8 ways to make your email marketing a success

If you’ve integrated your email marketing platform with CANDDi, then you’re going to want to make the most of it. But how do you make the most successful email campaigns?

We’ve got just the trick. Or should I say, tricks.

The Basics

The type of marketing you do is dependent on your brand, right? So there’s no hard and fast rules you can stick by. What works for one campaign, brand, or subject matter might not work for another.

The key is to understand that email marketing is a balance between art and science. That might sound a bit OTT to you, but the frequency and appropriateness of the content you write is just as likely to influence your reporting metrics as having the best coded email in the world!

That’s why we recommend a hybrid between a simple text based email with some simple design styling. This a notable shift away from in-your-face picture-heavy, feature-rich, discount-laden spam messages. It’s what you might call a more sophisticated form of email marketing.

Choosing a platform

If you’re not already using a bulk email marketing platform, it’s about time you chose one. You shouldn’t be using your day-to-day email to bulk send as you’re likely to harm your sender reputation. This means all emails you send will go into spam folders.

Choose a platform that is suited to the type of data you will be sending to.

If sending to a subscription-based or customer list, 95% of the email broadcast platform market will be open to you. The choice should be centred around which has the best value for money, ease of use, and the features you need.

When sending to purchased data, a lot of platforms will prohibit the use of purchased lists. Ensure your platform is compatible with the type of data you are sending to. Not all email marketing platforms are the same - you ask the CANDDi team for more advice.

When to send

It makes sense when we say B2B campaigns tend to be most responsive Monday - Friday during normal working hours. But research suggests most soft bounces (95% being out of office replies) are sent on a Wednesday, so watch out for that!

Friday afternoons also have a lower open and click rate (recipients possibly getting ready for the weekend) and Mondays tend to have the highest total email volume, people getting back to the grind!

So we would therefore suggest Tuesday and Thursday as optimum days.

Just don’t forget to consider seasonal fluctuations (e.g. the Christmas break or the middle of a heatwave). Consider a follow-up broadcast making only minor changes - this can double your overall campaign stats.

Your subject line

When an email lands in an inbox, you have seconds to influence whether your recipients open or delete. It all lies in the subject line.

While important in getting your email opened, a misleading subject line can lead to high unsubscribe rates and even breaches of Direct Marketing Legislation.

The subject line should entice the open but be reflective of the content. It should avoid ‘spammy’ words such as ‘free’, ‘save’, ‘CAPITALS’, ‘emojis’ etc. These not only look like spam emails to your recipients, but they’re also more likely to get caught in junk filters.

Consider subject line split-testing. Create 2 subject lines for the same campaign and run both to 10% of your data (5% each) over a period of 2 hours. The winner should then be sent to the remaining 90% (most systems will allow you to do this automatically).

Actual email content

The important stuff. Your email should be informative about your subject matter but always driving towards a desired outcome.

Think, is this email worth reading? You’ve done the hard work by getting the email opened now it needs to be worth it. Sending sub-par content devalues past and future campaigns and can cause reputational damage.

The content should be an appropriate length and not invade on the reader’s day. Drive the reader towards a ‘Call to action’. This is your opportunity to get the recipient to do what you want!

Whether the prompt action is to enquire, land on your site, purchase, request information or make a download, it should be clear and easy. The ideal would make this process as frictionless as possible for the recipient. They should be left in no doubt what the next step is.

Logistically, when designing your email, you should include multiple opportunities for this to happen, including buttons and links within the body of the email.

Follow up

So now you’ve hit send, you’ve got opens and clicks… what next? Email marketing should not be the end of the process – it’s just the start.

This is where CANDDi comes in. An intelligent marketer includes tracking within the email links. UTM tracking and/ or a CANDDi code will give you a full picture of not only where your traffic is coming from but also the recipient’s activity post-click.

Deciding if you will follow-up to all of the data or a targeted segment (perhaps openers and clickers) should be done as soon as practicable post-send. Approximately 75% of opens and clicks will occur within 2 hours of hitting send, with the remaining bulk within 24 hours. When you send your first email, ensure your follow up resource is in place and ready to go.

Have more questions? Contact us at help@canddi.com