5 Best Practices to Boost Your Email Campaign Engagement

As soon as they access their accounts — and before they even take a sip of their morning coffee — users are greeted with a frightening stack of emails just waiting to be opened. However, not all of these messages get to see the light of day. On average, at least 35% of them will be ignored or thrown into the bin.

Learn more

Since email has become an oversaturated platform, it has become more difficult to spark the interest of consumers and keep them engaged. In fact, 42% of marketers consider this their biggest challenge when sending out email campaigns. Because of the fierce competition for users’ attention in the inbox, marketers are looking for unique ways to up their email engagement. So we rounded up some practical tips that could help businesses stand out from the competition and get more users engaged with their emails.

Begin with a bang

The best way to hook your audience is with a great subject line. According to MailChimp, users respond better to short and descriptive subject lines rather than long and nonspecific ones. Since users just scan through their inboxes, they’re more likely to click on campaigns that lead with simple, no-nonsense headlines. So remember to keep your subject lines under 40 characters (or no more than seven words). However, this doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with your subject lines. You can always use humor or shock tactics to spice them up. Aside from that, inserting numbers has proven to boost email engagement as well (e.g. 9-Step Guide to Web Development or 6 Tips to Improving Content). Much like punctuations and one-word introductions, numbers have a way of capturing attention and piquing interest, so it won’t hurt to throw them into your subject lines when necessary.

Leave a good first impression

Some businesses don’t seem to understand the role that welcome emails play in increasing engagement. Indeed, sending out these types of campaigns is a great way to leave a positive first impression on users and win their trust. Welcome emails make subscribers feel special, especially when they’re written with a personal touch. This is the main reason why welcome emails report the second-highest engagement out of all campaign types, scoring an average read rate of 39%. In addition, welcome emails are quite useful in the onboarding process as they set the stage for succeeding campaigns. So if you want to see a rise in your engagement, don’t forget to include welcome messages in your email marketing plan.

Skip the sales talk

Email campaigns that are too sales-driven can turn consumers off. In fact, people value helpful interactions with brands more than anything. So if you want to keep them subscribed, then deliver content that’s useful. Offering a wide range of high-value content can inspire more participation from users, whether it be through helpful how-tos, project highlights, event updates, or downloadable resources. Apart from increasing engagement, delivering valuable content can also help you gain trust. Remember, it’s possible to connect and engage with your audience without a hard sell.

Put your own spin on it

Some emails are left unread while others don’t even make it to users’ inboxes. Clearly, low placement rates translate to low engagement. So if you want to bump up the engagement in your campaigns, start first by improving your placement rates. One simple tactic to enhance the deliverability of your campaigns is by using branded links. This is a simple but often overlooked trick in email marketing. Did you know that branded links ensure your campaigns reach their intended audience and avoid getting marked as spam? At the same time, branded links are more memorable and eye-catching to users, which can inspire more action than long, generic URLs.

Be anything but bland

While it’s imperative to use precise, action-oriented language when creating CTAs, don’t be afraid to think outside the box. There’s nothing wrong with being straightforward with your copy but being unimaginative can definitely put a strain on your email engagements. There are so many campaigns out there that use generic lingo to lure in their subscribers. However, according to marketing experts, the best way to grab the attention of users is to use unique and inventive CTAs. Being creative with your CTAs will invite more action and make your campaigns more irresistible.

Learn more