How To Become a Rockstar Email Marketer (2023)
You want to improve your email marketer skills, but mentors and gurus tell you that email marketing is dead. Then, they tell you that their system is the best way to reach your intended audience.
But if that’s true, why does your email inbox stay constantly full? Your inbox is bombarded with emails all day long, every day.
What you see doesn’t align with what you hear, which confuses you.
Let’s be honest: mentors and gurus are in business. They are working to earn money, just like everyone else. And sure, their system might work.
But email is still a reliable marketing method.
Ready to learn more? Read on.
Is Email Marketing Dead?
No, email is not dead.
Chances are that you first heard about these mentors and gurus in an email. Or, if you learned about them in a social media post and signed up for something, you got an email from them.
In 2022, people sent more than 333 billion emails per day. That’s a billion with a B every day. That’s a lot of activity for something that people say is dead. The projection is that that number will increase by 17% by 2026.
Moreover, half of the world’s population has an email address. That’s 4.3 billion email accounts! And 99% of email users check their email daily.
On the monetary front, email marketing has the highest return on investment (ROI) compared to other marketing strategies. For every $1 a company spends on email marketing, estimates are they will earn from $30 to $42.
What else can email marketing do? Increase revenue by 760% by building email lists and using email campaigns. How would you like to be the rockstar email marketer that helps a company with that?
Now that we know what email marketing is capable of, you want a piece of that pie. But you have one excellent question.
“How do I get people to open my emails?” you ask.
As an email marketer, you will improve your emails and results by focusing on the following areas.
Are Your Emails Mobile-Friendly?
Almost 92% of Americans have smartphones, where they open, read, and answer emails in the palm of their hand. And nearly 60% of all emails are opened on mobile devices.
But if your email is hard to read on a mobile device, they will likely lose interest and possibly unsubscribe from your list altogether.
What constitutes “hard to read”? If the font is too small, or they must scroll from side to side to read a complete sentence, your email is hard to read.
And when you’re testing your optimization, don’t forget smartwatches! These are becoming more popular. Your email should catch those users, too.
Content Matters, But What Are Your Emails Missing?
Strong, enticing headlines get opened. That’s a given. But were you aware that many email software systems also show a preview? Often, it’s the first line the system can read.
If your first line isn’t your best, the reader may feel that the email lacks sufficient quality to read in full. A savvy email marketer uses the preview wisely.
Once the reader is engaged enough to open the entire message, you need to highlight the benefits of your product to them. It’s not enough to list features. You have to show the reader how this product will help them, change their lives, or solve a problem for them.
Then there are images. A picture is worth a thousand words. The truth is, sometimes. Photos in today’s world can be distracting. If an email is overwhelmed with images, the recipient may not read any words and miss essential parts of your message.
And don’t forget to optimize your images for faster loading. Don’t make a reader wait for your content.
Use photos as if you were spicing up a meal. Too much, and people turn away. But just the right amount and people will enjoy the experience. And want more.
Who Are You? Company Branding Through Email
People want to do business with those they know, like, and trust. So, how do you get in that place with people who have never heard of you?
The company likely has a logo and a color theme. Be sure to use this brand identity in your emails. If the company has a tagline, ensure it’s in there.
Brand identity across all marketing platforms is vital to market awareness and reputation coherence.
Emails should come from a “person” rather than simply “contact” or “info”. This identity gives readers a sense that your company is real people serving a solution.
Emails should be conversational but always professional.
Avoiding hype also promotes confidence in your company and product or service.
By providing a privacy notice and allowing readers to unsubscribe from your emails, you assure them that you care about them as people with valid concerns and interests.
Refrain from bombarding them with several immediate emails when someone new signs up for your list. You can make your welcome series easier so they get emails at comfortable intervals.
And speaking of automation, it’s an excellent way to avoid communication gaps.
Prepare your emails and schedule them to go out at predetermined times. An email marketer knows that regular communication with your list keeps your company top of mind.
But overcommunication can get you chucked into the Spam bin.
Do You Know Me? Customer Relations Through Email
People want to know that you see them.
In your campaign, have a birthday email. It makes people feel noticed and special. In these emails, never try to sell something. Don’t even provide a Call to Action (CTA). It should be nothing more than a feel-good contact.
Another good campaign email is the follow-up survey. Surveys help you obtain customer feedback on your products and services. Surveys are only helpful if someone in the organization reads the results, feedback, and comments and does something about the negative issues.
If your product or service assists your customer base in achieving a result, use your campaign to help them track and celebrate their achievements. Everyone loves a pat on the back, now and again.
Opened or Not? Email Analytics Tell the Story
Is anyone opening your emails? How do you know?
There are tracking tools to help you monitor the activity regarding your campaigns.
Using analytics, you see which emails are getting opened, which are receiving clicks inside, and whether those clicks convert into actual sales.
Analytics gives you the knowledge to know whether or not to tweak a headline to get better opens or try updating the preview instead.
If you get opens but no clicks, your CTA may need attention.
Tracking tools give you the metrics to improve the quality of your emails overall.
But sometimes, people on your list don’t open your emails. It happens.
You should evaluate your lists periodically. Delete contacts that never open, and consider deleting those that don’t convert.
What would you like me to do? Calls to Action
Every email marketing product or service should have a call to action. After all, what’s the point of a marketing email if you can’t get the user to your site or store?
But there are good CTA’s and bad ones. Your call to action must center on the reader’s needs and how this product or service will benefit them.
Be sincere. Hype makes people doubt your authenticity. Offer real solutions to their pain points.
Point out how they can get help from your product or service. And how they can contact you for that product or service.
Certain emails in your campaign shouldn’t have the CTA: birthday emails, surveys, and achievement celebrations.
Ready to Start Writing Your Best Emails?
Following these simple guidelines, you stand out as a rockstar among all the daily emails.
Ensure that email readers can access your content on their mobile devices and their computer. Mobile responsiveness will help you get noticed.
Be “real” with your readers. Help them see you as a person, not just an email marketer, and your company as a solution resource, not just “in it for the money.”
Also, seeing them as real people with needs and concerns, not just as potential sources of revenue, makes your content more appealing.
Make sure that your content speaks to their needs and offers solutions. Provide clear information about obtaining those solutions to keep people on your list and reading future emails.
It’s not hard to become a rockstar email marketer now that you’ve learned to give your customers and potential customers visibility, respect, and solutions!