AuthorLouise Richards
LinkedIn
Email marketing, or more commonly referred to as CRM has stood the test of time with an ever-changing digital landscape in means of reaching audiences far and wide. Email marketing offers businesses a cheap, effective way of getting products and services on the screens of their ideal customer. Not only is it effective, but it’s also versatile in the way it can be used. Everything from brand awareness, new product launches and increased customer engagement at scale. It’s no wonder virtually every business has some kind of email marketing strategy in their marketing mix.
Before we dive into what makes a great email campaign, let’s start with the basics so we know what and how to measure our results.
What Is Email Conversion Rate?
Email conversion rate is the percentage of your email list subscribers that take the desired action after reading an email. These particular ‘call to actions’ can be making a purchase, downloading material or signing up for your services.
What Is Email Open Rate?
Email open rate is the percentage of emails sent that are opened. Many marketers use this as a KPI to see whether their email strategy is heading in the right direction. Open rate can vary from industry-to-industry. However, the average across all is between 17-28%.
How To Calculate Email Conversion Rate
When calculating email conversion rate, we need to divide the number of recipients who took action by the number of emails delivered and then multiply by 100. For example, say you had 1,000 emails sent and 20 of those went on to purchase your product after clicking through on the email.
That would give you a conversion rate of 2%.
These metrics are important to marketers because they can help work towards determining ROI. There are other metrics we can use to measure the success of an email campaign, such as:
- Percentage of emails opened
- Click-to-open rate (the percentage of people who open an email campaign and also click on a link within that campaign).
- Bounce rate (the percentage of email addresses that your campaign could not be delivered to).
What’s A Good Email Conversion Rate?
The average conversion rate for email marketing is between 2% - 5%. However, this can vary depending on the industry you’re in. For example, the lowest CTR of any industry is the vitamin supplements industry, with 1.19%, and the highest average CTR is 'government' such as schools, with 4.58%.
{source references: Enginemailer (2020). Email Conversion Rate: 12 Tips To Increase It. [online] Enginemailer. Available at: https://www.enginemailer.com/blog/email-conversion-rate.}
{source references: MailChimp (2023). Email Marketing Benchmarks. [online] Mailchimp. Available at: https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/ .}
How To Achieve Higher Email Marketing Conversion Rates
Segment Your Email Lists
Segmenting is a common way of strategising what content reaches certain types of customer profiles. These types of customer profiles can be based on demographic, geography or behaviour on site such as past purchases.
A/B Testing
A/B testing measures engagement for different versions of the same email with a sample of your recipients. After creating your marketing email, you'll create another version and change single variants to see how it impacts metrics eg, a different subject line or image of your product.
We recommend third-parties like Yotpo, which has an inbuilt a/b testing functionality specifically designed for CRM campaigns.
How To Create A Successful Email Campaign
Use Eye Catching Subject Lines To Increase Email Open Rates
Use personalised subject lines to capture your audience and increase open rates. Ideally, these need to be 6 to 10 words to get the best open rate.
Too Good to Go’s Taps In To It’s Surprise Seeking Consumers
‘Too Good to Go’s' foundation is built on the element of surprise for its users. We love how they tap into this audience by enticing them with the potential of purchasing the ultimate food thrill - for less in the example below.
Using Emojis In Email Marketing Subject Line 🛍
Using emojis in subject lines can be a superb way of increasing open-rates. A Campaign Monitor study concluded that emails with emojis in the subject line had a 56% higher open rate and a 96% higher click-through rate. However, do use caution, as not every audience is suited to this approach.
Pizza Hut: Date Night & Pizza Emojis
The use of emojis is huge in the food industry in relation to email marketing. When we think about the way we communicate across instant messaging, it becomes apparent why emojis are becoming so popular. It has a sense of personality and ‘fun’ vibes which can resonate with a subscriber who may be feeling a little hungry and impulsive.
Personalise The Contents Of The Email
A really nice way to personalise an email is to include the recipient's name in the subject line or email content.
You can also use dynamic content, eg, if a customer abandoned a shopping cart, you can send them a personalised email with product recommendations or with links to the products they had previously viewed.
WAR child On A First Name Basis
War child uses first names in the subject line as well as the body of the email. Charity donations are very personable, and often these campaigns need to tap into emotive language that speaks directly to its readers in order for them to give more of their hard earnt cash.
Leverage Discounts & Offers
A really great way to improve conversion rates in email marketing is to leverage on-site offers and discounts. If a potential customer is interested in a product, they may be more likely to convert if incentivised with the thought of saving money.
Soak & Sleep Create A Sense Of Urgency
In an email campaign for Soak and Sleep, they leverage their 30% off deal by creating a sense of urgency. Notice the language used in the body of the email, eg, ‘SELLING FAST’ and ‘LIMITED STOCK’. This makes subscribers believe they could be potentially missing out on deals they can’t miss.
Let Subscribers Know About Upcoming Collaborations & Events
Seasonal peaks such as Christmas and Black Friday can be leveraged through email campaigns. Such as inviting subscribers to early access landing pages and special discounts. Collaborations with other businesses and influencers can really thread your brand messaging and increase retention by keeping your subscribers in the know.
ASOS - Killer Black Friday Deals
ASOS uses a tantalising ‘70% off almost everything’ for their 2024 Black Friday email campaign which to some could be too good to ignore. We also love how they’ve used a discount code as anchor text in the CTA button to give a sense of gifting to the reader.
Use a Compelling Call To Action
When it comes to creating a successful CTA, there are a number of ways you can get the most out of them.
- Keep it clear and concise, and avoid overcomplicating the CTA. You don’t want a combination of messages skewing your goal.
- Use time-sensitive language, such as “now” or “last chance” to entice action.
- Take your time with design. Carefully select colours, fonts and text contrasts to make your CTA as visually appealing as possible.
Use CTA buttons instead of hyperlinks - these are much more aesthetically pleasing and potentially customers are more likely to take action.
Soak & Sleeps Hot Pink Button That Jumps Out Your Screen
Here’s an example from Soak & Sleep, note the contrasting hot pink button against the black background? This really makes the CTA button ‘pop’! As well using clear language ‘SHOP THE SALE’.
Here at NOVOS, our search-led approach to content can align perfectly with your customer user journey and be integrated into your email strategy. Working together, we can create content that aims to drive and increase email subscriptions and much more. Find out more about CRM for eCommerce brands.
