Think email, and some of you may think old-school. With the rise of social media, email marketing is all but over, right? Well actually, wrong. Email remains one of the most effective marketing tools- for every dollar that is spend on email marketing, forty-three dollars,on average, are made in return. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal!

Why Does Email Marketing Work?

Consider this: The number of email users worldwide is predicted to reach three billion by 2020. 91% of emailers report to checking their email at least daily. Think about how many people you can be reaching! And the assumption that most people find email marketing annoying isn’t true: More than three-quarters of consumers say they prefer email to any other channel for marketing communications.

To Begin

Basically, the key to being a helpful email marketer is personalization. This doesn’t only mean addressing the email recipient by first name, although that can help, too (as we’ll speak about soon). Personalization in email is done by using all the information you have about your contacts to tailor the email’s content to them. Grouping them according to data such as industry, age group, social media preference or time zone will make an email more engaging to the receiver (utilize your buyer personas for this one).

Also keep in mind what an email reader is to your company- is the contact a lead, who you would like to nurture into a customer? You have their information and now it’s time to get their business. Sending them an email with helpful information will gain their trust. What about an existing customer? Email them customer-only offers to turn them into a dedicated fan. If your target audience is mostly leads, remember that leads will not necessarily be ready to purchase after one email. You may need to create a series of emails (nothing too persistent, of course) to guide them towards the next step.

The Golden Rule of Email Marketing: Emails should add value, not ask for it.

Email Tips

• Make goals. What are you hoping to get out of this email? Be sure that the goal is clear and quantifiable.
• Personalize the details. Send the email out from an email address with a person’s name, and sign off with a team member’s name as well. This adds a human touch and shows you are approachable. Also customize emails according to the reader’s name and company. Any email marketing software should make this easy to do. The numbers don’t lie: personalized emails increase conversation rates by ten percent!
• Be concise and clever, in both subject line and email body. Get readers interested, and get to the point!
• Use action words to make your message clear to readers and compel them to take action.
• Include a related image to make the email visually engaging
• Include a call-to-action (insert link to blog) or a link to encourage further engagement.
• Enable social sharing buttons, so your emails can reach even more people.
• Not everyone will see your email in HTML, so make sure to straighten up the plain-text version as well.
• Keep in mind that almost half of all emails are read on mobile devices. Use a template that work well with mobile, and keep things BIG!

The biggest tip of all may be to analyze the results of your emails. Keep an eye on delivery rates, open rates, click-through rates and whether people unsubscribe after receiving your emails. See which emails have given you the best results and try to replicate that. Don’t forget about the goal you originally created for your email- was that goal reached? With every email that you analyze, you are one step closer to perfecting your email marketing strategy.

Get inspired by checking out 15 of the best email campaigns