Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools we digital marketers have to garner new, organic leads and nurture them into full-fledged smokin’ hot leads to hand off to our sales teams.
But are we using it to the best of our knowledge? Likely not — but that’s nothing to be ashamed of!
Email marketing best practices shift and grow just like the rest of our field, so it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on the latest strategies, tips, & tricks!
So today we’re diving into our expertly curated list of 7 Email Marketing Strategies to Boost Sales in 2022!
Ready? Here we go…
1. A MUST: Ensure email deliverability
Before you ransack your current email marketing strategy, it’s important to assess your email deliverability. What do I mean by this?
Email Deliverability: When an email is successfully delivered to the recipient’s inbox.
Why is it important?
As email is the primary method of customer communication for many businesses, strong deliverability is crucial. Your delivery rate is the total number of emails successfully delivered to the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) divided by the total number of emails sent.
The higher the delivery rate and the more emails that make it to the inbox, the better the response will be to your messages.
Sounds easy enough, but unfortunately (for a multitude of reasons) your emails could be missing their target audience due to email deliverability issues.
Thankfully, there’s something you can do about this right now! Download our free Email Deliverability Guide and learn how to “reverse the email deliverability curse” once and for all!
2. Segments are your friend (BFF, actually)
You may have heard it once and you’ll most definitely hear it again: Segments are the backbone of the Net-Results platform.
Now, whether or not you use Net-Results, you should still consider segments (especially when it comes to lists) to be your ultimate ride-or-die.
Why? Simply put:
Segmented email campaigns show 50% higher CTR than untargeted campaigns.
That’s no small feat! If you’re wondering why the CTR rate is so much higher for segmented campaigns, here’s your answer:
List segmentation allows you to send more relevant content to your audience.
What’s more important than relevancy when it comes to email marketing?
Well — relevancy is at the top of the list, at least!
In addition to relevancy, segments aid email marketing efforts by:
- Helping you send the right amount of email
- Aiding your lead’s progress through the funnel
- Increasing overall email marketing ROI
There’s no better time to jump on the segmentation train than 2022 — get on it!
If you’re looking to fresh up on segment logic, be sure to check out your blog post: How To: Understand Segment Logic. It should clear some things up for ya.
3. Provide value (like literally…give them something valuable)
This strategy is a bit more “obvious,” but no less effective.
Whether it’s in an effort to get people to sign up for your email marketing list(s) or to take action on your (aptly named) CTA(s), it’s important to remember that you must provide value and reason to do so.
Your prospective audience and customers do not owe you a sign-up or a click — you must provide them with value in your initial efforts.
Stuck on how to provide value? No problem — here are just a few ideas on how to provide initial value to your prospective email marketing audience:
- Discount codes for signing up (common, yet remarkably effective!)
- Access to exclusive & valuable information (i.e. a download for a whitepaper, pamphlet, ebook, etc.)
- A quiz with answers that provide (again) valuable information (i.e. CareOf, Prose Hair Care, TrustArc, and many more)
When in doubt, provide valuable and exclusive content they can’t get anywhere else. If you must, be sure to ask yourself: “Would I receive value from this as a potential customer?”
If the answer is “no” — back to the drawing board!
4. Use social proof
Social proof is everything to us humans — we’ve used it since the dawn of time to make accurate, knowledgeable, and informed decisions.
Well…it may be 2022, but nothing has changed on that front!
In fact, with the creation of the internet, we look to social proof more these days considering our trust in corporations and brands is at an all-time low. The internet has made it difficult to trust the claims and promises of businesses (unfortunately for some).
And that’s where social proof steps in.
To increase sales and build necessary reliability, look to the words of your current customers. Leverage positive reviews, ratings, and numbers as often as you can.
I mean think about it: Say you’re looking for a new dry cleaner to get your winter coat cleaned. Are you going to go to the dry cleaner without any reviews, or the one with 10,000+ five-star reviews?
It’s obvious, yes, but therein lies the point.
What your customers say about you is everything when it comes to new sales & revenue. Use it to your advantage.
5. When in doubt, utilize automation
You saw this one coming, didn’t you?
But wait, we have proof, too! According to Lenskold…
78% of successful marketers say that marketing automation is most responsible for improving revenue contribution.
Need we say more? (We should, and in fact, we will).
Marketing automation is a fantastic software tool that can be used for a fun little thing called: email automation. Email automation will not only convert leads into sales prospects, but it will also make your email marketing efforts more effective and endlessly productive.
Now, we’re experts on the marketing automation front, so to answer any and all questions you have, be sure to check out our Resources tab for all of your burning marketing automation questions!
Need the 411 right this second? Download our free Marketing Automation 101 Guide here.
6. Exclusive content reigns supreme
Consider this a subset of point #3 — providing value to prospects via email marketing is crucial, but so is exclusivity, at times.
Exclusivity is a robust marketing tactic that has been used for years. Why? Because it’s undeniably effective!
When deciding to use exclusivity as a tactic when it comes to email marketing, think of it as offering exclusive content that’s available ONLY to your email subscribers.
Releasing a new whitepaper? Sharing a new set of stats for your industry? Make the information only available to your email marketing list(s).
Or, depending on your industry, consider creating a product that’s only available to those who subscribe. You get the picture.
The idea here is to generate value and provide a lasting reason for prospects to remain subscribers to your email marketing communications. It’s hard to sell to those who have unsubscribed. Keep them interested in what you’re selling by providing exclusive offers that reward those who stick around.
They’ll love you for it!
7. A/B test whenever possible
The ultimate key to successful email marketing campaigns that boost sales and drive revenue?
A/B testing.
And we’re not just talkin’ subject lines here, folks. If you’re truly looking to enhance your long-term email marketing strategy, it’s imperative to A/B test everything. And I do mean everything!
Buttons, fonts, headlines, CTAs, images, messaging — you name it, test it.
If you have any questions regarding how best to A/B test (who could deny that killer rhyme?) check out our blog post all about How to Enliven Your Email Marketing Campaigns with A/B Testing.
This post will walk you through all the necessary tips and tools to A/B test like the digital marketing pro you are!
Email marketing is a fabulous tool to increase revenue and boost sales in 2022 (and beyond!). I hope these strategic tips will help you succeed in every which way and should you have any questions, reach out to me at arobbins@net-results.com!
I always love hearing from you.
Cheers to your success!
Lexie Robbins
Content Strategist @ Net-Results
