5 Easy Ways to Make Your Emails Unforgettable

Every day, you send and receive an average of 121 emails. But how many can you remember off the top of your head?

For today’s email marketers, that’s the challenge. Sure, breaking through inbox clutter to reach the right person at the right time is a big deal. But there’s no substitute for memorable email messages that move your audience to action.

Or is there?

Results may vary, but here are five effective email marketing tips and hacks you can use to improve personalization and make your next send stand out — no matter how much competition you face.

Personalize the onboarding process

Users who have just offered up their email address are likely expecting a welcome email. So, why not take advantage of this opportunity? After all, everything you learn about your customers now makes tomorrow’s email personalization that much more engaging. And an entertaining email from a trusted source rarely goes ignored.

The Washington Post created a personalized email onboarding experience for its paid subscribers that not only introduces them to the brand, but collects specific information about their preferences and news interests. That way, The Washington Post can recommend highly targeted email newsletters and content to every follower — ensuring a more connected, loyal audience in return for value delivered across every interaction with the brand.

Optimize timing to improve your open rate

For many readers, your email newsletters have replaced the role newspapers used to fill. And just like newspapers that are delivered before work every morning, the timing of when you send your email absolutely matters in terms of whether or not it gets read.

In fact, recent studies have shown that Friday has a higher email open rate than any other day of the week. Because more people than ever are working from home, companies are seeing email open rates soar. So, don’t be scared to try something new. Your audience may be more willing to act at a certain time of day, but if you don’t take a chance you could miss out on easy wins that improve your email open rate.

When it comes to conversions, personalization prevails

For many customers — especially those who are shopping primarily online as a result of the pandemic — the internet is awash with abandoned shopping carts. But just because a buyer lost interest doesn’t mean you should call it quits.

Abandoned carts, previously browsed items, or even items your subscribers have clicked in previous emails all provide future opportunities for email communication and potential conversion.

When online retailer JustFab adopted dynamic recommendations based on abandoned cart and previously browsed item data into its personalized email marketing plan, it achieved a 50% increase in email conversion rates. Not to mention a 46% decrease in customer churn on top of that.

A little personalization goes a long way toward not only helping you increase email open and conversion rates, but keeping customers interested and engaged long-term.

Explore potential for cross-promotion

The original Morning Brew email newsletter has long been the gold standard when it comes to email open rates in media. So when the brand wanted to promote its niche newsletters, such as Marketing Brew, Morning Brew maximized its best asset: the newsletter subscribers already open and love every morning.

To promote Marketing Brew to nearly two million subscribers, Morning Brew included a personalized plug that sat in the newsletter’s top spot — making Marketing Brew’s value prop impossible to miss. And with a signup link included directly in the newsletter, Morning Brew made the subscription process for its new publication as easy as a single click.

Add dynamic content

All-too-often, brands spend too much time and energy focusing personalization on their emails instead of what happens next. Think about it: there’s nothing more disappointing than being served a “just for you” email promotion and then clicking through to a generic store page.

Personalization is a commitment that goes beyond any single channel. It doesn’t (and shouldn’t) start and end at email. Your content needs to be tailored to individual needs and preferences at every step. Otherwise, your followers won’t see the value of submitting their personal information or increasing their engagement level with the brand going forward.

That’s why Food Network uses past behavior to deliver more relevant recipes, articles, programming recommendations, and more directly to its subscribers’ inbox. Every email adds value to their audience interactions by using first-party data to deliver exceptional user experiences.