How to Skyrocket Sales with Email Marketing

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Email is one of the oldest and most effective digital marketing strategies in the world. Statista estimates that by the end of 2022, over 4.25 billion people will have an email address. With that number in mind, this is one outreach technique that’s here to stay.

As a business owner or marketer, you can use email to engage with your audience and increase sales. The thing is, there’s more to it than emailing a subscriber and saying, “buy my product.” You have to craft messages that demonstrate the value of your brand and improve the lives of your subscribers, even if they are not ready to buy.

Today, I’ll share a few actionable tips you can use to skyrocket sales with your email marketing campaigns. We’ve used these strategies for years to grow highly engaged lead lists across multiple websites, and I’m confident they can work for you.

Let’s begin!

Send a Memorable Welcome Email

Once a user signs up for your email list, you should send them a welcome message. Users are most likely to open your welcome email out of all of the different types of emails you can send. In fact, the average open rate for these types of messages is an impressive 82%.

Use this opportunity to set the stage and deliver immediate value to your audience. I suggest starting by thanking them for signing up. A simple thank you can go a long way towards building rapport with first-time subscribers.

You should also deliver any lead magnet promised when they signed up. For example, if you have a 20% off coupon for new users, include the discount code in your welcome email. Businesses that wait to send the promised content or offer tend to see less engagement and more people unsubscribe from their list.

It’s crucial that you use this time to learn a little bit about each subscriber. We like to include a mini-survey that invites users to tell us what kind of content they would like to see in the future. You can use this data to personalize future emails, build audience segments, and much more.

Use a Mobile-Friendly Format

Did you know that the average person spends almost 4 hours on their smartphone every day? As you would expect, many of these people choose to read and respond to emails from their devices.

If your emails are not optimized for mobile, you will have a harder time convincing subscribers to read your message and take action. Luckily, there are a few ways you can ensure your messages are mobile-friendly and responsive.

You’ll want to adjust your email format so all your content is in a single column. Multiple columns can make it hard for smartphone users to read your messages because they have to scroll top to bottom multiple times just to read one email. Odds are, most people won’t make it through a poorly formatted email, which will reduce your chance of future engagement with that user.

You should also pay attention to your text size and image placement. Smartphone users require slightly larger text and clear fonts because they are reading your message on a small screen. When it comes to images, use them sparingly, and don’t make them the focal point of your entire email.

I also recommend testing all of your new campaigns on live devices. The best way to know how your email will look is to see it first-hand.

Choose Compelling Subject Lines

The subject lines you choose to use will play an important factor in how many subscribers open your emails. Research shows that over 33% of people determine if they will open an email based on the subject line.

In other words, if your headlines are dull and uninspired, most people will skip over them when browsing their inbox. Ideally, you want users to open your emails, so obviously, this isn’t a great situation for you or your customers.

The good news is there are a few ways you can fine-tune your subject lines for maximum engagement and sales. You’ll first want to pay attention to the length of your email headlines. As a general rule, desktop inboxes show around 60 characters, while mobile-only shows the first 25. If you want to convince your audience to open your message, concise subject lines are a must.

I recommend focusing on how the email will benefit the subscriber. People feel compelled to open emails if they see there’s something valuable waiting for them when they click through. The value could be an engaging blog post, a list of helpful industry tips, or an exclusive discount/offer. There are other possibilities here, too, depending on your audience size, resources, and industry.

It also helps to avoid spammy headlines. If you send emails promising something extraordinary, then don’t deliver once the user clicks through; this could lead to issues with email deliverability (if the user marks your message as spam), loss of trust, and more.

Leverage the Power of Personalization

Personalization is a surefire way to increase your email sales. Research shows that, on average, personalized emails get 6x more engagement when compared to generic emails.

When you look at customer surveys, it’s easy to see why these messages are so effective. Data shows that 4 out of 5 shoppers say they want brands to send more personalized content and offers.

The key to building an effective personalization strategy is to create emails based on your customer segments. Customer segments are groups of people who engage with your website that all have similar goals, pain points, and interests. Every business is bound to have multiple segments based on its product catalog.

For instance, a clothing store would create an email segment for users specifically interested in footwear. Meanwhile, they may have another list of people who are interested in dress shirts and pants. Sending each user content that resonates with their specific needs will lead to more engagement and sales.

You should also look for opportunities to send individualized emails, such as birthday coupons. Subscribers are more likely to visit your website and make a purchase if they see that you understand their needs and want to deliver a top-notch customer experience.

Final Thoughts

Email marketing is here to stay. If you want to secure more sales for your small business, this is one strategy you can’t afford to skip. The tips outlined above will help you build rapport with your audience while highlighting your value proposition, which is essential for turning subscribers into customers.

My final piece of advice to you is this; always track the progress of new and existing campaigns. You can learn a lot about your audience by reviewing your analytics and fine-tuning your emails over time.

Syed Balkhi
Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner, the largest free WordPress resource site. With over 10 years of experience, he’s the leading WordPress expert in the industry. You can learn more about Syed and his portfolio of companies by following him on his social media networks.

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