With email marketing season hitting peak output, how can you make your email marketing more effective than the sea of noise surrounding it
The most wonderful time of the year is upon us
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia or something else, you are undoubtedly getting ready to let your customers know all about your upcoming holiday sales and why they should be shopping with you this season. So the question is, how do you make sure they open your emails when everyone is inundated with a barrage of marketing from all sides?
Start with the basics
While you are probably already segmenting your emails and targeting based on the demographic data you have worked hard to gather, there are simple things you can focus on to better increase not only opens and CTR, but conversions as well.
With so much traffic moving to mobile, the first thing that you should be focusing on is optimizing your email marketing for mobile viewing. Most email service providers and automation platforms now offer out-of-the-box solutions for mobile optimization, so there really is no reason that you shouldn't be taking advantage of those features.
To put it simply, think about your own usage, and apply that to your business. Optimizing for mobile devices ensures that you can easily access your customers and stay engaged with them in small, easy to digest touch points, the same way you likely interact with brands you love. If your emails are well organized and high impact, then you will only need a few seconds to let customers know about your offerings, which is great, because in today's fast-paced marketplace, a few seconds is likely all you have.
Forget about the personalization trend, it's dead
But wait, you're saying, I like personalized shopping emails from Amazon, they always seem to know just what I'm looking for. Well, unfortunately most of us do not possess the endless resources that Amazon does, so we have to spend our time wisely, and the fact-of-the-matter is that recent data shows a drop off in personalization from 2017 to 2018, minus the minor inclusion of a first name variable. While there is nothing inherently wrong with personalizing emails to your customers, unless you have the data to support truly robust email targeting, you are better off perfecting the basics of messaging, layout and writing strong subject lines.
More is less, much less
Do not fatigue your customers, they are exhausted enough this time of year due to a seemingly non-stop barrage of marketing emails from every business they have ever come into contact with. Data shows that email open rates during the holiday season are on average 16.8% lower, so resources should again be focused on strong subject line writing, clear messaging and offering a value proposition that your customers will instantly recognize. If you send monthly newsletters, re-appropriate them as holiday emails, or put them on hold until the new year so that you can use that normal email slot your customers are used to seeing for pertinent holiday sales and event information instead.
Keep it light, brief and full of value
Following these simple rules will show your customers that you understand the value of their time, and respect their need to know as much information as quickly and clearly as possible.
Remember, think about how you consume emails, particularly this time of the year, and extend that knowledge to your email design and you will see a marked improvement in sales, efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Author: Marq Mosier
Marq Mosier is the Founder of Wonderland Marketing in Houston, TX. He specializes in helping small business owners find their voice in local markets through digital marketing, content development and community building.
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