Are you still struggling with your company’s email newsletter?
It may be time to get out of that rut.
Email newsletters are one of the most effective ways for companies to reach their audiences, but they’re also some of the most expensive. Marketers must find creative ways to make their emails more engaging and high-performing without adding too much cost.
With less conversion rates than ever before, it’s important for marketers to try new engagement tactics like gamification or interactive content in order to increase clickthrough rates (CTR). To help you succeed with next year’s email specs , we’ve compiled six ideas that have worked in other industries for increasing open rates, clicks, and shares through email.
1) Use Interactive Content That Comes To Life
Hands-on, interactive content is driving more traffic than ever before. Incorporating interactivity into email content has become popular in recent years for this reason – it’s easy to get excited about swiping things on your screen .
Dunkin Donuts launched an album where customers could swipe through their coffee history using the date of their past visits. The results were surprising – many people discovered they’d been drinking far too much coffee! Heinz Ketchup has a fun “ketchup or mustard” quiz that asks users to choose which condiment they prefer between two photos without being able to see what’s inside each bottle (it’s k etchup). SmartBrief emails readers a new daily fact about the economy and lets them swipe through previous days, just like flipping through a real-life calendar.
2) Offer Exclusive Deals On Your Products
If you’re already sending discount or coupon codes to your customers via email, consider providing exclusive deals for subscribers only. A free upgrade (e.g., “subscribers get an extra pound of coffee with every purchase!”), an additional product bundled with orders, or early access to sales can help boost conversion without increasing cost.
3) Ask For Feedback Or Questions And Reply Responsively
A survey conducted by GetResponse shows that 30 percent of consumers would be more likely to buy from a company if they had previously received excellent service by phone.
Salesforce helps companies track customer engagement with its SalesforceIQ product, which measures the quality of service received by their customers and sends reports to management teams on how they can improve. By asking for feedback or questions in your email newsletter, you’ll be able to find out what concerns readers have about particular topics and whether they’re finding value in your business.
4) Include A Pre-Click Banner On Your Website That Leads Directly To The Email Subscriber’s Section Of Your Newsletter Or Product Page
Having the ability to draw the reader directly into your email is critical for increasing CTRs (and conversions). Offer up a banner that allows subscribers to click directly into their section of your newsletter right away – it will increase the chances of being opened immediately!
5) Post Email Newsletters On Your Website And Drive Traffic From There To Blog Posts Or Product Pages That Address Common Questions Or Concerns
According to book advertising team email newsletters are much more likely to be read when they come from a company’s email newsletter rather than its blog or website. However, you can still drive traffic between the two with pre-click banners that direct readers to your site.
6) Use Animated GIFs To Show How Products Are Used In Real Life Situations
Conventional logos and banners have worked well in email marketing for years, but adding fun elements that capture attention is also important for increasing CTRs . Gifographic images are becoming increasingly popular because they show how products are used in real situations . You can see a great example from TheNextWeb here .
Include relevant images when possible, and link to relevant articles when possible. In this case, you could add a gifographic image of the Dunkin Donuts card in action at the top of the article! See what’s going on with your competitors , or conversations that are trending in your industry : http://saleshacker.com/resources/top-social-media-listening-tools/ For more information on how well targeted email campaign s perform in relation to direct mail campaigns.
