Automating your emails is not only an efficient way to reach your audience, it can also be a more effective way to create a unique and personalized experience with all of your customers. Email automation may seem like a one trick pony where all you do is create a template email that is personalized and sent to your customers, when in fact there are so many features that often go unused. To help email automation become better appreciated, we have come up with 5 ways that will help you get the most out of your automated emails.
Segment Your Email Lists
The most crucial step in email marketing automation is segmentation. Sorting your customer lists according to demographic and behavioral factors is what truly makes your automated email campaigns personalized and effective. Other ways to further segment your lists include behavioral data, and information gathered from social media sites. Creating emails that are targeted towards specific groups of customers allows them to have a personalized experience. The campaigns also perform better when compared to generic email blasts. Research* shows that personalized emails result in 54% more click-throughs and 14% more opens, further ensuring a custom brand experience.
Personalize Your Automated Emails
Personalization is one of the key factors of not just automation, but emails in general. Most consumers expect a personal touch from the brands in their inboxes, and including something as simple as the customer’s name in the email subject line can boost engagement by 22%*. Further personalization in the email body can result in open rates that are higher by 29% and 41% higher click-through rates.* This is another area where the segmentation of your customers comes in handy. The information gathered can also be used to send out content that appeals to your different types of customers, adding a level of authenticity to your emails.
Choose Between Dynamic or Basic Emails
The design and layout of your email can have a huge impact on your conversion rates, so choosing between a dynamic or basic email design really depends on your target market. To find this out, you should ask yourself the question: “What will your customer want to see based on their position in the funnel?” Once you have the answer, you can begin to design the appropriate layout. Dynamic emails can improve open rates and boost retention, which is why it is the better choice when it comes to personalizing messages according to the position of the lead in the funnel. On the other side, physical products tend to benefit from a basic email layout that is more visual.
Optimally Place Your Calls to Action
Every piece of content that you send to your customers should have a call to action or a CTA that is easily located making it a breeze for customers to click and convert. Placing CTA’s in a location where they draw attention and make sense can differ based on the flow of your email. CTA’s are usually placed at the bottom of an email, but in some cases, the CTA may make more of an impact at the top. To find which location yields the best conversion rate, experiment with different designs until you discover what appeals to your customer base.
Test and Optimize Emails
Measuring the results of your email’s performance is one of the only ways to continuously improve and update your marketing strategy. Having a marketing automation platform with robust reporting like the one we use here at Marketing Armor allows you to measure the results of your campaigns through factors such as:
- Delivery Rates
- View Rates
- Open Rates
- Click-Through Rates
- Conversions
Our platform also offers A/B testing, so that you can work out the kinks regarding the subject line, capitalization, greeting personalization, email layout and the placement of the CTA. All emails should go through A/B testing to ensure that your email is grammatically correct and in top form before you send it out (via automation) to your lists.
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