Email Marketing Blog

Email Marketing Best Practices and Advice for Marketers

Author: Net Atlantic Marketing

5 Email Marketing Goals Worth Pursuing

Posted by on in Email Marketing Best Practices

Have you ever wondered why certain businesses excel at generating revenue through email marketing, while others fall short?

There are an endless number of metrics to point at and blame, but the problem for most mailers starts at the source. 

Goal 1: Grow Your Email List

This is the most obvious goal of email marketing, and it is always relevant.

The more list members you have, the more likely it is for your content to convert.

While there are many ways to grow an email list, some of the most effective methods include:

Add more touchpoints. Create a ‘contact us’ section on any print media, add a sign-up form on invoices, or host a giveaway at a trade show.

Evaluate your website. Make sure that your newsletter sign-up form is apparent and appealing on every high traffic page of your site.

Convert offline prospects. Reach out to potential list members in the places they frequent the most. Advertise on a website they visit, sponsor an event they attend, even send a postcard! 

Let Your Readers Help. Invite list members to write a segment for your newsletter or incentivise members to share your list with like-minded people.

By adding sign up options or incentives to your print media, website, and real life ventures, you will increase the number of opportunities a target audience member has to join your email list.

Goal 2: Increase Open Rates

No open rate is too high. The more people are opening your emails, the greater the chance that they will engage with your content and ultimately convert into a customer.

When it comes to improving open rates, we have limited control over a few key factors. The subject line, timing of the send, and relevance of the content.

For this reason it is necessary to create iterations of your content, then conduct A/B split tests to see which strategies work better for you.

Send different variations of your subject lines and content topics to segmented members of your list, and keep track of what time that you send your email. Looking back on this information can give you powerful insight on what methods lead to a higher open rate.

Goal 3: Boost Your Click-Through Rates

Your click through rate, or CTR, is one of the most important metrics to keep your eye on. A high CTR means that your email content is resonating with your audience, while a low CTR indicates that you need to improve your messaging. 

On average, a CTR of 1-5% is acceptable, while a CTR of 3% of more is considered good. 


To achieve an increased CTR in your email, start by segmenting your list members into specific niches, and then develop interactive content such as a surveys or polls, embedded games, or even a digital scratch card like this one from Bose.

For more engaging email element ideas to boost your click through rate, check out How to Implement Interactivity into your Email Marketing.

Goal 4: Reduce the Unsubscribe Rate

We all want to maintain a healthy list, that is part of the reason why the unsubscribe button exists! 

However if your unsubscribe rate starts to pass 0.5%, it is time to re-evaluate your content strategy.

The gold standard is to implement double opt-in options, where users will be sent a verification email to accept after subscribing to your list. Or, consider adding an opt-down menu to your unsubscribe page that allows users to choose the content type, pause the newsletter, or limit the frequency of emails they receive.

Either process will give the subscriber more control over how they see your newsletter.

By giving your subscribers more options, you are building trust and showing that you care about their preferences which will ultimately lead to better open rates, CTR, and an overall a more active list.

You can learn more about opt-ins and opt-downs in The Ultimate Guide to Opt-Outs.

Goal 5: Generate (more) Revenue

Generating revenue from email marketing can be a lucrative task. Some individuals have been able to make a full-time living from their lists.

What is their secret?

Community.

Building a loyal following who trusts and values the information you provide is key to generating revenue from email.

To do this, provide educational content, drill down to the important topics in your industry, offer discounts or other incentives, and make sure to personalize your emails to the best of your ability.

By consistently providing quality content and building relationships with your list members, over time you can turn your email list into a powerful revenue-generating machine.

Resources

Net Atlantic: https://www.netatlantic.com/

Seven Handy Email Marketing Tools: https://www.netatlantic.com/resources/articles/seven-handy-email-marketing-tools-to-help-you-write-and-create-your-best-email-newsletter

The Ultimate Guide to Opt-Outs (2023)

Posted by on in Subscription Management

Introduction

As a marketer, you don’t want potential customers to opt-out of your email campaigns. While it is important to allow subscribers to control the emails they receive, which can help prevent spam complaints and improve engagement rates, opt-outs can harm your marketing efforts. 

In this article, we will explore the causes of opt-outs and provide practical tips on how to minimize them. We will also discuss how to measure the impact of opt-outs based on industry guidelines to improve your email marketing campaigns.

What is an Opt-Out?

Opt-outs are a feature in email marketing that allows subscribers to remove themselves from a mailing list. It is the opposite of an opt-in, where subscribers voluntarily sign up to receive emails from a company.

The Importance of Opt-Outs

While it may seem counterintuitive, opt-outs are a critical component of email marketing. They allow subscribers the freedom to control the emails they receive, which can help prevent spam complaints and improve engagement rates.

Two Types of Opt-Outs

There are two types of opt-outs: explicit and implicit. Explicit opt-outs happen when a recipient specifically requests to be removed from a mailing list, while implicit opt-outs occur when a recipient ignores or deletes emails without engaging with them.

Common Reasons for Opt-Outs

Subscriber opt-outs are caused by a few factors, including receiving content too frequently, irrelevant content, poor timing, lack of personalization, technical issues, and spammy or overly promotional content.

Understanding opt-outs is crucial to preventing them, so let’s dive a little deeper.

The Negative Impacts of Opt-Outs

Despite the importance of allowing subscribers the freedom to control their inbox, opt-outs can have a negative impact on email marketing campaigns.

Deliverability

When a subscriber opts-out, it can affect the deliverability of future emails. Too many opt-outs will signal to ISPs that your emails are unwanted, leading them to mark your future emails as spam. This can harm your sender reputation and lower your deliverability rates.

Engagement Rates

Opt-outs can also negatively impact overall engagement. As subscribers opt-out, the overall size of your email list decreases, leading to fewer opportunities to engage with your audience. Additionally, opt-outs can signal that the audience is not resonating with your content.

Revenue

Ultimately, opt-outs can have a direct impact on revenue. When subscribers opt-out, it reduces the number of potential customers who could convert, leading to a decrease in revenue. Furthermore, if too many subscribers opt-out, it is an indication that your email marketing campaigns are not effective, and it may be necessary to re-evaluate your strategy.

What Causes Subscribers to Opt-Out?

Email Frequency

Bombarding subscribers with too many emails, even if the content is valuable, can be overwhelming and lead to frustration. While some subscribers may enjoy receiving daily emails, others may prefer a weekly or monthly cadence. Consider sending a survey or asking for feedback to understand your subscriber preferences. Finding the right balance of frequency is crucial to keeping subscribers engaged.

Irrelevant Content

Sending relevant content is important when preventing opt-outs. If subscribers receive emails that are irrelevant or not what they signed up for, they are likely to lose interest and eventually opt-out. Personalization can go a long way when curating relevant content and maintaining a strong email list.

Poor Design

Poorly designed emails can be difficult to read, confusing, or unappealing, leading to subscribers opting out. Ensuring that your emails have a clear hierarchy and are easy to scan can help maintain subscriber interest.

Technical Issues

If subscribers encounter problems when trying to read or open an email, they may become frustrated and opt-out of the mailing list. It is essential to ensure that emails are optimized for different devices and email clients to prevent potential technical issues.

How to Prevent Opt-Outs

Segment Your Email Lists

One of the most effective methods of preventing opt-outs is to segment your email lists. By dividing your subscribers into smaller groups based on factors like demographics, interests, and behavior, you can send targeted emails that are more relevant to each group. This can increase engagement rates and reduce opt-outs as subscribers are more likely to interact with content that is tailored specifically for them.

Personalize Each Email

Personalization is another key factor in preventing opt-outs. By using subscribers’ names, past behavior, and preferences, you can create a customized experience for them. Between the plethora of personalization strategies and the introduction of AI tools, there is no shortage of possibilities.

Offer Opt-Down Options

Instead of just offering an opt-out option, consider providing subscribers with an opt-down option as well. This allows them to choose the frequency or genre of emails they receive from you, instead of just completely unsubscribing. As an example, you could offer the choice of receiving one email per week, or one per month. This can help retain subscribers who may still be interested in your content, but are overwhelmed by too many emails.

Provide Valuable Content

One of the most effective ways to prevent opt-outs is to provide valuable content that is relevant to your subscribers. Deliver high-quality content that solves their problems or meets their needs, and your audience will continue to be engaged and interested in your brand. In turn, lowering the chance for subscribers to opt-out.

Ensure Technical Compatibility

Before sending an email, it is vital to ensure that your emails are technically compatible with as many devices and email clients as possible. Test your emails on different devices, in different browsers, and on different apps. This can help prevent technical issues that may frustrate subscribers and lead to opt-outs.

Measuring the Impact of Opt-Outs

To understand how your email marketing campaigns are performing and identify areas for improvement, it is important to measure the impact of opt-outs alongside industry standard KPIs.

Unsubscribes

This metric refers to the number of people who have opted-out of an email list. This is essential data for marketers to track as it can provide insight into why customers may no longer be interested in their email content. Understanding the reasons for opt-outs can help reduce their frequency and improve overall campaign effectiveness.

Opt-Downs

These are the users who clicked the ‘unsubscribe’ link, but did not remove themselves from the email list. Measuring this metric over time can help gauge the effectiveness of your opt-down page. Also, consider further segmenting your list based on opt-down users who have made purchases or shared your newsletter.

Making Data-Driven Decisions

By tracking the above metrics and identifying areas for improvement, you can make data-driven decisions to optimize your email campaigns. For example, you could analyze the revenue generated from subscribers who chose to opt-down to find the percent of users who made a purchase after almost unsubscribing. Or, you can track the engagement of list members who chose to opt-down separately to understand where your content can improve.

Use the insights gained from measuring opt-outs and opt-downs in combination with unsubscribes and other industry standard KPIs to develop a successful email marketing strategy that engages and retains your subscribers.

Final Thoughts:

Preventing opt-outs should be a top priority for email marketers. By using the strategies mentioned above and measuring key performance metrics along the way, marketers can minimize opt-outs and improve the overall ROI for their email campaigns.

How to Avoid a Negative Tone in Emails

Posted by on in Email Marketing Best Practices

Mostly every person works in an environment where communication is completed through email. Often times, an email is the first impression of a person or business. This article could have been named, “Stop Using These Words in Emails”, but what message does that give? You want to give the best first impression of yourself or your business always, so here are some strategies to avoid using negative verbiage.

negative-emotions-negative-words

Strong Subject Line

This is the most important part of an email to not include a negative tone. This is the first part of the email that is read and sets the reader’s attitude toward reading the email in it’s entirety or not reading it at all. Do not include words that can bring negative emotions, but words that makes a reader excited to dive into your email.

Negative Replies

When replying to an email, there are many responses to be avoided. “Fine”, “hopefully”, “unfortunately”, “sorry”, and “no” are just a few examples. Put yourself in the shoes of the reader; would you enjoy receiving responses like this?

“Sorry”

…should never be used in an email. If a situation is truly worth an apology, it should be expressed over the phone or in person. For everyone’s benefit, express solutions to the situation and what actions you will complete to fix it.

Do Not “Cancel” a Meeting

If you find yourself cancelling a meeting or event, do not use the word “cancel”. This word has a disappointing and defeated tone. Instead, use “postpone” or “reschedule”. Even though the effect is the same, this lets your reader down easier.

Capital Letters

DON’T USE ALL CAPS! It appears to the reader that you are “screaming a message” at them. It appears aggressive and users do not respond to that.

Read the Email Out Loud

Speaking your emails out loud or to a friend will help you understand how your reader will interpret it. The negative words will pop out and you will know exactly what to edit. Plus, a good proofread never killed anybody.

 

Read about subject lines that get results here:

https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/useful-lists-short-words-strong

https://blog.netatlantic.com/2013/06/28/first-impressions-subject-lines-that-get-results/

 

Have you ever had a major blunder because of email tone? Share your story below.

 

 

Database Synchronization, Automation, and API Integration

Posted by on in Email Marketing Best Practices

One of the biggest challenges in email marketing is choosing and using an appropriate database for proper management of your client and lead base.

After all, if your company already has a robust in-house database solution, why create another one outside the company?

In fact, high levels of efficiency and automation can be gained by connecting your in-house database with an outsourced Email Service Provider (ESP) that offers database connectivity.

Gone are the days of manually updating and refreshing your data just before every email send. With a database connection, the data synchronization is automatic and seamless, and runs at predetermined scheduled intervals (hourly, daily, weekly, etc.).

The challenge: IT Managers want to manage and oversee their in-house database, and they should. Yet Marketing Managers want to use external ESP marketing tools to create and deliver effective email campaigns to the freshest list of clients and prospects that the company has. The synchronized automated import and export of database to ESP accomplishes just that.

This data synch can occur using API (application programming interface) integration, where the ESP pushes your data out to you, the way you want it. It can be done through ODBC (open database connectivity) where your database member information (name, email address, etc.) gets imported into the ESP platform and synchronized automatically. And other tasks can be accomplished with custom reporting, giving you exactly the kind of highly detailed and relevant information you need when you need it.

ESP database synchronization saves a tremendous amount of time over manual methods, increases accuracy, and allows the marketing team to proceed whenever ready with important email communications, knowing that the subscriber data is always up to date. All the marketing team needs to do is create and send their campaigns. The rest is automatic.

If you need help running your email operations more efficiently by adding automation to your enterprise, contact Sales at Net Atlantic to speak directly with an engineer who can help solve your database marketing and connectivity challenges. Net Atlantic flagship products ListManager and StrongView both offer powerful and extensive database synchronization, automation and API capability.

Web site not coming up on Google like it used to? Give yourself some domain authority!

Posted by on in Email Marketing Best Practices

by Matt Sambito, Net Atlantic Support Specialist

In order to provide their users with exceptional search engine results, Google has been constantly honing their search prowess to deliver the best search returns compared to their competition.

They do this by dictating to webmasters and web designers around the world exactly how they want to spider and index their web sites. Get it right, and you have a chance of doing well in search. Get it wrong, and your site will not come up well on Google search results. We show you how to get it right below.

Remember that there will be a direct and positive impact to results of your next email campaign if your web site ranks high in Google Search, and you use and refer to your domain in your email marketing message.

OVERVIEW

There are hundreds of factors that search engines uses to determine the search results and ranking of a website. One particular factor that has taken on great importance over the years is the domain authority of a website.

The higher your domain authority is, the more likely you are to earn a higher search engine ranking and to receive more and better web site traffic. In fact, your domain authority is the most important consideration when Google decides where you come up on their search results.

GOOGLE TOOLS

Maintaining and monitoring your website is an important task that can help you increase your domains authority. Factors such as back links, search words, and email campaigns can be monitored with Google Analytics while Google Search can help you understand how Google reads or “Crawls” your site.

Here are two of the most important Google tools to use when creating the most search friendly web site with the highest domain authority that you can:

1) Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free website analytics service offered by Google that gives you insights into how users find and use your website. With Google Analytics, you can track ROI for your online marketing.

You can sift and sort your visitors with dozens of dimensions. You can seamlessly integrate Google Products like Google Search Console or your Google Ads account. You can also use tracking codes to tag and track any advertising, social, PR campaign or any kind of campaign on any platform/website.

https://analytics.google.com

2) Google Search Console

SEO (search engine optimization) is a competition between your site and other sites to show up on the top of the search engine results when a searcher uses any particular search keywords.

Search engine algorithms have changed quite a bit over the years, so if your organic search engine rankings are low, it could mean it’s time for an update. At one time, the key to SEO success was to plug your content with as many keywords as possible. That strategy led to poor search results for search engine users. Thanks to Google’s recent updates, today, it’s all about having original high-quality content on your site, which is why sites with blogs perform so well.

Use Google Search to add pages to the Google Index, rate keywords, and monitor search terms used by people to find your web site.
Also use the Google Search Sitemaps tool.

Creating your site with SEO in mind will ensure that potential visitors can find you online.

https://search.google.com/search-console/about

3) Tracking Email Links with Google Analytics

Tracking your campaign in Google Analytics allows you to measure your email marketing campaigns and compare them with results from any other online marketing you are doing.

By adding campaign parameters to the links you use in your ad campaigns, you can collect information about the overall effectiveness of those campaigns, and also understand where the campaigns are more effective. For example, your Summer Sale campaign might be generating lots of revenue, but if you’re running the campaign in several different social apps and emails, you want to know which of them is sending you the customers who generate the most revenue. Or if you’re running different versions of the campaign via email, video ads, and in-app ads, you can compare the results to see where your marketing is most effective.

When a user clicks a referral link, the parameters you add are sent to Analytics, and the related data is available in the Campaigns reports.

4) Free Online Tracking URL Builder

Here’s a free online “Campaign URL Builder” that will help you generate and use codes to track the source of your inbound marketing leads:

https://ga-dev-tools.appspot.com/campaign-url-builder/

There are 5 parameters you can add to your URLs:

utm_source: Identify the advertiser, site, publication, etc. that is sending traffic to your property, for example: google, newsletter4, billboard.

utm_medium: The advertising or marketing medium, for example: cpc, banner, email newsletter.

utm_campaign: The individual campaign name, slogan, promo code, etc. for a product.

utm_term: Identify paid search keywords. If you’re manually tagging paid keyword campaigns, you should also use utm_term to specify the keyword.

utm_content: Used to differentiate similar content, or links within the same ad. For example, if you have two call-to-action links within the same email message, you can use

utm_content and set different values for each so you can tell which version is more effective.

Example:
https://www.netatlantic.com/emailmarketing/email-marketing-overview?utm_source=Summer%20Sale%20News%20Letterandutm_medium=emailandutm_campaign=Summer%20Sale

These parameters would tell Google Analytics
a. The Source of the click is from the Summer Sale News Letter
b. The Medium is a “email”
c. The Campaign name is “Summer Sale”

5) Conclusion

It’s not enough anymore to create a great web site and hope people come to it. Your web site needs to have great content, be properly registered at google, have proper page structure, use accurate conventions, be responsive (render properly on all devices), load quickly, and especially have strong domain authority.

Additional resources:

Google Webmaster Tools https://www.google.com/webmasters
Google Webmaster Guidelines https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769
Google Webmaster Central https://webmasters.googleblog.com/
Google My Business https://www.google.com/business/
YouTube Channel for Google Webmasters https://webmasters.googleblog.com/
Big List of Google Webmaster Resources https://www.koozai.com/blog/search-marketing/big-list-of-google-webmaster-resources/
Google Structured Data Testing Tool https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool

A Tried and True Sales Funnel?

Posted by on in Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Targeted Email Marketing

Are the principles from 1898 that laid the groundwork for the marketing industry still relevant to today’s consumers?

No matter where we went to school or when we started our marketing careers, we’ve heard of and used the AIDA model for our marketing funnels. When Elias St. Elmo Lewis first published his thoughts on advertising to consumers in 1898, he created a new standard for businesses to communicate with their consumers and forever changed the entrepreneurial marketplace.

An excerpt from Lewis’ “Catch-Line and Argument,” in The Book-Keeper (Vol.15; p. 124; Feb. 1903), includes his perspective on the three fundamental advertising principles:

“The mission of an advertisement is to attract a reader, so that he will look at the advertisement and start to read it; then to interest him, so that he will continue to read it; then to convince him, so that when he has read it he will believe it. If an advertisement contains these three qualities of success, it is a successful advertisement.”

What is AIDA and how does it work?

The three principles Lewis identified are the basis of what would eventually be called the AIDA model. This model categorizes the cognitive stages a consumer passes through while determining on whether to purchase a product or service. This funnel model is made up of four stages:

Stage 1 – Awareness: Familiarize consumers with your product or service.

Stage 2 – Interest: Engage with consumer about the benefits of your product or service to encourage the consumer to research further.

Stage 3 – Desire: Establish an emotional connection, through brand personality, to transition the consumer from interest in the product/service to ‘wanting it’.

Stage 4 – Action: Create a clear and obvious call to action so that the consumer interacts with your company and takes the next step (i.e. buys the product, downloads a brochure, calls for more information, etc.)

So how can you use this in creating your marketing funnel? Consider this model to be more of a communications pipeline as it defines the mental stages consumers need to be guided through before deciding on making a purchase. Each stage requires using different platforms and engagement styles to communicate the relevant information.

As you prepare your basic marketing funnel, ask yourself some key questions to be effective with each stage:

  • Awareness: Who are the target consumers for our products/services? How will those consumers become familiar with our products/ services? What is our brand’s personality and how do we portray it? Which marketing channel/platform should we use (ie. Email campaigns, search advertising, landing pages, social media, etc.)
  • Interest: How will we gain our target consumer’s interest? What is our content strategy? What solution does our product/service provide? Do we have social proof available to back up our claims? How do we make this information available?
  • Desire: What makes our product or service desirable? How do we interact personally to make an emotional connection?
  • Action: What is our call to action? Is it easy for consumers to connect and where would they expect to find it? What offers should we present?

Now that we have looked at this model, the question is, does this model work for modern marketers? For over 100 years the AIDA model has been a staple of marketing around the globe, but as technology has progressed, consumers are changing their behaviors. The founding principles are still very relevant, but they stop short at recognizing the opportunity to nurture current customers into repeat shoppers and turning those customers into advocates for one’s company. In our next article, we’ll discuss how modern marketers are expanding the AIDA model and effectively turning their traditional marketing funnels upside down.

The 7 Common Mistakes that will ruin your brand’s credibility

Posted by on in Email Marketing Best Practices

As a marketer, you’re sending out dozens of communications a week to your subscribers. Have you ever quickly written an email and not had time to test it? Let’s face it, sometimes we make mistakes. Most of the time those mistakes are forgivable typos, but other times those mistakes can cause serious implications.

Below you’ll find the biggest mistakes we’ve come across in our 23 years of sending emails out for our clients, avoid these mistakes to ensure your brand’s credibility isn’t destroyed:

Mistake #1: Including inappropriate content in your test messages
Make sure that the content in your test emails are appropriate and something your clients wouldn’t find offensive if you accidentally sent it to them. Even if you’re just testing out a triggered mailing for an upcoming campaign, keep it professional. We have seen clients send personal or even offensive messages to their clients by accident when they test their campaigns.

Mistake #2: Not including working hyperlinks
You’ve probably all received an email that said “click here” sending you to a landing page to receive a discount offer or coupon. We’ve seen clients not include links when they set up their buttons, or forget to take out the placeholder link when they send their emails. Make sure to double check your links so you aren’t wasting your customer’s engagement on sending them to irrelevant or inappropriate landing pages.

Mistake #3: Using your personal free email account instead of your business address
Keep your personal and business email separate! You don’t want to email your clients from your middle school email address. We’ve had clients mistakenly enter their personal email address as the “from” address. Customers most likely won’t want to buy from companies sending from addresses like: TeenStud2000@hotmail.com or CutiePrincess97@aol.com. Make sure that the “from” address is coming from a professional business email rather than a personal email, and that all aspects of the email are professional and relevant to the recipient.

Mistake #4: Not spell-checking, proof reading or fact-checking your work
In personal communications it might not matter if you misspell some words or use abbreviations, but professionally, your customers expect more.  Bad grammar and poor spelling signal to customers that your business isn’t on the up-and-up. Additionally, make sure to fact-check your messaging. Flat out lies and misrepresentation of facts will cause you to lose the respect and trust of your audience.

Mistake #5: Awkward or suspicious subject lines
The most important aspect of your emails is the subject line. Some of the subject lines we’ve seen have amazed us! Subject lines that start out with something like: “this is not spam” or “ACTION REQUIRED” are huge red flags. Other red flags include words in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, or unnecessary punctuation, for example: “NEED HELP?!?!?!? GET THIS PRODUCT FOR FREE!!!!!”

Your subject line should be a short description of the email message. The line should be engaging, not something that scares readers away.

Mistake #6: Not removing standard filler text from an email template
If you’re using an email template, make sure to take out lines such as “insert text here” or “add image above”. No matter what the email message is, filler text needs to be cleared from the email before it’s sent out to your recipients. Otherwise, it looks unprofessional and it is clear that you were not putting your best effort to make the email template look professional.

Mistake #7: Copy and pasting from Microsoft Word into your HTML editor
Word or other document editors are great for drafting your content (spell check!), but if you copy and paste that content directly into your template, you run the risk of causing formatting errors. Make sure to paste as plain text or use the “copy from word” feature found in most editors to avoid issues. Also make sure to always test your messages using a product like Email on Acid to make sure that your messages can be viewed properly no matter how your clients choose to read your email.

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