Email Marketing Quick Tips & Best Practices

Email has not only outlasted many other marketing trends, it has continued to beat out SEO, SMS, content marketing and many paid strategies. When it comes to dollar-for-dollar investment, email marketing can drive huge ROI without breaking the bank.

But to get consumers to engage with your content and take action, you need to first get them to open your email and with inboxes flooded with messages, how can your brand stand out? Here are some rules to follow:

FROM NAME
68% base their decision to open an email on the "from" name.
Make sure the "from name" is recognizable and trustworthy to external audiences.

Banana Republic learned how important the from name is when they shortened their from name to BR which created confusion and drastically decreased open rates.

REPLY TO ADDRESS
CAN-SPAM legislation dictates that from and reply-to addresses must be accurate and identify the person or business initiating the message.
Make sure the "reply-to" address is friendly and will encourage customer engagement.

Yes: customerservice@brand.com
No: no-reply@brand.com

SUBJECT LINE
Secret formula=Personal interest+What the user can expect+CTA.
Subject lines should be useful, specific and timely - conveying urgency when appropriate and letting people know the content of your email. When you can, leverage localization and personalization and avoid promotional or spammy language. Keep the subject line short (30-40 characters) for higher open rates.

PREHEADER/SNIPPET TEXT
You got the real estate, so use it.
Preheader text is pulled from the first few lines of text found within an email OR it can be customized in the properties of your email. The preheader is around 35-140 characters displayed beside or under the subject line of an email. Preheader tips: Use personalization if you can, sum up the email and include a CTA.

CTAs
Make your CTA button copy by completing this sentence: I want to _________________.
Provide a clear CTA and make it easy to find. Write your button copy in the first person.

Try to apply these rules to your email marketing campaigns and see the results. Do some A/B testing. And if you need help with your email marketing, reach out to Rhythm.