The Basics of Email Marketing: Part Two

March 21, 2019

Welcome back to your basic guide to email marketing. Last week we defined email marketing and talked about how to choose the right software and build effective contact lists. Today, we’re getting into the nitty-gritty – creation and tracking.

Creating Your Email

This is the fun part, but recognize there still is a right way to create a good email. You don’t want all of your hard work up to this point to go to waste! Here are four elements every email should have:

Subject Lines

Your subject line is the first thing a subscriber sees in their inbox, so it needs to be compelling—this means it has to relate to your target audience and convince them to open your email. Keep it short and concise, but make sure you’re saying enough. You can also personalize the email with the contact’s name.

A good rule of thumb? Shy away from any language that verges on creepy. Or annoying. Or desperate. You know the type:

“We’ve got the sales we know you want.”

“OPEN ME !!!”

“Hi.”

Don’t do that.

Overall Look of an Email

You want to make sure your newsletters can be easily associated with your brand, so the design should feature your company logo, brand colors, and unique voice and tone. A newsletter should also be concise and easy to read. Consider using high-quality images and design elements to break up sections of text.

Finally, ensure the newsletter is optimized for any screen, including desktop, tablet, and mobile. An unresponsive email deters people from reading your newsletter on certain devices, which hinders your open rate and click-through rate.

Copy

While the subject line and overall look of your email will entice a subscriber to look at your email, a well-written message will keep them reading and hopefully lead them to take action within the email. Like a subject line, the main copy should be short and concise. It should also use action language that focuses directly on the reader. Even though the email is ultimately about you and your company, the email is FOR the reader. Speak in second person, personalize the copy, and make the message engaging.

CTA

Lastly, you’ll want to include a call to action (CTA) somewhere in your email. The CTA could be a part of a graphic, within the text itself, or even as a stand-alone button. This element of an email encourages readers to take the next step toward a goal action.

Tracking the Email Metrics that Matter

Next step? Seeing how well your email campaigns are working. You’ll find once you look into the metrics for digital marketing, there are A LOT of numbers. With email marketing, we believe you should focus on three key metrics: open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate.

Open Rate

The open rate for an email campaign is the percentage of subscribers who actually open your email. This number can provide insight on the relevance of your email, quality of your message, and even quality of your email list.

Click-Through Rate

The click-through rate is another action-based metric. Once a subscriber opens the email, this metric tracks whether or not they take the next step and click on a link within the email itself.

Conversion Rate

Your goal is the most important part of email marketing, and as you can see, there are a few steps that need to be taken before an email subscriber reaches this goal. This action depends on your conversion goal. Are you looking for leads? The goal action would be filling out a form on a landing page. Do you want to sell a product? The goal action would be purchasing something from your site and becoming a customer. An email conversion rate is the percentage of subscribers who complete one of these goal actions.

Cosmitto and Email Marketing Go Together Like Advertising and the Super Bowl

If you aren’t sure where to start or don’t have time to set up and run email campaigns for your business, rest assured—we’ve got your back. At Cosmitto, we partner with leading email and marketing automation platforms to help companies engage and connect with customers on a personal level. To learn more, visit our site or contact us today.

Your goal is the most important part of email marketing, and as you can see, there are a few steps that need to be taken before an email subscriber reaches this goal.

Cheyenne Knight

Cheyenne Knight