Conversion Heroes Part 8: Email Marketing

In my interview with Amy Ellis we focus on e mail micro-conversion interplay factors, e mail size & content material sort and a few suggestions for getting began.

1. How to not blow your first marketing campaign

You’ve labored exhausting to construct an e mail record of focused prospects and it’s time to try to convert them into actual clients.

Oli: The ship button is fairly last and unforgiving. Are there some elementary guidelines do you have to observe whenever you first begin sending e mail campaigns to your record?

Amy: For somebody who’s simply getting began with e mail advertising, I wish to advocate that they take a couple of moments to jot out an e mail advertising plan. We now have a free guide on our web site that helps stroll somebody by way of this course of if they’re unfamiliar with it. I discover that it’s useful to undergo the thought processes of outlining a schedule for emails, defining your readers/subscribers, defining the sort of content material you’ll be sending, setting some objectives and many others.

I might additionally advocate that within the first e mail to this record they embody their permission reminder (why these subscribers are receiving an e mail from you) and even set some expectations for what these subscribers can count on in the event that they proceed to be on this record. For instance “we’ll be sending these emails out month-to-month with product updates.”

2. The impact of e mail size on conversion

Oli: In your expertise, how a lot is the size of an e mail a contributing think about conversion charge? (outlined right here because the reader clicking on a name to motion within the e mail)

Amy: I feel the size of an e mail depends upon the content material you’re sending and also you’re viewers. Within the particular state of affairs above the place you’re hoping to drive a conversion – to get the subscriber to click on on a name to motion – normally there may be in all probability no must confuse the reader with lots of rambling or unrelated content material. You’ll wish to embody content material that explains the provide (or regardless of the desired final result is expounded to) and why the reader would care. Then drive them to a touchdown web page the place they’ll get extra info in the event that they select, and in addition the place it is vitally clear how and had been to finish the specified motion.

That is an instance of why touchdown pages are so useful – when you have one particular motion you’re hoping your readers will take, it is advisable to create a fluid and clear expertise for them from clicking the e-mail hyperlink to finishing the specified motion.

3. HTML vs. Plain Textual content Electronic mail

Oli: What are the professionals and cons of utilizing HTML vs. plain textual content?

Amy: I feel the most suitable choice is to create each variations of an e mail after which within the subscription course of enable the person subscriber to decide on which format they’d wish to obtain. This can be a higher possibility by way of deliverability as nicely. (Aspect notice: This is a bonus of utilizing an e mail service supplier, they’ll handle these preferences amongst your subscribers and ensure the proper model of your e mail is delivered to the best subscribers).

Chances are high spammers aren’t creating HTML and plain textual content variations of their e mail, in order that makes your e mail look much less like a spammer. You additionally wish to make certain your HTML e mail isn’t only one large picture. It may well have pictures and beautiful formatting and fonts and headers and many others. however spam filters are wanting on the ration of textual content to pictures that you just’re sending in your HTML model and one large picture seems spammy to them.

4. Autoresponders

Oli: Are you able to speak somewhat about what autoresponders are and the way they work?

Amy: Autoresponders are mainly emails that you just create forward of time after which decide an motion which is able to set off the sending of that individual autoresponder. So for instance, you would possibly create a Welcome Electronic mail that’s despatched to somebody 1 day after they subscribe to your record. Otherwise you would possibly create a collection of autoresponders which might be suggestions and methods relating to a subject you’re an skilled on. Then you definately set that collection to kick off 1 week after somebody subscribes to your record. So every subscriber is getting a managed collection of content material in a well timed vogue that doesn’t require you to create the e-mail every time and many others.

Oli: How can they be used over time to extend the chance of your record changing deeper into your gross sales & advertising funnel?

Amy: Properly, this can be a matter I’m not extraordinarily well-versed in, however in case you are setting your autoresponders to set off based mostly on gross sales exercise in your web site or deserted carts and many others., you’re getting a number of extra possibilities to interact a earlier or potential buyer. Ideally these ‘reminders’ to the shopper push them to an precise or an extra sale.

5. Electronic mail Interplay Factors & Micro-Conversions

There are two details of conversion associated interplay in an e mail. The topic line (which impacts open charge) and the decision to motion, which persuades them to proceed into your funnel (figuring out the clicking charge).

Oli: Imagining that you just solely had the chance to ship your clients a single e mail, what can be your high 5 methods to: (a) Improve your open charge (b) Improve your click on charge?

Amy: I feel my recommendations are the identical for each, you simply have somewhat extra room to speak within the physique of your e mail reasonably than the topic line.

1. Don’t strive too exhausting – all caps phrases, plenty of exclamation factors, that simply will increase the chance that you just’re e mail will go into the spam folder, it doesn’t make somebody wish to open it extra.
2. Be clear, concise and direct – what’s the fundamental level you’re speaking in your e mail? What’s the clearest, most direct and journalistic method you possibly can say that. By journalistic I imply, to the purpose and with out adjectives. Why? As a result of everybody has lots of e mail and once they’re deciding what to open or click on on, they simply wish to know what you’re speaking and the extra adjectives you embody like “improbable!” “tremendous!” “superb!” the longer it takes them to discern what you’re truly making an attempt to say.
3. Take a look at – strive A/B testing totally different topic traces and get some actual knowledge on what sorts of topic traces your subscribers react to. Do the identical in your name to motion.
4. Take a look at extra – use instruments like our Inbox Inspector or Supply Physician to ensure your e mail topic line or content material isn’t triggering spam filters.
5. Ship your readers content material they wish to obtain. In the event you present them content material and alternatives (by way of the decision to motion) that your subscribers actually need, its a pure match for them to open and click on the decision to motion. In the event you’re sending them one thing they aren’t anticipating or asking for, it is going to be a wrestle to get them to open or click on.

Because of Amy for being our newest Conversion Hero and sharing some e mail conversion experience with our weblog readers.

Extra Conversion Heroes

Half 1: Roberta Rosenberg on Copywriting for Landing Pages
Half 2: Dan Martell on Social Media Conversion
Half 3: Paras Chopra on Split Testing
Half 4: John Hossack on PPC
Half 5: Chris Goward on Conversion Rate Optimization
Half 6: Cindy Alvarez on Point-of-Conversion Feedback
Half 7: Tim Ash on Landing Page Optimization
Half 8: Amy Ellis on Email Marketing
Half 9: Tamar Weinberg on Social Media Marketing