Like any long-term relationship, we are all prone to falling into the occasional rut. Whether we churn out the same subject line, or utilise images because they’re our favourites, it can lead to a lack of creativity and emails as exciting as completing a tax return. If you find your emails boring, chances are your subscribers do too, and if you’ve noticed a gradual decline in CTR or a steady stream of unsubscribers, it could be that you need an injection of fun back into your campaigns!
So how can we regain the magic when the spark is gone? Don’t worry, this isn’t marriage counselling, we’re just going to give you some food for thought that will help you rediscover your lost zest for life (and email marketing).
Resistance is futile
The challenge for marketers today is grabbing attention in a busy inbox and producing messages that recipients look forward to receiving. Our recent research analysed not the usual CTR’s or ROI, but how the most successful emails made recipients feel, and from this, we produced our “Guide to Irresistible Email”. Yes, we’re pleased to announce that we have discovered the holy grail of creating email which recipients cannot resist. It’s three simple words: Temptation, relevancy and clarity. Want to know more? Download our guide to discover what these qualities mean and how you can start feeding them into your emails.
Avoiding automation stagnation
Whilst not the most inspiring of subjects, email automation should fill your heart with joy when done properly. If you’re currently stuck in the realms of welcome emails and the occasional automated offer in time for Christmas, allow yourself to think a little more creatively in order to recapture the fun of emailing. Remember, it all starts with you! When setting up automations, you have an opportunity to think outside the box- try segmenting your database in different ways to feed subscribers through a series of emails and see what happens to your campaign results. How about trying an automated campaign that pops up at a time when your subscribers least expect it? Sometimes trying something a little bit wacky might produce some truly surprising results!
Videos, graphics and GIFs… Oh my!
Yes- the key to an engaging email is often the types of graphics you utilise, and unfortunately some of us fall into the trap of rolling out the same old images time after time. It’s boring for us as marketers to produce these emails, and boring for recipients to receive them. Setting aside a small budget each quarter to produce new images or videos can help keep the magic alive in your emails and ensure that your campaigns don’t become predictable or worse- outdated. One of the biggest trends for 2016 is the use of video in email so with the clever use of relevant images, eye-catching GIFs or videos, you can ensure your customers continue to be excited by your campaigns and you don’t feel like you’re living an email version of Groundhog Day. Remember also that nothing turns a subscriber off faster than a poorly-optimised email, so these campaigns absolutely must be mobile and tablet friendly.
Experimentation
Keep it exciting and fresh in order to keep your subscribers coming back for more! Sounds like a lot of effort doesn’t it? It doesn’t have to be. Try varying just one thing with each campaign. If you send out an email every Wednesday bang on 11 AM, try sending it at 3PM, or try sending it on Friday instead. See? It doesn’t take a lot of effort but it’s simply to experiment with send times, subject lines, and particularly with content. It might feel a little uncomfortable to step outside your comfort zone, but if there’s one message you take away from us today, it’s that experimentation is key to keeping your customers coming back for more. Don’t forget also that with these new ideas come new analytics, and these efforts will produce data that might steer your next campaign in a completely new direction!
Final thoughts
At one point or another, we all need inspiration to do our jobs better. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a marketing veteran who has navigated through years of changing technology or a newbie fresh out of university, we all need examples of outstanding content. It helps us get through creative ruts, make the case to our boss for experimentation and ultimately improves our own marketing. If you’re looking for inspiration, the best way to do it is by keeping track of what others are doing. Subscribe to email lists for competitors and keep a record of campaigns that have particularly caught your eye. These will serve to motivate and inspire you to keep the fun and excitement in your email campaigns!
