With nearly 4.5 billion email users worldwide, email remains a top marketing tool. Some 81% of companies use email marketing to nurture customer relationships and drive conversions, according to Forbes Advisor, with 64% of small businesses using the platform to level the playing field against major players through personalized messaging and targeted campaigns. Thanks to email’s proven ROI, 90% of marketers expect to maintain or increase email marketing spend.
Lots of informative tidbits can help point your business toward best practices for email marketing. For starters, are you familiar with Email Tooltester? It shows that today the average email delivery rate is 85.5%. If you’re not seeing that high of a delivery rate, maybe it’s the service you’re using. Google is 95%, Microsoft is 91%, Yahoo is 81% and AOL is 76%.
Some 88% of email users check for new messages daily, according to Forbes Advisor. Many people check several times a day. About 15% of emails are looked at for less than two seconds, while 23.5% are glanced at for two to eight seconds before recipients decide on a course of action. The million-dollar question: Are your emails noticed?
The average email open rate across all industries is 21.33%, according to Mailchimp. Average click-through rate for North American emails is 2.96%. Embedding videos can increase click-through rates by 65%, according to GetResponse.
On average, top-performing emails contain 43 characters in the email subject line, according to GetResponse. Only 48 characters are visible on the iPhone email app, while Gmail limits this space to 37 characters. How the space is used matters, too. It’s smart to be strategic with subject lines by testing A/B versions.
Mobile optimization is important, as well. BlueCore says 67% of Gen Z use smartphones to check email, followed by millennials at 59%. Overall, 41% of all emails are opened on mobile devices, followed by desktop at 39%. Tablets and other devices comprise the balance.
Some 86% of customers agree to share data in exchange for personalized experiences and custom incentives, according to Airship. In fact, personalization can increase open rates by 26%, with transaction rates six times higher than non-personalized emails. Birthday or anniversary emails deliver higher open rates — three times more than standard emails.
As for email frequency, Forbes Adviser says that most businesses send emails two to four times a month to maintain engagement without overwhelming the audience. Equally important is what HubSpot reports as the top three reasons for unsubscribes: too many emails (53.5%), content too repetitive or redundant (46.5%), and subject lines that don’t match content (30.4%).
Timing can matter, too. SeQuel Response cites a survey of U.S. marketers who say that Tuesday between 9 a.m. and noon is the best slot. HubSpot concurs on Tuesday for the best-performing day, and cites Sunday as the worst. I always avoid Monday, Friday and weekends. Bottom line: Test, test and retest. Carefully review campaign analytics to determine the best delivery for your audience.
Ideas for Email Campaigns
To convert prospects into buyers and keep existing customers engaged, you can begin by defining your email campaign goals. Identify exactly what you want your campaign to achieve and how you will measure results. Once you’ve established these benchmarks, develop the best campaign strategy. Analyze the results and adjust accordingly.
Many companies use a customer-onboarding series of “welcome” emails. These are designed to introduce your company or brand while building engagement and nurturing positive rapport. New-customer onboarding emails may include a welcome from the owner or general manager, along with list of company resources and contacts, followed by focused product introductions, educational content, feedback and surveys, and incentives or offers. Mailchimp says these kinds of welcome emails deliver an impressive 63.91% open rate on average, while GetResponse says they generate 3.7 times the click-through rate of a regular email newsletter.
Automated drip campaigns are another option. This is a series of preproduced, timed emails that are distributed to targeted recipients based on criteria or triggers, which may include previous actions. These emails are often designed to help educate and engage the customer, and to expedite the buyer’s journey.
Retargeting is also possible. With a qualified lead you’ve emailed previously, but who has taken no action, retargeting reaches back out with additional incentives to engage.
New product and launch teasers can also work. There is no better way to build buzz than to inform your audience about products in the pipeline. This can include countdown timers, sneak peeks and early VIP invites. Perhaps it’s an official product launch announcement, or post-launch updates including information about boat show debuts, new magazine articles or interesting product videos.
An example of this is the email campaign that Sea Ray Boats marketing director Caroline English launched to promote the company’s SLX 280 Outboard. The campaign won the Marine Marketers of America’s top Neptune Award for the email category. Sea Ray’s target audience included specific prospects for the new model, along with prospects who had expressed interest in similar models. Campaign goals included nurturing prospects to conversions; driving consumers to the website; and creating calls to action that drove prospects to a central landing page that was refreshed with new content after each email was sent.
This refreshed content included a 360-degree virtual tour of the boat, a video walkthrough hosted by a product expert, and a video to learn about upgrades. The marketing team used list segmentation strategies to carve out its audience, coupled with consistent follow-up and strong subject lines. The email click-through rates far exceeded industry averages.
“We consider email marketing an incredibly important part of our overall marketing mix,” English says. “It’s a central tactic for any campaign we run, including retail promotions, new-model launches, new-lead nurturing or [to] stay top of mind with current customers.”
Another opportunity is sales events and seasonal promotions. Create a sense of
urgency through a targeted email campaign with deadlines and a call to action. This may include boat show or in-store sales events, or a focus on holiday themes.
Regal & Nautique of Orlando has long deployed boat show e-blast campaigns. They include a series of four branded event blasts including a “save the date,” followed by three emails prior to the show, each with different brand and sales messages with incentives. Owner Jeff Husby says the dealership also promotes a “free VIP tickets” offer with a link to a registration form, to collect customer information, including products of interest.
“The strategy engages the customer prior to the show, facilitating a one-to-one sales conversation before the doors ever open,” Husby says. “It’s a key marketing strategy and a winner that works.”
MKM Advertising owner Keryn Lynn works with marine and RV retailers. She recently designed a preshow e-blast for client Holly Acres Marine with the goal to drive private showings of select boats. Lynn segmented the audience to create a VIP invite list, then tailored the featured product content messaging to include a call-to-action button (to request a private showing). When a prospect engaged, the sales manager assigned a team member to follow up, book the appointment and manage prospect engagement. The campaign worked.
Newsletters are also an option. A survey of marketers by the Content Marketing Institute revealed that 33% see email newsletters as the best for nurturing leads. I concur, but I also submit that well-designed, regularly distributed e-newsletters are equally important for customer retention.
My top e-newsletter strategies include creating a branded design and ensuring scheduling frequency. Stories should be relevant and interesting to your audience. Test a mix of content types, including news or product updates, upcoming events or post-event coverage, videos, customer and team-member spotlights, and special offers. Always review click-through rates to determine what worked. Create catchy headlines and include great images. I suggest no more than four or five stories per newsletter.
This article was originally published in the September 2024 issue.
