4 Tips for Better Email Marketing

It might be overshadowed by the likes of chat-bots, Instagram and emerging technologies such as virtual reality, but studies consistently show that email marketing is the hardest working digital marketing channel around. If you don’t have the budget to promote your app development business via paid search, or the expertise to create engaging and compelling content for an all-star content marketing campaign, email marketing could well be your route to a better bottom line.

Although email marketing is proven to generate ROIs and help online businesses and agencies to create stronger client relationships, recoup abandoned carts and is one of the cheapest forms of marketing around, it isn’t a given that your email campaigns will perform well.

With many of us increasingly turning to mobile to check our email (according to research by ReturnPath, an overwhelming 55% of emails are now opened on mobile devices rather than desktop or web mail) you’re faced with a much smaller window (literally) in which to make an impact and generate click through or conversion.

So, how can you make sure your email marketing is working better for you and drawing your leads back to your site to make an order? Try these 5 tips for better email marketing.

Whatever the size of the subscriber list for your app business, taking the time to test your email subject lines is the easiest way to see performance spike. Most email platforms will have an A/B test feature built in so make use of this. The best way to test your subject line is to segment a small portion of your mailing list and send half of that portion subject line A and the other half, subject line B. After a day or so, check the stats on each subject line. Which generated the most opens and clicks? Once you have a winner, use this subject line for your email to the remainder of your app business subscription list.

As we have already noted, 55% of people open email on a mobile device, so your email should be designed accordingly. As a mobile app developer, this should be right up your street. Keep your email template uncluttered, don’t use lots of text or heavy images, have a clear call to action and thumb-sized buttons.

You’ll need to have a mix of content types in your email marketing arsenal for it to be successful. Don’t fall into the trap of only ever emailing your subscribers when you have something to sell them. Try a mix of content formats and messages until you find the right balance – share industry news along with special offers or offer an incentive such as a useful ebook or re-purposed blog posts to keep subscribers engaged.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make with any marketing activity is failing to consistently and accurately measure performance. Set time aside at least once per month to study your email marketing stats in detail and keep a record of your conclusions. Don’t just focus on vanity metrics such as open rates – though this is important. Look at how many clicks led to conversions too and identify which subject lines and content performed best overall. With this knowledge, you can tailor your strategy to further enhance performance next month.