Optimizing Email Marketing: What Research Says

How can you give customers even more attention and maintain/increase their loyalty? According to the survey “Digital Marketing Tactics for Customer Acquisition/Retention,” the most effective tool marketers use to boost loyalty is email marketing.

The most effective internet marketing tools

Despite the growth of instant messaging, chats, and social networks, email remains the leader in business communication. Moreover, an email address is required for nearly all forms of communication (social networks, chats, etc.) and all types of e-commerce (online shopping, banking, etc.). Over 215 billion emails are sent daily – another strong argument for newsletters.

But to run effective email marketing campaigns, simply sending messages is not enough. There are many details that must be considered to achieve the best results. Let’s look at the most important points for email campaigns.

1. Responsiveness first

The trend of using responsive design in email newsletters is growing as mobile usage increases. Layout issues with emails damage the company’s image.

Mobile email appeared in 2011, when open rates were only 8%.

Email open rates by device (%)

By 2016, mobile devices and web apps gradually replaced desktops. Today, 55% of users access from mobile devices.

Email reading grew from 33% to 39%. According to Litmus and MailChimp, responsive design increases unique clicks from mobile. To be effective, both emails and the website must be responsive.

What to watch out for?

Not all email clients display messages correctly. Some don’t support background images, others don’t support shadows. That’s why it’s important to consider all major clients.

The top 10 email clients of 2016 were determined by tracking 1.5 billion emails monthly.

2. Frequency control: follow etiquette

The main reason users dislike email newsletters is inbox overload and excessive frequency.

What users dislike in mobile newsletters

Email frequency strongly impacts engagement and revenue.

The solution is to implement an effective frequency management system based on contact activity.

Steps:

1. Monitor unsubscribes and analyze the reasons.
2. Test multiple frequency options on small groups.
3. Ensure quality content – frequency depends on your ability to deliver value.
4. Conduct surveys to find out user preferences.

What to watch out for?

Depending on the time of day, people use different devices to check email.

73% of smartphone users check email more than once per day.

The timing of email delivery directly affects campaign performance. Testing is required to optimize delivery time.

3. Personalization

Sending the same message to the entire list no longer works. Every user expects something tailored.

Personalization requires proper segmentation. Surveys are the most effective tool, but other methods exist: segmenting based on purchases or activity (how often they order, how often they open emails).

This allows you to deliver better content and increase campaign effectiveness.

Conclusions

The statistics above are only part of what must be considered in campaigns. Every project is unique. You must consider not only the product but also the audience.

For 2017, focus on mobile responsiveness, personalization, and frequency optimization. A/B testing and regular analysis are essential for developing email marketing.