25 Email Marketing Best Practices That Drive Results

Whether you’re new to electronic mail advertising and marketing or take into account your self an skilled, you possible need the identical: to ship the perfect electronic mail advertising and marketing campaigns.

If you’re simply getting began, learn our information to electronic mail advertising and marketing fundamentals first.

Already know your means round?

Read on and observe these 25 electronic mail advertising and marketing greatest practices that’ll hold your prospects engaged, enhance your ROI, and get your campaigns going within the years to return.

Email advertising and marketing greatest practices

1. Send electronic mail campaigns utilizing a customized area

Want to construct credibility and earn the belief of your audience? Then the very first thing you must do is be certain that you ship your electronic mail advertising and marketing campaigns utilizing a customized electronic mail area.

While it’s simpler to make use of a free electronic mail area from Gmail or Yahoo!, mailbox suppliers largely reject and filter out advertising and marketing messages the place the sender can’t be simply recognized or related to a enterprise.

On the opposite hand, in the event you use a customized area, you’ll be capable to construct a stronger sender repute and have a better likelihood of touchdown in your subscribers’ inboxes. And the extra individuals see your emails, the extra alternatives you’ll should generate a constructive ROI out of your electronic mail advertising and marketing program.

Email handle with a customized electronic mail area.

Read on to be taught extra about utilizing customized domains for electronic mail advertising and marketing.

2. Use knowledgeable electronic mail advertising and marketing software

You may be tempted to run electronic mail advertising and marketing campaigns utilizing instruments like Outlook or Apple Mail, however I’d advise in opposition to it. They could also be free, however their service is restricted, and so they’re unhealthy to your deliverability.

Email advertising and marketing instruments like GetResponse allow you to not solely to make your emails fairly (with free mobile-responsive templates and options just like the Email Creator) but additionally allow you to construct and section your electronic mail listing, automate your communication, and hold monitor of your campaigns.

Some of the free electronic mail templates obtainable in GetResponse

They additionally allow you to handle your deliverability by routinely dealing with bounces, complaints, and unsubscribes and dealing with Internet Service Providers to make sure your advertising and marketing communication is safe. Read on to be taught extra concerning the function of ESPs in electronic mail deliverability, and verify our listing of greatest e-newsletter software program instruments.

3. Use a memorable sender identify

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression” Adam Grant

If your electronic mail doesn’t stand out and construct belief, your subscribers most likely received’t trouble opening it. And in the event that they ignore your newsletters just a few occasions, your future campaigns might undergo and go straight to junk.

A recognizable and memorable sender identify may help you keep away from that. While it’s necessary to make sure you are delivering worth to your viewers, it’s additionally essential to supply them a constant expertise along with your model.

Below I’ve gathered among the hottest sender identify codecs corporations use for his or her emails. Since no examine has ever proven that one in all these variants works higher than the opposite, I recommend you choose just a few that work greatest along with your model tips, check them, and persist with the one which works greatest.

• [Brand Name]
• [Employee Name] from [Brand Name]
• [Employee Name] @ [Brand Name]
• [Brand Name] Customer Support
• [Brand Name] Newsletter
• [Brand Name] Digest

Keep in thoughts that for B2B emails, chances are you’ll need to go for a extra formal tone, e.g., [Brand Name]. And in the event you’re a solopreneur with a powerful private model, chances are you’ll be higher off utilizing [Employee Name] from [Brand Name] or just [Employee Name].

From identify handle examples from varied manufacturers.

4. Ditch the [email protected] handle

The [email protected] addresses is just a little ironic.

Most entrepreneurs will swear their prospects are on the heart of their enterprise. That they care about their opinions and suggestions, each constructive and adverse.

And then, after incomes their belief and convincing them to finish an opt-in type, they use an electronic mail handle that straight-out says: “We don’t care enough about you to check this inbox.”

I get it. The sheer quantity of auto-reply and out of workplace messages can usually be overwhelming. And generally your electronic mail doesn’t appear to be one thing individuals will reply to.

But your prospects would possibly see issues in a different way. Don’t make it tougher for them to present suggestions. You most likely have enterprise profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn – all to be the place your prospects are. And to be obtainable.

It’s the identical with electronic mail advertising and marketing.

Who is aware of, perhaps those that care sufficient to hit reply shall be your greatest model ambassadors.

The advantages of ditching the [email protected] handle outweigh the negatives.

No-reply electronic mail handle from Google+ saying the closing of their platform.

5. Use confirmed opt-in

Whenever I discuss good electronic mail practices, I all the time say electronic mail listing high quality beats amount.

But I meet many entrepreneurs who’re scared to make use of confirmed opt-in.

And I get it. They’re afraid of shedding a possible shopper simply because somebody didn’t trouble to verify their inbox and click on the affirmation hyperlink.

Example of a subscription affirmation electronic mail.

But the reality is, there are numerous methods you may improve the share of people that verify your subscription (see tip #7). Plus, those that click on on the verification emails are likely to current much higher engagement rates. And engagement and conversions are what usually drives your enterprise, not the scale of your electronic mail listing.

Read on to be taught extra about why it’s good to use double opt-in.

6. Make unsubscribing simple

As an electronic mail marketer, one in all your foremost targets is to develop your electronic mail listing. And when you’re investing a number of time and assets into getting individuals to join your emails, you additionally want to grasp that they could unsubscribe sooner or later.

There could also be many causes for this. For instance, they now not can use your companies as a result of they moved to a brand new location. Or they already purchased an analogous product elsewhere. Whatever the reason being, there’s no level in holding a grudge and forcing individuals to remain in your listing.

By making the unsubscribe course of tough, you’re risking:

• best-case situation: they’ll ignore your emails or transfer them to a folder they by no means open
• worst-case situation: they’ll report your emails as spam

Both of those outcomes result in unhealthy deliverability and decrease return out of your electronic mail advertising and marketing campaigns.

So listed below are just a few pointers that’ll allow you to guarantee your unsubscribe course of is simple:

• Don’t require your subscribers to log into your app to unsubscribe, as they could have misplaced their entry to it
• Tell your subscribers why they’re receiving your emails within the first place, for instance, in your emails’ footer or the unsubscribe web page
• Provide a one or two-click unsubscribe course of by means of a hyperlink in your message footer
• Use a standard phrase like “Unsubscribe” as your hyperlink textual content so individuals can rapidly discover it within the message
• Make the unsubscribe hyperlink sufficiently big so that individuals utilizing cellular gadgets will be capable to click on on it simply
• Avoid utilizing darkish patterns or tough copy on the unsubscribe web page 

And by all means, don’t conceal or push your unsubscribe hyperlink down this far out of your electronic mail content material:

7. Use the thank-you web page strategically

What would you like your customers to do after filling out your subscription type?

Do you need them to get used to opening your emails? Perhaps even mark you because the secure sender? Or perhaps you need them to go to your weblog as an alternative?

Your thanks web page may help you obtain all that. That is, in the event you use it strategically.

Think of it this fashion:

The consumer has simply given you a direct trace they belief you and need to obtain content material from you. It’d be unwise to waste that chance and provide them nothing in trade.

As you may see from the next two examples, your thanks pages can do a number of good for you.

They may help you improve your deliverability and open charges. They also can allow you to drive visitors to your most necessary pages. Not to say the very fact they’ll improve your conversions.

Read this put up in the event you’d wish to be taught extra about how to create the perfect thank you page.

8. Segment your viewers

Sending an email blast to your complete listing may fit every so often.

But your possibilities of producing gross sales along with your electronic mail campaigns are the very best whenever you create customized content material designed for particular person buyer segments.

You absolutely have heard concerning the Pareto rule. 20% of your prospects generate 80% of your gross sales income.

Hard to imagine? Then don’t take my phrase for it. Just confirm it.

Identify the important thing segments, e.g., your most engaged subscribers or these with excessive RFM scores, see how a lot income they’re producing, and goal them along with your electronic mail campaigns individually.

If you may’t discover these prospects, persist with the segments you may consider proper on the prime of your head (the possibilities are your viewers so properly you’ll determine the perfect segments with out extra analysis.) 

This is a welcome electronic mail from a model named Desigual. Notice that the message is split into a number of matter sections. By utilizing this tactic, the model can section their viewers utilizing the click-through knowledge.

If you want extra inspiration and steerage, we’ve written this strong information to email list segmentation and discuss ecommerce-specific segments in our ecommerce email marketing guide.

9. Send welcome emails

The welcome electronic mail is the only best message you may ship.

According to our newest knowledge, common open charges soar above 68% – and click-through charges are round 16%.

Welcome emails additionally assist hold your listing clear and improve your email deliverability. If somebody enters the unsuitable electronic mail handle, the welcome electronic mail will generate a tough bounce. That then notifies your electronic mail supplier to take away it out of your listing.

They additionally reassure your new electronic mail recipients that the signup labored and the knowledge they need is on its means.

Plus, they allow you to join with new subscribers. Offer one thing beneficial or unique in the beginning of their journey and watch click-throughs rise.Explore inspiring welcome emails that set the usual.

Greet your subscribers with welcome emails, like this one from Patagonia.

10. Craft and check your electronic mail topic traces

Studies present as much as 50% of subscribers resolve to open a message primarily based on the topic line.

It is sensible.

Setting apart those that open each electronic mail, your recipients will typically solely see three issues earlier than they resolve to open or ignore your message:

• Sender identify
• Subject line
• Preheader

Depending on their electronic mail shopper and your personal settings, they may additionally see filters and labels.

But provided that the topic line is for much longer than the sender identify and preheader, it performs a giant half within the motion subscribers take.

So how do you write efficient electronic mail titles?

First of all, take time to craft them.

Treat them as crucial ingredient of your electronic mail marketing campaign – which they’re.

Don’t depart it as an afterthought. Set apart time to A/B check your topic traces. And use knowledge, not your intestine feeling.

Subject line AB check configuration in GetResponse.

Be inventive. Pull all of the aces out of your copywriting sleeves. Use energy phrases, questions, idioms, and different techniques that will transfer the needle for you.

And all the time keep in mind whom you’re contacting and to whom you need to ship worth.

11. Use an identical preheader

Do you keep in mind we mentioned the sender identify, topic line, and preheader are the primary issues subscribers see (the so-called envelope)?

Even if half your subscribers open your message on the topic line alone, the remaining are swayed by different issues.

While they’ll possible see the sender identify first, the preheader nonetheless performs an element.

This is particularly the case for electronic mail campaigns with shorter topic traces, because the preheader will take up extra space.

The preheader can improve your electronic mail topic line and improve your open charges.

In truth, our knowledge exhibits messages with preheaders have common open charges of round 25.83%.

That’s nearly 6 share factors greater than emails with out preheaders.

Yet surprisingly, solely 26% of messages have one.

That’s a missed alternative.

Take a have a look at these examples:

Email topic line: Drop Everything. Sitewide Sale. Now.

Preheader textual content: It’s our birthday 🎉 Sitewide Sale + Free Shipping & Returns to rejoice!

Subject line: It’s now or by no means!

Preheader: Only 8 hours left on these Cyber Monday offers

See how the preheaders add extra data to sway somebody to open up?

Getting individuals to open your electronic mail is simply step one.

In order to get them to click on by means of your provide, it is advisable pull them in and get them to scroll by means of your message.

A good way of doing that is by making good use of the above the fold part, primarily your header.

Take a have a look at this electronic mail header from Exploding Kittens.

It clearly stands out. Most of our emails don’t seem like a cartoon, so it catches our consideration immediately.

And there’s extra. The cat within the image needs to say one thing to us, however we received’t know what till we scroll additional down.

So, what can we do? If we’re in that type of humor, then we positively scroll additional down and study their provide.

Of course, this type of casual strategy received’t work for each model, however I feel you get the thought.

The electronic mail header must get individuals hooked in your electronic mail. It must seize their consideration and persuade them to maintain scrolling down.

Pro tip: Keep in thoughts, most electronic mail headers comprise a name to motion hyperlink, and that’s what you must do, too. 

From our expertise, most electronic mail recipients click on on the primary button they see within the electronic mail (particularly in ecommerce advertising and marketing) and proceed their journey in your web site. 

So be certain all the time so as to add that hyperlink to your header picture and drive individuals to your web site.

13. Drive click-throughs with partaking content material

What’s so particular about emails you take into account click-worthy? 

Looking at your favourite newsletters, you’ll most likely discover some frequent threads. 

They both provide nice merchandise, attention-grabbing tales, thought-provoking articles, humorous movies, or one thing else.

Ask your subscribers the identical, and also you’ll possible get many alternative solutions.

But what are some frequent options?

Our knowledge suggests emails with video observe above-average click-through charges. The similar goes for emails with photographs, personalization, and preheaders. 

But you’ll want to research your personal electronic mail campaigns and see what labored properly up to now.

If you haven’t tried movies, animated gifs, interactive content material, personalization, or emojis, it may be time to present them a go.

It’s a cliché, however you must get inventive.Take this instance of find out how to use interactive content material in electronic mail campaigns from Email Uplers.

Interactive electronic mail e-newsletter for Valentine’s Day.

For inspiration, take a look at these great email marketing campaign examples.

14. Inspire motion along with your CTAs

When designing your emails, be certain recipients know what to do next.

Is it to register for a webinar? Download an e book? Or perhaps share your story with their community? Whatever it’s, ask for it!

To try this, you’ll want calls to motion (CTA). These could be buttons or easy textual content – it’s greatest in the event you check them.

The fewer calls to motion, the extra consideration they’ll get. You’ll additionally need to hold them seen and simply accessible – particularly on smaller gadgets like cell phones.

To make your calls to motion extra highly effective, mess around with the copy and parts round them.

For instance, you may add a countdown timer or point out when the provide expires. Or add a testimonial for credibility.The excellent news is, there are numerous extra methods to extend your click-through rate.

Creative name to motion copy in a e-newsletter from Casper.

Descriptive name to motion button copy from Uncommon Goods.

Most electronic mail entrepreneurs use their electronic mail footer suboptimally.

They use it to offer all of the legally required data, just like the unsubscribe button or their firm handle, and that’s about it.

Yet, there’s a lot extra you may be doing along with your footer. And it could possibly be serving to you drive extra conversion, too.

Here’s an instance from Magic Spoon that carries a promise of happiness.

And right here’s one other one, telling you extra concerning the staff behind the e-newsletter and even providing you a particular promo.

Last however not least, right here’s an electronic mail that reassures you that in the event you’re going to answer to this message, you’re going to achieve an actual individual.

And there’s extra you may add to your footer to drive conversion.

Here are just a few extra concepts you may embody in your footer:

• A quote out of your buyer performing as a social proof
• Logos of the websites that featured you
• Your distinctive promoting proposition, like a 100% money-back assure or worldwide free returns
• Option to evaluate your message
• Results of your newest e-newsletter giveaway

16. Make your emails skimmable

We’re all busy individuals today. We’re additionally being distracted by various things, individuals, and advertising and marketing messages each single second.

That’s why if you need your emails to transform higher, it is advisable be certain to speak your message as rapidly as potential.

Structure your content material in a means that makes it simple to learn and perceive.

Use bullet factors, headlines, lists, and the preheader textual content to obviously and rapidly state your foremost message.

If you do it properly, you’ll possible see a rise in your electronic mail engagement metrics, just like the click-to-open charges.

Here’s one model I do know that does this properly.

You don’t must scroll beneath the fold to grasp the provide. In that one sentence, introduced in a extremely seen place, they’ve coated every thing that issues.

This strategy saves the subscriber’s time – they’ll transfer alongside in the event that they’re not – and lets the model rapidly seize the eye of those that are within the shopping for temper.

17. Design emails for accessibility

It’s simple to overlook you could have a various viewers.

Serving them goes past easy segmentation and personalization. You additionally need to be certain your advertising and marketing messages are accessible.

According to World Health Organization, over 2.2 billion individuals stay with some type of visible impairment.

Odds are, a few of your subscribers do too.

Here are some methods to make your emails extra accessible:

• Use applicable font measurement, 14-16px for foremost textual content content material
• Use applicable distinction and check it with WebAIM Contrast Checker
• Keep an affordable quantity of adverse area round your content material
• Structure your content material properly
• Avoid jargon or complicated wording
• Provide ALT textual content in your photographs

You’ll discover extra suggestions like this in our email design best practices guide and this email accessibility guide we co-wrote with our companion, Email Uplers.

18. Test your emails earlier than hitting ship

We’ve all seen emails with damaged topic traces, photographs, or inaccurate personalization.

The ones that decision you Emma when your identify is Bob. The ones that say you’d look nice in a costume whenever you desire cargo shorts. Or those which are so damaged you don’t know the place to look.

But all of these mistakes could be averted.

Take the time to preview your emails in common electronic mail shoppers, guarantee they received’t land within the junk folder with a Spam Checker, and ship the message to your self – earlier than it reaches your complete listing.It’s simple and solely takes a couple of minutes. And in GetResponse, you should use the Email Maker to run an Inbox preview and Spack verify check in only a few clicks:

Preview what your emails will seem like in several internet browsers and electronic mail shoppers.

Always verify the probability of your electronic mail going to the junk folder. Here’s an instance of an electronic mail spam rating check end result.

It pays to double-check your emails for foolish errors.

Of course, you would possibly mess up on objective as a stunt or joke. Just be certain it’s one – and don’t do it too usually!

19. Send your electronic mail campaigns on the proper time

Every electronic mail marketer needs their e-newsletter to be on the prime of the inbox.

After all, most subscribers will choose the emails they see first.

So when do you have to ship your emails?

Our newest examine exhibits that the best time to send email is basically a person factor. It varies throughout totally different areas, industries, and audiences.

The greatest follow is to ship your emails utilizing a send-time optimization algorithm just like the GetResponse Perfect Timing. These instruments modify the send-time for every particular person subscriber routinely, primarily based on their earlier habits.

But in the event you can’t use send-time optimization algorithms, you’ll need to remember the next outcomes & almost certainly ship your emails early within the morning.

Best follow: modify your send-time to match your subscribers’ habits and desires.

Related: How to extend your electronic mail open charges

20. Pick the proper electronic mail frequency

Another electronic mail advertising and marketing greatest follow is understanding how usually you must contact your subscribers. And that may be a tough job.

If we have a look at the mailing frequency knowledge, we see that electronic mail entrepreneurs who ship only one e-newsletter every week get the very best common open and click-through charges.

It’s a preferred strategy since 46% of all accounts we analyzed solely ship one e-newsletter every week. Bear in thoughts this knowledge doesn’t exclude entrepreneurs who additionally ship triggered emails or RSS emails.

What about different frequencies?

Around 19% ship two newsletters per week, and 9% ship three. Just 5.5% and three.9% ship 4 and 5 emails, respectively.

Something you must ask your self – How often do you have to ship your newsletters to maximise conversions whereas sustaining low unsubscribe and spam grievance charges?

At the identical time, since most entrepreneurs need to maximize their electronic mail marketing campaign ROI, as an alternative of common CTRs, we should always have a look at the whole variety of conversions they generate.

Based on that assumption, you may be higher off sending two or extra emails in the identical week. But to say for certain, we should take into consideration another elements: further income you’d make from sending an additional marketing campaign, what number of subscribers would go away your listing after receiving too many messages, plus the fee to exchange these leads.

Having mentioned all this, the final greatest follow is that you must ship not less than one electronic mail monthly and never a couple of per day to your viewers. Naturally, for some companies or throughout particular occasions of the 12 months (e.g., earlier than Black Friday), chances are you’ll improve your mailing frequency.

Read on to be taught how you can establish the right mailing frequency for your enterprise.

23. Use lead magnets

With more competition, building an email list isn’t as easy as it once was.

And that’s despite the fact that we know many effective ways to build an email list.

It’s not solely difficult as a result of your viewers has way more data sources to select from.

It’s additionally as a result of some entrepreneurs have abused the privilege of moving into their subscribers’ inboxes. They’ve despatched too many irrelevant, uninteresting, or (worse) deceptive electronic mail campaigns.

That means web site guests would possibly assume twice earlier than filling out a type. And, they’ll anticipate way more worth in return for his or her electronic mail handle.

It’s arduous to show your e-newsletter is value it in a easy internet type. But a lead magnet could be a good way to supply worth upfront.

Lead magnets – also referred to as incentives, freebies, or ‘bribes’ – are one of the simplest ways to beat individuals’s hesitation.

It could be a downloadable e book, particular trade report, calendar, or one other attractive giveaway.

Here are some extra lead magnet ideas to encourage you.

Since there are such a lot of to select from, you’ll want to check them to see which one will get the largest conversion fee.

Here’s a lead magnet we like

Clever lead magnet instance.

It’s a low-cost freebie, particularly as there’s no assure to win.

But the worth of profitable is comparatively excessive in the event you have a look at it from a person consumer’s perspective.

What’s additionally attention-grabbing is these books most likely don’t relate to the e-newsletter content material. But they permit the enterprise to place itself as an trade authority. And that’s a fairly sensible advertising and marketing transfer.

24. Use focused popups

Despite how you’re feeling about them, popup varieties are one of the vital efficient strategies for constructing electronic mail lists.

The common conversion fee for a popup is round 3%. But in the event you’re keen to place in just a little work, you may goal your viewers with laser-focus precision, attaining conversion charges above 5% and even 10%.

When constructing your internet varieties, ask your self these questions earlier than they go stay:

• When ought to the online type seem?
• When ought to or not it’s hidden?
• Should or not it’s proven to the identical consumer once more, and in that case, how usually?

Since you don’t need to irritate your customers, you’ll need to current your possibility varieties solely when it is sensible.

Sometimes that’ll be just a few seconds after they’ve entered the web page (hardly ever). Sometimes it’ll be after they’ve scrolled by means of 50-75% of your article (which can be an indication that they’re engaged), after a sure period of time, or as they’re about to go away the web page.

Example of an exit-intent popup we used on the GetResponse weblog.

Learn extra about how popups work and find out how to create a popup that converts.

25. Think about the entire advertising and marketing funnel

Not a single advertising and marketing channel can work by itself.

If you need to promote your services or products on-line, it is advisable have an viewers. To have an viewers to speak to, it is advisable construct an electronic mail listing. To try this, it is advisable create a touchdown web page and drive visitors to it. Once you’ve completed that, it is advisable provide them a lead magnet and nurture them after they’ve efficiently signed up.

This course of goes on and on, and it’s simple to get misplaced on the best way.

That’s the place advertising and marketing funnels come into play.

They’ll allow you to use your advertising and marketing channels collectively extra successfully, hold monitor of your enterprise targets, and maximize your conversion charges.

Here’s an instance of what sort of belongings might go into your advertising and marketing funnel

Your advertising and marketing belongings ought to have an analogous tone and elegance. Here’s an instance of the templates you’ll discover within the GetResponse Autofunnel.

The excellent news is that though advertising and marketing funnels might sound a bit intimidating at first, they’re fairly easy to arrange.

Even less complicated in the event you use a software that helps you create them routinely.

Just just like the GetResponse Conversion Funnel we not too long ago introduced.

Your subsequent steps

You now know all our really helpful electronic mail advertising and marketing greatest practices.

It’s time to use them to your electronic mail advertising and marketing technique and begin driving extra income.

Need a serving to hand?

Then take a look at Email Marketing from GetResponse. Whether you’re attempting to construct an electronic mail listing, ship beautiful emails, or optimize your electronic mail advertising and marketing program – we’ve acquired all of the instruments you’ll must succeed.

Best of all? You can check all of them, utterly free, with our forever-free account.