If you want to increase email engagement, you can’t just send more email. Instead of getting a better response, you are just increasing your email sending frequency. It takes more than just, well, sending more to see a positive change in your email campaigns.
Try out the following tips to boost your email subscriber engagement…
Target your emails by segmentation
By sending emails containing information that is specific to a group of people, rather than your entire list, you are able to send a focused and more valuable message that stands a better chance of getting interacted with by its recipients. Although you will be reaching less people, the ones you do reach will be much more likely to engage.
Simply use data that you already have to split your list into groups. Group by:
- Demographic, industry or role, location, content interests
- Behavior, purchases they have made, links they have clicked
If you’re not sure where to start, visit this post for more information:
5 Ways to Segment Your Email List
This handy Infographic gives you 4 simple rules to follow while segmenting:
4 Simple Rules for Email Marketing Segmentation
Start a triggered message program or lifecycle marketing campaign
An LCM campaign is an email marketing technique for sending multiple messages to a group of subscribers in an automated fashion over a period of time. This type of campaign sets up a series of stages where your readers will receive specific emails as they move through the campaign. As they receive the emails associated with each stage, they will become more familiar with your products and will become closer to becoming a customer.
We wrote an in-depth post about rolling out a campaign like this here:
Rolling Out a Successful Lifecycle Marketing Campaign
Have the right subscribers
The first step in keeping a clean list is to not purchase lists. Buying lists can hurt your sending reputation thanks to the spam complaints they generate. Spam complaints, of course, can and will impact your future deliverability. So, don’t buy lists.
To keep a healthy email list it is important to scrub your list every six months. It is also vital to make sure you take care of your unsubscribers and bounces right away. A small amount of bounced emails are within the bounds of what’s considered normal, but be sure to stay on top of things as ISPs will watch your sends more closely if your bounce rates increases.
Analyze your data
Tracking how your readers are interacting with your emails can provide valuable insight into how effective your campaigns are and what your readers are interested in. You should be tracking your click-throughs from call-to-actions to best see how your subscribers are interacting with your email and to see what information they are most interested in. This will better inform you of what your audience responds to best for your future campaigns.
Need to know where to start? Tracking the stats that matter
Include social media links at the bottom of your emails
Give your subscribers the opportunity to connect with your business by including links to your social media pages in every message or communication. This will improve your click-through rates and encourage your subscribers to learn more from and about your business. And, because it’s worth mentioning, with each channel of communication you make available to your customers, you are opening (and leaving open) the door to future engagement and interaction with them.
Create compelling content
Before creating any of the content for your mailings you should be able to answer the question “what does my audience want to know?” Your answers to this question should inform the content for future mailings.
Your emails should always contain useful information that, benefits your reader, has a unique viewpoint and is original. By sending compelling content, you are increasing the chances that your email will be opened, read, and then engaged with by your audience.
Read more about prioritizing your email subscriber experience here:
Why your email subscriber experience should be a priority
Focus on benefits
Make sure your email exhibits value to the customer and is not just a means to showcase what you are currently featuring. It should be clear how you can help them save time, grow their business, or provide them with desirable and interesting information. Their curiosity and need should compel them to open your email and learn more.
Subject lines
Your subject line should be short and to the point (less than 50 characters), fit your audience and match your content. The most successful subject lines give your subscribers a reason to open your email immediately.
Subject lines that get results
Plan for Mobile
To ensure your message is easy to read and engaged with it is best to make sure your email is optimized for all devices (desktop, mobile, tablet). By using responsive design, your email will look its best no matter what device it is being viewed on, increasing your chances for your reader to engage.
Optimizing your emails for mobile devices
We hope these ideas will help you create communications that drive your subscribers to interact and provide them with beneficial content. Let us know in the comments if you have any other ideas on how to boost your email subscriber engagement!
Email Marketing Blog 