in your industry.
Master Your Subject Line
Your subject line is one of the most important components of your newsletter, as it ultimately determines whether your recipients will even open the email, to begin with. Consider adding elements that are known to improve open rates, such as including a subscriber’s first name, which increases open rates by 26% on average.
The length of your subject line also plays a key role in its success. Smartphones can only show around 36 characters and account for 50% of devices your recipient’s open emails with. Aim to make your subject lines between 18 and 23 characters, or 3-5 words for optimal results.
Make Subscribing Enticing
People will be much more willing to subscribe to your email list or stay subscribed if there’s an incentive. Depending on what you sell, you can include special offers, discounts, secret codes, giveaways, and early access to new products. Offer entries into competitions for subscribing and additional entries for sharing on social media.
Use the Right Tools
A good email tool should be able to provide insightful analytics and have a user-friendly interface and a powerful suite of automation features. It should also have a good pricing plan to provide the best return on investment. PieSync’s comparison article puts Mailchimp and Sendgrid, the top two email tools, to the test to show which is best for you.
Incorporate Social Sharing Options
If the content in your emails is compelling enough, people will want to share it. Make this easy for them by including social sharing options within your email. Think of it as free advertising. If someone enjoys your content, they’ll share it with their friends, family, and colleagues, those people will share it with theirs, and so it goes.
Put simply, your audience needs a reason to keep receiving your emails. Simply showing off your latest products or including sponsors won’t get anyone anywhere. Provide value and reward your customers for giving you a portion of their inbox real estate. Like any give-and-take situation, you too will be rewarded for your efforts.
More on this topic: Secrets in Creating a Successful Digital Marketing Strategy for Service-Based Companies