Around The Corner Blog

4 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Email Marketing

According to Hubspot, an inbound marketing company, there were 90 trillion emails sent in 2009.  When you think about that number, it’s mind-boggling.  Yet, in practical terms, we all live and die (pretty much) by email.  Whether sending email for your company, your issue, or campaign, it is the de facto way to communicate.

So, we thought we would offer up some practical tips for maximizing your next email campaign---whether it’s for a grassroots or corporate communications initiative.  While it’s not rocket science to craft and send out an email, there are several simple ways to increase the response rates and clickthroughs.    

We recently participated in a webinar, hosted by Hubspot, entitled “The Science of Email Marketing.”  According to this presentation there several simple strategies for getting the most out of your email campaign.

• Morning is the best time to send out emails. This is when most folks check their email, and the clickthrough rates are higher.


• Optimize for mobile.  Over 80% of emails are read on a mobile device.  Enough said.  So make sure folks can read your email on their mobile phone, smart phone or Ipad. 
  
  
• Links matter.  The more links you have in your email, the better.  The clickthrough rates are higher for emails with more links.
  
  
• You can never send enough email.   We know; this seems counterintuitive—right?  But think about it:  If you send only a few emails, most people are inclined to unsubscribe.  But if you send emails consistently---with good content and calls to action---your audience will respond favorably (and maybe even look forward to receiving your emails).

In short, email marketing is both art and science.  You need to experiment, test and measure your emails for maximum impact.  We spend a lot of time testing and retesting different tactics for increasing open and response rates.  You should too. 

We are always interested in hearing about new ways to improve email marketing.  What are some to the tricks of the trade, so to speak, that have worked for you email marketing efforts?