Design the Best Email Engagement Strategy

When it comes to email marketing, getting your emails opened, read, and clicked is essential for success. If your subscribers aren’t engaging with your content, then you’re wasting precious resources and hurting your ROI. The best email engagement strategy is thoughtfully designed, with the customer and ROI in mind.

The best email engagement strategy should be tailored to your company, email campaign, and user base. If you follow the tips in this blog, you are sure to design an email engagement strategy that reduces cost, increases sales, and creates growth for your business.

Create the Best Email Engagement Strategy

1 - Segment your email list

The first step to increasing email engagement is to segment your email list. When you send the same message to all of your subscribers, it’s less likely that they will all engage with it. However, if you target specific segments of your audience with tailored content, they are more likely to be interested in what you have to say.

There are a number of ways to segment your email list, including demographics, interests, and purchase history. You can also use behavioral segmentation to target subscribers who have opened or clicked your emails in the past, as well as those who haven’t interacted at all. By tailoring your content specifically to each group, you can increase the likelihood that they will engage with your message.

If you’re not sure how to segment your email list, you can ask your subscribers for their interests or other key information when they sign up. Additionally, you can utilize data from previous email marketing campaigns to determine which groups are most likely to engage with different types of content.

2 - Personalize your emails

Another way to create the best email engagement strategy is to personalize your emails. When you address your subscribers by name, they are more likely to read the message. Personalization also helps to create a connection between you and your subscribers, which can encourage them to engage with your content long-term. It is a great email management strategy to show that you care about your subscribers and that you’re taking the time to address them individually. This means that you should use a personalized greeting, such as “Hi John.” However, don’t call them John if their name isn’t John 😆.

Everyone loves to hear the sound of their own name. Everyone loves to feel special. It’s your job as an email marketer to personalize your email to your customer. Any relevant information you have about the customer should be utilized to let them know you care. Give customers a compliment based on their purchase history. Tell your customer that they’re awesome; it might make their day, and make its way into your wallet.

3 - Keep your emails short and sweet

When it comes to email marketing campaigns, brevity is extremely important. Most people don’t have time to read long emails, so keep your messages short, sweet, and to the point. This will help you to get your message across quickly, ensuring that your subscribers are more likely to engage with your content.

It’s also important to make sure that your emails are easy to read. Use a simple, legible font and avoid clutter. If you can, stick to one column of the text so that readers can properly see your email on mobile.

Keep in mind that the goal of email marketing is to encourage subscribers to take action, so make sure that your call to action is clear and easy to find. Also, be sure to A/B test different subject lines and email formats to see what works best for your audience. A/B testing will allow you to find the sweet spot with your email content, allowing you to deploy strategies that increase your ROI.

4 - Consider using images

Images are a great way to capture the attention of your subscribers and encourage them to engage with your content. As a general rule, we are visual learners. When you include images in your emails, they are more likely to be noticed and remembered. In fact, emails that include images have, on average, over a 40% higher clickthrough rate than those that don’t.

Images can also help to explain your message more clearly and make it more engaging. When you go shopping for new clothes, do you read the description of the clothing at the store? Probably not. Most likely, you’ll see a cool shirt or clean pair of shoes and want to buy them. What you see and how it makes you feel is often more important than what it says.

Compelling graphics and images will spark your subscriber’s interest, and lead to them clicking through on your email. Make sure that your images support your call to action, and you’re sure to have a winning email engagement strategy.

5 - Test and track

One of the best ways to improve your email engagement strategy is to A/B test different aspects of your campaigns, such as subject lines, content, and formats. This will help you to determine what works best for your audience and increase the chances that they will engage with your content.

There are several key metrics that you should track in your email campaigns, including, but not limited to:

• Open rate
• Clickthrough rate
• Conversion rate
• Bounce rate
• Unsubscribe rate
• List growth rate
• SPAM complaints
• Overall ROI

Your email bounces are potential email marketing campaign killers. When you’re getting bounce rates higher than 2%, your company’s domain reputation is at high risk. Once your sender score is low, you’ll have a hard time landing in the inbox of your subscribers; most likely, you’ll end up in the SPAM folder. The best way to keep your bounce rate low is to clean your email list before starting a campaign. Email verification platforms will integrate with your CRM, clean your list, and reduce your bounce rate. The best platforms will come with deliverability guarantees as high as 99%.

Once you’ve tracked the key metrics across several different A/B test combinations, you’ll be better informed when you adjust your email marketing campaign. By constantly testing, tracking, and adjusting your campaigns, you’re guaranteed to have the best email engagement strategy.

6 - Offer something useful

How can you expect your subscribers to consistently open your emails, if you don’t offer them anything that improves their life? Make your email worth opening.

Have something to offer your subscribers! Provide value with every email you send. Whether it’s a big update, a promotion, or a coupon, it’s important that it engages the customers. For example, when you provide an incentive in the subject line, it can increase your open rate by up to 50%.

7 - Send targeted emails

If you want to encourage your subscribers to take action, one of the best things you can do is send them targeted recommendations. This means that you should send them emails that are relevant to their interests and needs.

For example, if someone is a new subscriber, consider sending them a personalized welcome email that includes a discount. If they’re a long-time subscriber, consider sending them a thank you with rewards points. If you track purchase history, this is a great way to send your subscribers products that are similar to past purchases.

It’s easier to engage subscribers through email, when you send them emails related to their wants and needs. It’s easier to make a sale when the person already wants what you have to offer.

8 - Pay attention to the details

Start with the first thing subscribers see: the subject line. It’s the first thing that your subscribers will see, so you need to make sure that it catches their attention. You should also use a clear and concise subject line that accurately describes the content of your email. The most successful subject lines are typically between 4-7 words, or around 50 characters max. A good subject line creates urgency, engages curiosity, is timely, and offers the customer something they need.

Next, after the subject line, you’ll want to optimize your pre-header text. Your pre-header text should support your concise subject line with relevant and interesting information. Something that catches the reader’s attention like “sale ends soon” or “grab your discount today” helps to create a sense of urgency and intrigue for the customer. It’s all about getting them to click your email to open it up. You only have a few seconds to make an impression, so make it count.

Once the email is open, you’ll need to dot your i’s and cross your t’s with the email body. Here’s a quick checklist to ensure your emails always look great:

• Colors align with brand
• Company logo present
• Optimize preview text
• Keep emails 500x650 pixels
• Limit the number of typefaces
• Hyperlink text indicates URL destination
• Easy-to-click links
• The footer includes company details and an unsubscribe button
• Personalization (refer to tip #2)
• Mobile optimized

Details matter. When you get the details right, it shows your subscribers that you’re to be trusted with their inbox clicks and with their money.

9 - Click “send” at the right time

Always try to send your email marketing campaigns at a consistent time. Consistency builds trust and reputation. When you send at random, unscheduled times, Email Service Providers (ESPs) start to look suspiciously at you. This means that you’ll be more likely to end up in the SPAM folder. Keeping your emails at a consistent time increases your trustworthiness to both the recipient and their ESP.

It’s also a good idea to consider the profession and time zone of your subscriber. If you have information available to help you segment your list further, before you send, it can only help you. You want to target your subscribers' inbox in the hours before their work day begins. That way, you’ll be on top of their inbox.

Summary

Developing the best email engagement strategy is crucial when it comes to the success of your email marketing campaigns. If you want to increase the chances that your subscribers will take action, then you need to focus on your engagement strategy. Don’t just type a haphazard email and send it out at 2AM. Develop an email engagement strategy, stick to it, and reap the benefits with sales.

If you skipped the blog post, and came straight to the summary, here are 9 ways you can design the best email engagement strategy:

1. Segment your email list

• Divide your list and create groupsPersonalize your emails
• Everyone likes to hear their name and feel special.

2. Keep your emails short and sweet

• Subscribers are busy, get to the point.

3. Consider using images

• Emails with images have a higher clickthrough rate.

4. Test and track

• If you can track it, you can improve it.

5. Offer something useful

• Give subscribers a reason to open your email and click through.

6. Send targeted emails

• Different subscribers have different needs so email accordingly.

7. Pay attention to the details

• Make sure the subject line, preheader text, images, formatting, and links all support a cohesive email.

8. Click “send” at the right time

• Consistency and timing are key.

After following our guide, I’m confident that you can design the best email engagement strategy.