Email marketing is one of the most common ways to reach large audiences. Its popularity is primarily due to its effectiveness and high rate of conversion compared to alternatives. Inbox placement is the number of emails that enter the recipient’s address versus those in the spam or junk folder. If you are already familiar with email marketing techniques, this article will show you some advanced techniques you can use to increase your inbox placement. Using one or more of these techniques will help you to reach larger audiences and convert more members.
Here are some advanced email marketing techniques for your email list:
Subject Line
Using clear and concise subject lines that convey the content of the email is recommended by email deliverability consultants. Subject lines are the first detail that readers will see when your email is delivered. It plays a huge role in nudging the recipient to view the content in detail. It is also a major factor that determines whether your mail will be opened or reported as spam. You need to be honest in the subject line as it builds trust with the recipient. Try creating multiple subject lines before picking the one that best conveys the content of your email.
Email Marketing Service
The email marketing service is responsible for delivering the mail to the recipient. Some email clients also have automation services that will automatically deliver your emails to your mailing list. This service can be customized to keep to your delivery schedule. They would also provide analytics of the performance of your mail which will help you make better choices. You need to learn the tools that work and how to use them, as it will determine how well your emails perform.
Appropriate Scheduling
Keeping to a predefined schedule helps to boost your inbox placement rate. It builds consistency with the user and allows them to expect and open your mail at stated times. Erratic sending times can trigger spam filters, which will lower your inbox placement. Additionally, you should monitor your sending patterns to avoid flooding recipients within a short period. You should also clean your lists regularly to remove inactive subscribers. Low engagement and high bounce rates can negatively affect your reputation. You must act on bounce notifications quickly to prevent future occurrences.
User Segmentation
User segmentation is another advanced strategy you can use to capture your audience and improve opening rates. Separating your recipients based on their interests or other relevant categories will allow you to deliver tailored content. Personalized emails have the highest opening rates which is why it is a recommended step to improving inbox placement. You should also note that this could be a double-edged sword as wrong personalization could harm opening rates. For example, you can segment the list of a region between the ages of 25 to 45. You can further divide them by gender to have a more specific audience. Ensure that you have the correct segmentations before sending out targeted content.
Email Domain
A domain name helps to boost your sender’s reputation. Sender reputation is a measure of how trusted you are. This is determined by the recipient engagement, spam complaint ratio, and sending practices. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use the sender’s rating to determine if your mail is authentic or spam. The email domain will also let recipients know that the email is from an authenticated sender and not from a fraudulent source. Email authentication methods like DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mails) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework) would also help validate the authenticity of your emails. Without proper authentication, your email may be flagged as spam.
A/B Testing
A/B testing helps you to try out different messaging and subject lines on different audiences. The aim of this is to allow you to learn which ones convert the most. Mixing things up when sending out your emails will help you discover more about your audience. You should also ensure that the content of your emails does not contain any words, images, or phrases that trigger spam filters. Try to include clear calls to action and avoid using all-caps in your heading and body. Furthermore, the text-to-image ratio must be balanced to avoid the spam filters.
Dynamic and Engaging Design
Design is an underrated factor in email marketing. Your emails should have a clear and consistent design pattern that is mobile-friendly. Most of your recipients will open your email on a mobile device. Therefore, they must be optimized for the mobile user. Simple tweaks like dark mode design will dramatically improve your inbox placement. Another design choice is making it easy to unsubscribe. Users should not feel like they are trapped on your list. Consistent design would also allow users to recognize your mail which further increases the inbox placement.
Monitoring and Analytics
This is a very important metric that determines how well your emails will do in the long run. Analyze and monitor every metric associated with your account. These numbers will tell you how well you are doing and what areas you should work on. Some metrics you should monitor apart from inbox placement include:
- Engagement insights
- Sender reputation
- High bounce rates
- Open rates
- User interests
These metrics ensure that you are on top of your mailing list. You can adjust your weaker areas as necessary and improve your processes. Using the data to guide your decisions will help you to increase your audience and convert more.
Conclusion
Using email as your marketing strategy will go a long way in helping you to reach a larger audience. By mastering these email marketing techniques, you can raise your metrics and improve inbox placement. Higher placement means your chances of conversion are increased. Focusing on personalized content, concise headings, and improving your sender reputation are important crucial steps. Furthermore, understanding what the metrics mean and how they affect the performance of your emails is also important. Finally, you should always ensure that you have a plan and stick to it.
