How to Send Better Promotional Emails

Do you want to learn how to write better promotional emails for your business? If so, you're in the right place.

Email marketing is one of the most important strategies you'll use to connect with your target audience and boost sales. It's estimated that 99% of internet users have at least one email address and tend to check for new messages multiple times a day. The thing is, people get a ton of emails.

Your emails need to capture your recipients' attention and persuade them to take action. Otherwise, they'll get ignored or, worse, marked as spam.

Today, I'll show you four actionable tips that will help you improve your conversion rate when writing promotional emails.

Let's begin!

Segment Your Audience

Segmenting your audience is something all businesses need to do if they want to effectively target their audience and deliver top-notch experiences. Simply put, segmenting is when you divide your audience into distinct groups based on various demographics, preferences, or behavioral characteristics.

Each group of customers has different interests, so it makes sense to create personalized marketing for your subscribers. Taking this step will ensure better engagement and higher conversion rates. For context, 77% of all email profits come from segmented campaigns! This statistic aligns with another interesting figure: around 80% of people claim they prefer to engage with businesses that personalize content, like emails.

You can easily segment your audience by asking them to share their preferences when they join your email list. Use their responses to put them into the appropriate group so they receive content and offers that match their interests. Another way involves analyzing how each subscriber engages with your brand. If a marketer at a pet store notices a customer consistently buys cat food, it would make sense to send them offers for cat products, as opposed to dogs.

Ultimately, segmenting your audience helps you refine your marketing strategies by identifying the right messages and channels to reach your target audience. It allows you to optimize resources, enhance customer experiences, and increase the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

Craft Compelling Subject Lines

Email subject lines are the first thing recipients see in their inboxes, so it needs to grab their attention and convince them to read your email. Since nearly 50% of people decide to open or discard company emails based on the subject line alone, this tip is extremely important for maximizing conversions.

I recommend keeping your subject lines concise so smartphone users can understand what you're trying to say. Mobile screens are smaller and, thus, don't have as much subject line space as a desktop PC. If you're not sure if your subject line is short enough, send a test message to yourself so you can see what it will look like through your subscribers' eyes.

Using action verbs and creating a sense of urgency or curiosity is also a good idea. For instance, instead of saying "Fall Sale This Week," try something more engaging like "Exclusive Fall Deals Just for You!" A well-crafted subject line can significantly increase your email open rates, which means more engagement and sales.

Build Trust and Credibility

It doesn't matter what industry you're in; things are getting crowded! Consumers must decide between a sea of businesses that sell similar products or services. Things can get overwhelming fast, especially for first-time buyers.

For this reason, building credibility should be a crucial part of your promotional emails. There's a good chance many of your subscribers are interested in your brand and products but aren't sure if you're trustworthy. Showing social proof can make a big difference in their perception and turn cautious email subscribers into loyal customers.

Common forms of social proof include:

• User reviews
• Testimonials from industry experts
• Trust seals
• Significant numbers (For example: join 10,000 happy customers)

Research shows that 90% of online shoppers say reviews and other forms of social proof directly impact their shopping habits.

I suggest reaching out to existing customers, checking social media, and reading on-site reviews if you're looking for user-generated content that will help you build trust with readers.

Include a Clear Call to Action

A compelling call to action (CTA) is essential for turning readers into paying customers. People won't take action if there's no clear way to proceed. A CTA invites users to take the next step and visit your website.

I suggest using CTA buttons to get your message across. We found that including a call-to-action button instead of a traditional link results in 28% more conversions! Use engaging, action-oriented language so visitors know exactly what you want them to do. For instance, instead of a plain-sounding "click here," you could say "Grab Your Special Offer".

In general, effective CTA and email marketing optimization require constant testing and optimization. Use A/B testing to experiment with different subject lines, email structures, and CTAs to see what performs best with your audience. Put plainly, A/B testing is the art of changing one element of your email campaign at a time for half of your audience. The objective is to see which version of your email performs best.

So, you could create two emails with different CTAs, one red and one green. After several weeks of sending emails with these CTAs, you would review the results and see which led to more conversions.

The best part about this strategy is it's ongoing. You can continuously improve and fine-tune your messages over time. We found that, on average, a good A/B test can improve conversions by almost 30%! Don't be afraid to get out there and experiment -- it's worth it!

Final Thoughts

By following these tips and strategies, small business owners and email marketers can significantly improve the effectiveness of their promotional emails. Remember, crafting engaging email content, implementing best practices, and leveraging targeted strategies are essential for achieving high open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

All that's left to do is go out there and get started!