Data from Litmus shows organizations receive a $36 ROI for every dollar spent on email marketing. Is your database and email content setup for optimal ROI?
At any given moment, consumers inboxes are brimming with emails from companies, causes and consumer brands vying for their opens and clicks. But, what makes a great email? Why do people decide to open them? And, how can you refine your email program to deliver the optimal ROI?
Be Relevant
Have you ever been on the receiving end of a mass email that just didn’t make any sense? If so, did that email make you feel like the nonprofit to which you were a loyal donor or brand to which you were a longtime customer didn’t know or understand you? Providing your email subscribers with content that is relevant to their interests is key to maximizing open and click rates, and minimizing unsubscribes. To achieve this objective: segment your lists carefully (interests, buying habits, etc.), collect patron and buyer data that is truly meaningful (location, age, primary language, interests), and give subscribers control over how often they hear from you.
Keep it Clean
Let’s face it: scrubbing email lists isn’t fun. And, while tools like Constant Contact and Mailchimp will manage your unsubscribes, they aren’t paying attention to engaging lapsed contacts among other important areas. Watch your bounce and opt out rates carefully, scrub accordingly, rinse and repeat for the most accurate data/reporting.
Be Personable
If you’ve ever received an email that was personalized to someone other than you, you’re probably cringing. Typos happen, letters get skipped – and, hopefully, it was one the side of the person inputting their own data and not a sloppy error on the end of your company or cause. With that said, the people receiving your emails are human and Diane wants to know how her donor dollars are being used just as much as John wants to know that you thought of him when his favorite pieces of workout apparel, which he buys from you monthly, went on sale. Personalized greetings and subject lines, individuals shopping cart abandonment reminders and more can help to the appropriately personal notes.
Integrate Seamlessly
A company or cause’s email marketing is an extension of its brand – from the website to the PR program, and every touchpoint or mouth piece in between. When developing your marketing and content strategy for the month/quarter/year, define a clear role for email marketing in enhancing the effectiveness of your collective efforts. Ensure your email content is graphically and textually (and contextually) consistent with everything else, and that the rollout plan is in sync with larger advertising, event marketing, social media, media relations, and community engagement campaigns.
Testing…Testing…123
Strong execution matters. When you are competing with dozens to hundreds to thousands of emails each day, every detail from the subject line to the greeting to the graphics to the incentives to the call(s)-to-action – and more – matter…A LOT. A/B test your subject lines, test your personalization functionality, test your animation, test your links, test your…you get the idea. Test everything, multiple times, before blasting your news far and wide.
Keep an (Eagle) Eye on the Analytics
Open rates, bounce rates, click rates, opt in rates, and unsubscribe rates matter. You can craft the most compelling email soliciting donations for your signature fundraiser but high bounce rates and low open rates can significantly hamper your success. The same can be said for a well-crafted product announcement that goes to a historically disengaged list. After deploying each email, take a glance at the analytics. If anything seems atypical, dig a bit deeper. And, commit to a thorough review of performance metrics at least quarterly.
Email marketing is a powerful tool that can engage new audiences and re-engage loyal fans. With the right mix of strategy, content and creativity your organization can optimize it’s email marketing program and reap the robust ROI that this communication channel has to offer.
