We are an award-winning email marketing agency, so we know a thing or two about how to improve email marketing campaigns. So, we thought we’d share the knowledge and give you our top tips for getting more from your strategy.
Our tailored email marketing strategies deliver an average revenue of 37.5% for our clients. So we know a thing or two about improving the efficacy of your sends.
But how can you improve email marketing campaigns enough to start delivering real value from your sends – instead of just dwindling open rates and minimal consumer engagement?
We’ll show you how!
Why Should You Work to Improve Email Marketing Campaigns?
In 2025, global email users are expected to pass 4.6 billion and research suggests that 99% of email users check their inbox every day. With those numbers in mind, can your business really afford to be getting your sends wrong or (worse) not sending any at all?!
Email campaigns are still an effective form of direct marketing. They help you improve sales conversions by up to 14%. Many marketing gurus report that most of their revenue comes through email.
But your fickle audience receives hundreds of sends every day. Among all that inbox clutter, it’s hard to stand out and improve your open rates. People’s attention spans are dwindling, but the number of emails they receive is not.
So, how can you effectively reach and convert non-readers and skimmers? Let us find out.
6 Tips to Improve Your Email Campaigns From Our Experts
Enhancing your sends is about more than just sending even more communications. There are some specific approaches you need to take when it comes to getting your strategies right.
Here are six simple things you can do to start making improvements to your email campaigns, number six is the real kicker:
- Optimise for mobile
- Include video content
- Segment your mailing lists
- Make them skimmable
- Optimise your send times
- Include social proof
These top tips show off your services in the best possible way – with awesome email design that’s tailored specifically to your audience, simple to digest and backed by similar audiences.
But let’s unpack each point in more detail now.
1) Ensure Your Emails Are Mobile Friendly
Your sends should be pleasant to read regardless of the device used to open them. But optimising your content to make it mobile-friendly doesn’t have to mean expensive development work. Here are some simple ways to improve:
- Short but informative subject lines: Since phone screens are more limited than desktops and laptops, they may not display the entire subject line.
- Optimise your font and font size: A comfortable font and font size helps your customers easily read your content without squinting.
- Improve media: Ensure the images you use in your email are responsive
- Complete testing: Preview and test your email on multiple devices while adjusting it as appropriate before sending.
2) Include Video Content in Your Campaigns
Take a look at your email inbox. How many unopened emails do you have? One valid reason for that may be time. But probably, the presentation of the content in those emails bore you.
Videos in emails are proven to increase user interest and engagement. People spend up to three times longer on content with video than those without it. Over 60% of marketers who sent emails containing a video achieved their goals.
By using videos in your email campaigns, you can impact your KPIs by:
- Boosting email opening rates by 19%,
- Raising click-through rates by 65% and,
- Reducing unsubscribe rates by 26%.
But when we say “video in emails” that doesn’t have to mean expansive explainers or podcast recordings. Effective video could be the use of GIFs like we did for Tuffwraps. You have to admit, that graphic above is more arresting than a simple static graphic.
3) Segment Your Mailing List and Provide Targeted Content
You know how annoying it is to open an email that has 0 interest to you or what you are into. That’s how your customer feels when you send them a non-personalised email. But sending impersonal messages is also a super fast way to negatively affect your customer retention numbers.
Avoid sending blanket emails by segmenting your audience. This practice sees you segment your mailing list into smaller chunks with shared characteristics. Allowing you to target individual groups with precise, tailored content. It also helps you reach your audience at the right time.
But, everyone’s different, right?! So what are the best ways to segment your audience?
Best Ways to Segment Your Audience
- Geographical location: Geographical locations influence people’s buying behaviour. It is also more effective to send email campaigns when your target audience is awake.
- Past purchases: This helps you send personalized recommendations such as products that go well with their previous purchase.
- Amount spent: You can use this information to divide your buyers into VIPs – those with readily available money to shop, Sale shoppers that are motivated by discounts and sales, and Light shoppers who are price-conscious.
- Website behaviour: By understanding how a customer interacts with your emails or website, you can personalize messages to them. You can do this by checking which emails they respond to or which pages or product pages they frequent.
Improve your email marketing campaigns without lifting a finger. Get Drop Zero to do it for you.
4) Make Your Email Copy Skimmable
Admit it, up to this point you have skim-read the headlines in this article. Since it caught your attention, you are now skim-reading this intro.
Most of your customers are the same. They will likely scan through any content you send them. Nielsen research showed that only 19% of email recipients fully read a newsletter. The majority of these readers only spent 51 seconds in an email.
Sure, long-form content and listicles rule the blogging space. But scannable content is a proven way to capture your fickle readers’ attention. For branded emails and content, they also crave instant gratification.
Strive to provide value upfront and ensure key takeaways are quickly skimmable. Grab their attention and convey important points before they bounce.
How to Make Your Content Skimmable
- Ensure your titles are short but catchy and attention-grabbing – Such titles bait the impatient reader and egg them to read on.
- Highlight key phrases – You can use bold text to highlight key takeaways. They provide value upfront and convey your key points.
- Write shorter paragraphs – Shorter paragraphs are easier to read and digest and increase white space in your content. Strive to use fewer but punchy words to convey your message.
- Use images and infographics – The human brain processes images faster than text. Using images is valuable as you can convey more information with less. Like bold and colored text, images in content stand out and are highly skimmable.
- Break content rules by starting some sentences with “but” “and” “then” – Good grammar is key to SEO. However, using these articles in strategic sentences provide hook points in your content.
5) Send Your Emails at the Best Times
Your marketing team has spent hours crafting the most optimised and targeted email. After sending, you get disappointing click-through rates and opens. What gives?
Think about the timing of your emails. Most people open emails first thing in the morning or during their lunch break. One of our top tips for eCommerce email success is to time your sends for when your audience is online and engaged.
Unfortunately, every audience is different, so there is no definite answer on the specific best time to send emails. However, you should try to find that perfect time when your audience is ready for your email and you can be more sure that your send will land at the top of their inbox. The only way to do this is through testing.
What Are Some Top Email Send Times?
Appropriate days or times to send emails vary. Understanding your audience is super helpful. However, the consensus on the best times to send emails is as follows
The best days are Tuesday, Thursday, and Wednesday. Experienced marketers love these days as they try to avoid Monday blues and the anticipation for the weekend on Fridays. They also generally avoid weekends.
Meanwhile, the best times are
- 06:00 – when most people begin their day
- 10:00 – a late morning when most people are having their tea break
- 14:00 – when people are anticipating the end of the workday, switching out of work mode, and seeking distractions,
- 20:00 – about the time when people check their emails before retiring for the day.
6) Include Social Proof In Your Campaigns
You have taken the time to develop your product or service and believe in it. However, you still face stiff competition among your peers. One way to prevail over your competition is by using social proof in your marketing emails.
What is Social Proof?
You know what they say – “people buy from people”. Social proof is the term given to excellent reviews of your product or service from other consumers.
Powerful hat tips like this give your audience the confidence to purchase your product. Prospects assume a product will appeal to them as it did to others. They trust stranger reviews far more than your marketing!
Research suggests that 66% of consumers say positive user reviews are most important when making purchase decisions. Providing customer feedback on your product page can increase conversion rates, five reviews on a product are all it takes for most users to trust and buy an item.
How to Incorporate Social Proof in Your Email Campaigns?
- Using customer testimonials from purchased products
- Include usage numbers for your product or service – People hate to be left out or feel like they are missing out on something. By including these numbers, you tap into that emotion.
- Showcase awards your company or products received – People like to be associated with winning brands. By including these awards in your email, you tap into a phenomenon known as the Halo Effect.
- Include mentions in popular publications or media – This further enhances trust for your brand and increases conversions.
Unlock the Power of Your Email Marketing Campaigns with Drop Zero Digital
Creating an effective email campaign strategy can help boost sales. Your sends need to stand out to potential customers.
Emails that get opened and read will help you build relationships with potential buyers and eventually turn them into loyal customers.
But you need not build your campaign from scratch. Reach out to us and let us help you build a successful email campaign that will turn your leads into paying customers.