Friday, August 14, 2020
Thursday, August 13, 2020
How to Write Effective Subject Lines
Want to write effective subject lines? This useful and concise guide will give you the step by step on how to write effective subject lines, with plenty of examples of brands and businesses doing it well.
The post How to Write Effective Subject Lines appeared first on mailfloss.
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How to Write Effective Subject Lines
According to Statista, there were 3.9 billion email users worldwide in 2019 and the figure is projected to reach 4.48 billion users in 2024. This indicates that e-mail remains to be an indispensable tool for daily online communication.
While promoting a product may be part of a brand's email marketing strategy, the strategy may fail if the subject lines stink. Most marketers view subject lines as an afterthought added to an email before hitting send.
The subject line gives life to the entire email. It determines whether a reader will open the email and that's the most important first step.
It's every digital marketer's wish to have their emails generate potential leads time and again. Discussed below are some of the proven steps that can help spice up subject lines and improve the engagement of an email.
1. Always Start With the Subject Line When Composing the Email
Regardless of what marketers say, people will always judge their emails by the subject lines. The amount of attention paid to the subject line will determine whether an email serves its right purpose. Many marketers test different email subject lines as a way of optimizing the performance of their emails. It's increasingly important to make the subject line as compelling as possible for people to open the email.
The very first impression a recipient gets of an email is the subject line. Marketers can use them to make their emails stand out from others in the recipients' inbox.
One of the most common mistakes made by people when composing an email is to omit the subject line. It's easy for an email to get lost or go unread in a recipient's inbox if it comes with a blank subject line.
It's best to first write the subject line and then proceed with the body of the email. A subject line not only determines the likelihood of an email being opened but also how the recipient will act after reading the email. Most people may delete an email with a crappy subject line. Or they'll get irritated by it since they don't know what it's meant to convey. Think about your own usage of email. Are you opening up emails from Nigerian Princes?
Beginning a draft with the subject line helps set the tone of the email and ensures the reader doesn't ignore it. Below are some examples of a compelling email subject line:
Udemy: "New Year, New You! Make Your First Website"
Beardbrand: “[New Video!] Dealing with Beard Patches”
2. Begin the Subject Line With the Most Important Words
According to PEW Research Center, 81 percent of Americans own smartphones. This means that a huge chunk of the population reads emails on their smartphones. Since less text is visible on smaller screens, it's best to start the subject line with the most important information.
Compelling details of the subject line may be cut off due to the screen size of the phone a recipient is using.
Filler words make the subject line look bad and unprofessional. Avoid using filler words such as "thanks", nice to meet you, or "hello", which are best suited for the email's body.
Do inform the readers what's inside the email. For instance, if a visitor downloaded an offer that made available on a website, a compelling subject line may sound like this:
Digital marketer: "Your cookbook awaits inside!"
Wish: "Everyone is obsessed with this $1 button controlled wireless selfie stick."
Using this type of wording makes it clear that the recipient should anticipate something in the email.
3. Avoid Using All Caps or Overusing Exclamation Points
Exclamation points are a great way to capture a reader's attention. However, using them in excess may make a subject line appear as if it's trying too hard to capture the recipient's attention.
Avoid, at all costs, using all caps in the subject line. All caps may make the email appear as if the sender is telling the reader.
A subject line with the words, "Clearance sale is on now!!!!!" or "YOUR SHOPPING VOUCHER AWAITS YOU" won't get an email opened. In fact, the recipient may treat it as spam and get annoyed at the sender.
A report by Radicati suggests that 85 percent of respondents prefer receiving an email with the subject line written in all-lowercase versus all capitals. All caps looks spammy and might land you in the Spam folder, anyways.
Instead of using disruptive techniques to grab the reader's attention, it's best to use delightful language, establish relevancy and, personalize the email.
Great examples of email subject lines without caps or overused exclamation marks:
Jo-Ann Stores: "Today only! Big Savings on 2 Singer Sewing Machines."
Violet Grey: "Get Them Before They’re Gone"
4. Use Simple, Focused, and Concise Language
It's best to focus a marketing email on one action, which the subject line should highlight. Offer one takeaway. Specify how to deliver it. And indicate how readers can make great use of it will help keep the email focused and concise.
An email stands a chance of enticing its recipients if the subject line has clear and concise language instead of flowery and complex language. It's advisable to think about the benefits the recipients will derive from the email. Making these benefits clear may help persuade the reader into clicking through the email.
For instance, a subject line that sounds like:
"Increase sports betting profits in your SportsBet dashboard. Here is how to do that."
won't be as appealing as one that sounds like:
"Double your sports betting profits by 50% today."
Some great examples of short, sweet, and focused email subject lines are:
Zillow: "What Can You Afford?"
Uber: "Ride into 2020 with Uber."
5. Create Actionable Subject Lines
Just like calls-to-action, subject lines build anticipation for people to click on a specific item. Beginning them with action verbs will help increase their likelihood of being more enticing to the readers. The more enticed the recipients are, the more clickable the emails become.
Action verbs add a vibrant touch to the subject line. They instill a sense of excitement and urgency, which is crucial to a marketer looking to inspire more readers to click on an email.
For instance, an email welcoming new subscribers to a mailing list should read:
"Enjoy fitness and nutrition tips from our team of experts."
It would sound less actionable and more generic if it was written:
"Fitness and nutrition tips from our team of experts" .
The first email uses the verb "enjoy" to sensualize what the readers will experience after subscribing to the sender's mailing list.
Another example of an actionable subject line that pushes people to take action is:
Amazon: "You're invited: Getting Started with Containers on AWS Webinars (25-28 May)."
6. Caption the Subject Line With Words That Make the Reader Feel Important
While the attention span of readers tends to vary, emails with long subject lines don't get opened. It's advisable to use at most 50 characters to ensure that the reader goes through the whole subject line.
Don't include frivolous details and words in the subject line. For instance, a subject line like "Your Amazon.com Order" is better than "Order #737737483768 has been received and is currently being processed".
The same applies to the body of the email. Avoid including the words "newsletter" or "broadcast" when writing the subject line. Such words have a higher likelihood of reducing the open rate of the message. These words suggest to the readers that an email is generic. Nobody cares about your newsletter. They care about reading a relevant and valuable email sent to them at the right time.
A short subject line should infuse the psychology of exclusivity.
Make the recipients feel like the email was written for them and nobody else. The subject line should make them feel chosen to increase their chances of clicking through the email. With the right wording, readers can feel special and, in turn, be motivated to take a specific action.
Examples of heart-touching subject lines include:
American Eagle: "1 DAY just for you, Tim!"
Amazon: "M3 – Get deals tailored for you."
7. Add a Familiar Sender Name
Readers are more drawn to an email with a familiar sender name than one with an anonymous or unfamiliar name. A realistic sender name (like Janet@thecompany.com, for example) is less intimidating and more inviting to the recipients once the email reaches their inboxes.
It's advisable that marketers use their own name in the sender's address if they've already familiarized themselves with the recipients in a previous message. If it's a business, the customers will believe that they're working with an individual rather than an entire organization.
Most people are likely to ignore an email with a sender's name they're unfamiliar with even if the subject line is compelling. Readers may ignore such an email if they don't know who it's from. The lack of familiarity makes it difficult for them to believe that the email will encourage a friendly conversation.
Marketers should avoid using the automated "no-reply sender name since it portrays them as unfamiliar senders to the recipients of their emails. No one wants to open an email with such an address since there's a likelihood it may be spam. Some may think that it's a robot that sent them the email.
An example of such an address is "noreply@thecompany.com." A realistic sender name like “janet@thecompany.com” is less intimidating and more inviting to the recipients once the email reaches their inboxes.
8. Time the Subject Line in the Right Way
Timing is everything when it comes to email marketing. An email's subject line can help add the aspect of time and create a sense of urgency and importance.
Consider this example:
A fashion retailer that sends an email with this subject line, "Final Hours! 40% off Soaps and Lotions", is likely to engage with the readers looking for lotions if they feel a sense of urgency.
Great examples of time-bound subject lines:
Warby Parker: "Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring"
King Arthur Flour: "The timer’s going off on your cart!"
Timing is everything. A subject line that's written in the right way can motivate the reader to open an email since it creates a sense of urgency. Including a call-to-action in the email's body will help tell the reader to attend to the urgency by performing a particular task.
9. Include Personalization Tokens in the Wording
Creating rapport with the reader should be among the things a marketer should aim for when sending out emails. Personalization tokens, which make the most out of locations and names, help add a sense of rapport in an email.
Mention the recipients' name so the email will feel like it's written to them. People like it when you mention their names. It feels more personal, as if the email is for them.
Besides building rapport, personalization tokens are a great way to drive more click-through rates. Recipients are more receptive and willing to take action on emails with subject lines that mention their first names.
For instance, streaming service Netflix uses personalization tokens (names) to remind their customers with subscriptions that are nearing the expiration date.
Netflix: "Brenda, your Netflix free trial is almost coming to an end."
With this example, it's clear that the sender timed the message and personalized it right.
Overusing the personalization tokens may make the subject line sound creepy.
Add little bits of them, here and there, to indicate to the recipients that you know more about them than just their addresses. Second-person pronouns such as "your" and "you" can also work in the place of personalization tokens. They'll sound like the sender is addressing a recipient directly.
For example:
SumoMe: "If you have a website, you need this tool."
10. Not Making Fake Promises
Email subject lines are supposed to help senders promise the reader something in the message. Marketers should always ensure they stick to the end of the bargain. Making false promises isn't a good way to go.
The audience may get annoyed by such behavior and lose trust in the brand the sender is trying to market.
If a brand's emails fail to fulfill the promise made to their readers, guess what will happen? Yep, the emails will have significantly higher unsubscribe rates and a lower click-through rates.
Examples of subject lines that make fake promises include:
Shady marketer: Get rid of acne in two days with this one weird trick!
The Bottom Line: Writing Effective Subject Line Is Essential for Email Marketing Success
Ultimately, emails that aren't opened by the recipients aren't seen. The goal here is to get more recipients to open the email based on what's written on the subject line and take action. Each character in the subject line matters so make it count.
Subject lines are an ideal place to start improving a company's email marketing performance. They should always be optimized to the particular audience to whom they're addressed.
With these tips in mind, it's now a lot easier to compose compelling email subject lines. Email marketers should start learning how to improve their subject lines by looking at how top brands communicate with them via email. Study your own inbox and emulate best practices for their own benefit.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Email Segmentation Done Right
Need to do email segmentation on your email subscribers? In this article, we’re going to show you 7 ways businesses are using email segmentation to convert leads and generate revenue. Doing email segmentation the right way can unlock some incredible gains in your email campaigns.
The post Email Segmentation Done Right appeared first on mailfloss.
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Email Segmentation Done Right
There’s nothing like email segmentation to increase the odds of converting your email subscribers into paying customers.
As one of the most profitable marketing channels, email marketing delivers $42 for every $1 you spend. And when you start segmenting your emails, you may experience even better returns!
In this article, we’re going to show you 7 ways businesses are using email segmentation to convert leads and generate revenue. Let’s take a look!
1.Email Segmentation by Demographic Data
Segmentation by demographic data is one of the original ways to segment consumers. Demographic data includes:
- Age
- Gender
- Income
- Education level
- Religion
- Ethnicity
If you’re targeting a specific niche, you should use more detailed segmentation options. However, demographic data is still indispensable if you’re covering different demographics, and it can be a great baseline.
How to Use Demographic Data for Email Segmentation
Demographic data can show you how to approach your customers.
For example, education level and age data can easily help you adopt the right tone of voice. You wouldn’t be formal with Gen Z’ers.
Similarly, you could notice that women love some of your products, while men prefer others.
Example: Roses
This fashion brand distinguishes between their female and male followers and serves content accordingly.
This is really the simplest example, and even this goes far towards boosting your ROI.
2. Segment Emails by Behaviour
Email segmentation by behaviour (e.g. usage patterns, past purchases) is a great way to maximize the value of each customer you have. You can use this information to up-sell and cross-sell to them, as well. You can segment by:
- Past purchases (value, product types, and categories, etc.)
- Sign-up source
- Engagement
- Benefits and intent
And more!
Actions speak louder than words. And if you segment by actions your prospects take, you’ll be able to tailor offers and maximize your conversion rate.
How to Use Behaviour to Segment Email Audience
For example, if you sell perishables, you could set up refill emails. You could also do what Amazon did, and offer similar and complementary products based on past purchases.
You can also make sure that your email marketing matches the landing page offer.
For example, a lead may have subscribed to your list because they’re interested in a specific product category. If you take note of that, you can immediately follow-up and increase your conversion rate.
Example: Casper
Casper revolutionized sleep. But their email marketing is also something to write home about.
With this email, they target people who have previously purchased from them.
By offering similar and equally effective products, they invoke trust to maximize the value of existing customers.
Example: Bryan Harris
Bryan Harris takes note of lead magnets his prospects have downloaded and then offers similar content.
This way, he can properly educate leads until they’re ready to convert. It’s a great way to speed up lengthy sales cycles.
3. Email Segmentation by Stage in the Sales Cycle
If this is your first time experimenting with email segmentation, start diving subscribers by their sales cycle stage.
This way, you’ll convert leads into prospects, prospects into customers, and customers into brand advocates.
If you’re struggling with stage-to-stage conversion rates, this segmentation strategy is perfect!
Conversely, if you send the same blasts to leads and customers, you will neither nurture leads, nor maximize the value of your existing customers.
Different stages require different approaches.
How to Segment by Sales Cycle Stage
Create separate lists for:
- Leads - People who have downloaded lead magnets and/or subscribed to your mailing lists
- Prospects - Engaged leads who need the right offer
- Customers - Customers whose value you can maximize and generate referrals
The key?
Understanding your sales funnel and the best offers for every stage.
Example: Asana
The folks at Asana know that onboarding is the key to retention.
Welcome emails are opened 91.43% of the time, and they generate up to 320% more revenue per email than other emails.
Strike while the iron is hot because first impressions matter.
Once your lead signs up, launch a nurturing sequence to engage them. Then, make sure the rest of your email sequences help them advance through the funnel.
Example: Bombas
Bombas retain their customers while asking for referrals. They offer free socks and discounts to incentivize their customers.
You can take this approach one step further by targeting people who often engage with your business. They’re more likely to refer their friends.
4. Email Segmentation by Shopping Cart Abandonment
This is another great way to convert more customers with behavioural data.
On average, 68% of carts were abandoned before customers purchased the products. It’s crucial to have a good segmentation plan to reactivate them and make them follow through.
How to Segment by Shopping Cart Abandonment
Let’s be real: your potential customers abandon their carts for a reason.
It’s a common misconception that people simply “forget” about their carts, or get distracted. There’s usually a very good reason why they choose not to proceed with their purchase.
And in order to create a cart abandonment sequence that reengages, you need to understand why your customers are abandoning their carts:
- Do your competitors offer something you don’t?
- At which point do your customers abandon their carts?
- Which offers successfully reengage your customers?
For example, if your customers abandon their carts on the shipping page, your rates may not work for them.
The follow-up is crucial.
Send the first cart abandonment reminder immediately. Wait a few days, and send another. Finally, send your “hail Mary” offer.
Example: Ugmonk
Ugmonk’s example is a great example of a company that understands customers have underlying reasons for abandoning their carts.
If you sell services with lengthier sales cycles, reach out to customers who’ve abandoned their carts and ask them how you can help. This especially goes for B2B.
Example: Target
This example is perfect for companies whose customers respond well to price changes and discounts.
Again, this approach may not be the best for B2B companies.
Your prospects might value training more than they’d value discounts. But when you’re in the B2C space, you can’t go wrong with a discount.
5. Email Segmentation for B2B Companies
Even when you’re operating in the B2B space, you’re still talking to individuals. The only difference is: those individuals have higher-ups they need to convince.
You’ll just need to use different segmentation rules to win:
- Industry
- Job function
- Seniority level
- Organization type
How to Segment Mailing Lists by B2B Criteria
If possible, establish a detailed lead qualification process.
For example, if you’re using LinkedIn Navigator to reach new leads, you’ll be able to filter by industries and job functions.
If that’s not an option, you can still segment properly.
For example, you can start by asking for general information like name and email address Then, you can send a follow-up email to gather more information and personalize the experience.
Seniority level is also incredibly important.
If you’re communicating with executives, you know that they make the ultimate decision. Content like case studies and benchmark reports will be incredibly useful.
If you’re communicating with people who don’t aren't decision-makers, then you need to help them convince the decision-makers.
Example: VWO
VWO leverage content to target decision-makers. Pay attention to how they emphasize benefits, as well.
In B2B, the results you promise your customers are everything.
You can tailor content for different audience segments by taking a look at the kind of content they previously consumed.
For example, if they were looking at benchmarks, send them case studies.
Example: AdWeek
AdWeek are pros at communicating with other businesses.
They carefully tailor content according to different interests and niches.
If you subscribe to their newsletter you’ll be directed to a page where you can select the topics you care about.
And speaking of interests...
6. Email Segmentation by Interest
Now, we’ve covered some pretty advanced segmentation strategies.
But if you’re only starting out with email marketing, it can be too much.
You don’t have to establish complex segmentation strategies right away. But you can use one very simple aspect to personalize: interest.
How to Segment by Interest
You can start by tracking email opens.
Segment your subscribers into different lists based on the types of emails they prefer.
Pay attention to content similarities between different emails, especially if you’re selling different products.
The majority of email tools allow you to filter by subscriber behaviour:
- Opens
- Clicks
- Bounces
- Unsubscribes
You can use these metrics to create specific segments.
Another way of measuring interest is by evaluating offers subscribers respond best to:
- Do they like exclusive products?
- Do they buy during sales?
- Do they prefer certain brands?
If you notice a lot of VIPs (people who like exclusive products), you can play on exclusivity in your emails. Invite them to be among the first to receive notifications about new products, and so on.
The key, of course, is data.
Example: Blue Apron
Blue Apron uses data like email opens, clicks, and previous purchases to send hyper-targeted content (recipes) to their customers.
This is a great way to activate customers and make them feel like your offer was handmade for them.
Example: Vitruvi
Vitruvi sends specialized product recommendations to customers who’ve shown interest in similar products. This email in particular addresses students and offers a solution that will help them focus.
You can easily gauge this interest type by monitoring leads’ link clicks, and the content they consume.
7. Layered Email Segmentation
Finally, you’ll receive the best returns from your email marketing when your models can accurately represent your customers.
What does that mean?
That means you need a layered email segmentation strategy. It will give you a complete understanding of different audience segments.
We’ve previously talked about segmenting by behaviour, demographic, and other factors. But if you’re ready to take your marketing to the next level, you should segment by all of these factors - and more.
As the image above shows, you can create a segmentation model that consists of different pillars.
You can use demographic data, as well as behavioural, psychographic, and geographic data.
The key is to use every data set relevant to your business.
How to Create a Unique Segmentation Model
If you’ve got a lot of customers and want to significantly increase your revenue, take a look at the data you’re currently collecting.
How are you personalizing your emails?
Which segmentation strategies were successful?
For example, maybe you’ve been segmenting based on opens and past purchases.
If someone frequently clicked on links related to socks and bought socks in the past, then it’s a no-brainer.
Try adding new data points.
For example, geographic data. You might notice differences between people who live in Argentina and Norway. Argentinians will buy socks in July, while Norwegians need warmth in December.
And that’s just the beginning.
The easiest way to get started is by creating customer personas.
When you understand how your customers make purchasing decisions, you’ll be able to leverage the right data.
Example: EasyJet
The folks at Campaign Monitor highlight a great example of using different data points to create personalized experiences.
Our advice for taking such a strategy forward would be putting it into practice. Listing significant milestones is all well and good, but you can do better.
Once you notice a lot of customers sharing the same affinities, you can create entire personalized models; from carefully curated content to benefit-focused offers.
The first step?
Getting to know your customers.
Thursday, June 25, 2020
The Intersection Where Email Marketing & Conversion Rate Optimization Meet
In this interview mailfloss chats with Talia Wolf, the founder of GetUplift, a conversion rate optimization agency. In the interview below, we pick Talia’s brain and ask questions about CRO as it relates to strategies within the world of email marketing.
The post The Intersection Where Email Marketing & Conversion Rate Optimization Meet appeared first on mailfloss.
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