Despite GDPR shaking up the email marketing scene this year, it isn’t going anywhere in 2019.
Although there has been a notable rise in social media channels as a lead generation avenue, it is vital that we don’t neglect email. 95% of marketers say that emails is “important” or “very important” to their business, and it has been found to be 40 times more effective than social media for customer acquisition.
Build & refine your mailing list
Relevance is more important than ever now that the new GDPR has come into effect. With ‘legitimate interest’ being one of the determiners of whether you can market to an individual, it is important that you refine and segment audiences so that what they are receiving is relevant to their job role/company. While this may seem restrictive, it can work in your favour. If you hadn’t already been segmenting your audiences effectively, this will force you to. In fact, marketers have achieved increases in email revenue of up to 760% by using segmented campaigns.
Timing is everything
Consider when your recipients will be most likely to open and engage with your email. 9am on a Monday might be when you are at your most eager to get a campaign started, but think about whether you would have the time to read any emails that aren’t urgent work or important internal correspondences. The optimal time to send will vary from industry to industry, but the most successful days are Tuesday and Thursday, at times 10am, 8pm, and 2pm.
Capture a mobile audience
The majority of emails are now read on a handheld device, with 40% of consumers stating that their mobile phone is their primary device for checking email. Focusing on the finer details of mobile-first design in order to offer a consistent experience across devices. It is also important to consider that those recipients that are opening on a mobile device could be on the move and have less attention to devote to your email. Try to engage them quickly and avoid including slow-loading elements.
Let’s get interactive
Using dynamic content within your email campaign – e.g. HTML5 video players, image carousels, or click-to-purchase functionalities – can add a website-like feel to your email and engage audiences. Ensure that any interactive elements that you include in your email do not distract from the overall message, though. Check out how to use video content to increase email conversion here.