April 16, 2022

You’ve Got Mail: 8 Ways to Improve Email Engagement 

Email marketing remains one of the best ways to reach your intended audience, but with the huge volume of businesses using it to communicate with potential customers, it’s no surprise that there are a staggering number of emails that go unopened each day. 

According to Mailchimp, the average open rate for all industries is around 21%. With a number that low, you likely wonder if there is anything you can do to grab your reader’s attention from the start and encourage them to interact with your brand based on your email campaign. Read on to learn some simple ways to raise your email engagement and help you get the most bang for your marketing buck.

Take These Steps to Help Your Email Campaign Succeed. 

In addition to a well-written, engaging email, you should also focus on

Ensuring that your email marketing campaign helps you achieve your goals requires lots of planning and strategy, so set it up for success by following these simple steps. 

  1. Send a Welcome Email. 

If you think that a welcome email is just a nicety that doesn’t make a big difference in your customers’ email engagement, think again. Welcome emails have the highest open rates at 60-70% compared to other types of marketing emails, making their effectiveness irrefutable. 

Today’s consumer expects a welcome email immediately after submitting their email address and subscribing to your list, so it’s clear that this is not something you want to ignore. The best welcome emails are simple and include graphics to draw the reader in and lead them to trust your brand. 

  1. Focus on the Subject Line.

A whopping 47% of email recipients only open emails based on the subject line, so make sure you’re getting their attention for the right reason by making one that’s engaging and provocative. This isn’t as hard as you may think if you recognize natural human tendencies and appeal to them through your subject lines. These include curiosity, humor, egoism, or the fear of missing out (FOMO). 

Similarly, you shouldn’t neglect the preheader text or the snippet following the subject line in the recipient’s inbox. This content can expound a bit more than the subject line alone and entice your audience to open the email. 

  1. Make Emails Personal. 

No one wants to feel like they’re just a number and lumped in on an email thread with everyone else. Instead, customers want to experience personal emails that feel tailor-made for them. This engages the reader and can encourage them to share via social media, multiplying your email campaign success. 

4. Create Clear Calls to Action. 

As one of our favorite authors, Stephen R. Covey, says, “Begin with the end in mind.” This also applies to email campaigns and establishing clear goals before launching the campaign. To reach that goal, your calls to action (CTAs) should be clear and easy to follow, distinguishable from the other email text, making it obvious where a user should click to take the next step in their buyer’s journey. 

5. Pay Attention to Voice. 

While you should always match your brand’s voice, it’s a good idea to write how you speak, avoiding jargon as much as possible along with heavy, hard-to-digest blocks of text. Keep sentences as short as possible, incorporate humor and fun where appropriate, and use a consistent voice. If you don’t, your readers will notice and subconsciously begin to distrust your brand. 

6. Run A/B Testing.

Conducting A/B testing allows you to assess the performance of every aspect of your email, including subject lines, copy, images, design, and CTAs. This data allows you to know your target audience and pivot where needed to enhance how well your email performs for that targeted group. Running A/B testing gives you an edge over brands that don’t test because your campaigns can perform to their optimal potential. 

7. Make It Mobile-Friendly.

Most people now open emails from their mobile devices, so if your emails aren’t mobile responsive, you risk them winding up in the recipient’s trash folder before being read.  Providing customers with a positive UX experience can be the thing that makes or breaks your campaign. 

8. Make Segmented Lists.

Creating segmented email lists lets you send more personalized, relevant emails to subscribers interested in your content rather than sending one standard email to all of your groups who may not share the same goals or pain points. Sending your email to like-minded people can boost clicks and increase your revenue. And don’t forget to clean up your email lists periodically, so your data reporting remains accurate. 

Keep Your Emails From Becoming Epic Fails.

When it comes to running successful email campaigns, the team at PHOS Creative has been rocking it since the age of AOL (not really, but close). Connect with us when you’re ready to see how effective email marketing can be for your brand strategy. We’re ready to help your customers engage, and your growth soar.

Caroline Lentz

Caroline Lentz

As a Copywriter, Caroline uses her background in creative writing and education to craft strong, engaging stories, using the magic of the written word to fuel purpose-driven content. She believes every company has an extraordinary tale to tell, and people should be at the heart of every “why.” When not flexing her creative muscles for PHOS, Caroline can be found chasing after her three young sons (and two puppies), hanging out with her husband, watching British mystery shows, reading a great book on the beach, or being active in her church. She loves chocolate, sports, and music, and is a hard-core Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter fan.