Time and time again, email marketing proves itself as an excellent driver of revenue for brands.
According to data, email has an ROI of 3,800%. That means for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you get $38 in return.
In contrast, you only get $2 for every $1 you spend on digital marketing channels such as paid ads.
Furthermore, the average order value of emails is at least three times higher than the order value of social media campaigns.
The data makes one thing clear: email marketing stands above other digital channels when it comes to generating revenue. Simply put, it’s in a league of its own.
That being said, if you want to maximize your email marketing ROI and get that 3,800% in additional revenue, you need to create a solid email marketing plan. In this post, we walk you through the 6 steps you can take to map out your email marketing strategy.
According to data, email has an ROI of 3,800%. That means for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you get $38 in return.
In contrast, you only get $2 for every $1 you spend on digital marketing channels such as paid ads.
Furthermore, the average order value of emails is at least three times higher than the order value of social media campaigns.
The data makes one thing clear: email marketing stands above other digital channels when it comes to generating revenue. Simply put, it’s in a league of its own.
That being said, if you want to maximize your email marketing ROI and get that 3,800% in additional revenue, you need to create a solid email marketing plan. In this post, we walk you through the 6 steps you can take to map out your email marketing strategy.
#1 Find the right platform for your brand.
If your goal is to increase your email marketing ROI, then choosing the best possible email marketing service or platform for your brand is paramount. There are countless platforms available for brands, with each one offering different price points, target users, and features.
For increased revenue, here are some essential features you need to look for in an email platform.
● Analytics - Some platforms have better analytics features than others. Use one that has a robust analytics suite that allows you to track and analyze the ROI of campaigns, conversion rates, and other critical email marketing metrics.
● Automation - You should be able to easily set up workflows and automated emails, like welcome emails, birthday offers, anniversary offers, and promotional reminders that are proven to boost engagement and revenue.
● Mobile optimization - Today, over 50% of all emails are opened on a mobile device, so it’s more important than ever that your platform allows you to craft mobile-optimized emails.
The challenge when shopping for an email marketing platform is finding one that best suits your needs. To maximize your email marketing ROI, you need to choose a platform that fits your budget but still delivers on the necessary features.
For increased revenue, here are some essential features you need to look for in an email platform.
● Analytics - Some platforms have better analytics features than others. Use one that has a robust analytics suite that allows you to track and analyze the ROI of campaigns, conversion rates, and other critical email marketing metrics.
● Automation - You should be able to easily set up workflows and automated emails, like welcome emails, birthday offers, anniversary offers, and promotional reminders that are proven to boost engagement and revenue.
● Mobile optimization - Today, over 50% of all emails are opened on a mobile device, so it’s more important than ever that your platform allows you to craft mobile-optimized emails.
The challenge when shopping for an email marketing platform is finding one that best suits your needs. To maximize your email marketing ROI, you need to choose a platform that fits your budget but still delivers on the necessary features.
#2 Grow an engaged and healthy list.
Growing a healthy list of engaged subscribers takes effort, but it also pays long-term dividends for your brand. This is because subscribers who are more engaged are also more likely to make purchases from you.
Here is how you build an engaged email list.
● Make signing up convenient - If you want to encourage people to sign up, you need to make the process easy for them. You also have to provide them with plenty of opportunities to do so. Create simple signup forms and strategically place them throughout your website in pages such as your homepage, blog page, and contact us page.
● Data is everything - Collecting the right data is crucial to driving email marketing revenue. Add fields to your signup forms to ask information outside of a person’s name and email address. However, avoid adding too many fields, as this can actually decrease your signups.
● Permission is crucial - Always use the double opt-in method of confirmation. Email people and ask them to confirm their subscription. This keeps your list healthy and prevents invalid contacts from being added to your list.
● Track engagement - Keep an eye on your open rates, conversion rates, and click-to-open rates. This way, you can immediately determine when one area of engagement needs some work.
● Clean your list - Not only you want to grow your email list, you also want to check your list on a regular basis and delete any invalid emails. If you have a significant number of inactive subscribers, send them a re-engagement email. If they don't open it, click on it or engage with it, it might be the right time to remove them and clean your list.
Here is how you build an engaged email list.
● Make signing up convenient - If you want to encourage people to sign up, you need to make the process easy for them. You also have to provide them with plenty of opportunities to do so. Create simple signup forms and strategically place them throughout your website in pages such as your homepage, blog page, and contact us page.
● Data is everything - Collecting the right data is crucial to driving email marketing revenue. Add fields to your signup forms to ask information outside of a person’s name and email address. However, avoid adding too many fields, as this can actually decrease your signups.
● Permission is crucial - Always use the double opt-in method of confirmation. Email people and ask them to confirm their subscription. This keeps your list healthy and prevents invalid contacts from being added to your list.
● Track engagement - Keep an eye on your open rates, conversion rates, and click-to-open rates. This way, you can immediately determine when one area of engagement needs some work.
● Clean your list - Not only you want to grow your email list, you also want to check your list on a regular basis and delete any invalid emails. If you have a significant number of inactive subscribers, send them a re-engagement email. If they don't open it, click on it or engage with it, it might be the right time to remove them and clean your list.
#3 Segment your list.
Another way to boost your email marketing ROI is by segmenting your email list. It can increase your revenue by 760%.
You can create various segments using subscriber data already at your disposal. You can also take advantage of integrations to import data from software that your brand uses.
Subscriber information you can use for segmentation can include:
● Gender
● Age or age range
● Geographical location
For deeper segmentation, use behavioral data such as:
● Interest (promotional CTAs clicked)
● Transactional history (past purchases)
● Content preference (emails opened)
A great way to segment your list with email marketing is by using the RFM analysis methodology. You probably possess subscriber data that is unique to your brand, so don’t be afraid to get creative when segmenting your subscribers. Experiment with segmentation to find out which type of segments are the most effective in driving revenue.
You can create various segments using subscriber data already at your disposal. You can also take advantage of integrations to import data from software that your brand uses.
Subscriber information you can use for segmentation can include:
● Gender
● Age or age range
● Geographical location
For deeper segmentation, use behavioral data such as:
● Interest (promotional CTAs clicked)
● Transactional history (past purchases)
● Content preference (emails opened)
A great way to segment your list with email marketing is by using the RFM analysis methodology. You probably possess subscriber data that is unique to your brand, so don’t be afraid to get creative when segmenting your subscribers. Experiment with segmentation to find out which type of segments are the most effective in driving revenue.
#4 Leverage the power of personalization.
Email marketing personalization is one of the essential best email practices you need to apply whether you work as a startup, a small business or a large organization.
Generic email blasting is no longer considered best practice. Email personalization is one of the many techniques to use growth hacking with emails. Today, it’s all about personalizing messages to suit each subscriber.
The rise of personalized marketing is not surprising. Research suggests that personalization can help you get six times higher transaction rates. It can also increase your conversion rates by 10% and your click-through rates by 14%.
You can enhance your marketing ROI by personalizing these email elements.
● From name - Avoid sending emails from addresses like noreply@mybrand.com. It makes your emails seem like they’re coming from a bot and also tends to trigger spam filters. For best results, use the name and photo of an actual person in your company. For example, if it’s an offer or promotion, your email can reflect the name of someone in your sales department.
● Subject line - Always include your subscriber’s first name in your email subject lines. It’s a basic tactic, but it’s highly effective when encouraging subscribers to open your email and make a purchase.
● Copy - You should also greet subscribers by their first name in the copy of your email. Check out the email below for inspiration on how to do it effectively.
● Images - Do you sell gender-specific items? If so, personalize images according to the gender of your subscribers.
When you follow these personalization tactics, you’ll improve your revenue and keep your brand top-of-mind for subscribers..
Generic email blasting is no longer considered best practice. Email personalization is one of the many techniques to use growth hacking with emails. Today, it’s all about personalizing messages to suit each subscriber.
The rise of personalized marketing is not surprising. Research suggests that personalization can help you get six times higher transaction rates. It can also increase your conversion rates by 10% and your click-through rates by 14%.
You can enhance your marketing ROI by personalizing these email elements.
● From name - Avoid sending emails from addresses like noreply@mybrand.com. It makes your emails seem like they’re coming from a bot and also tends to trigger spam filters. For best results, use the name and photo of an actual person in your company. For example, if it’s an offer or promotion, your email can reflect the name of someone in your sales department.
● Subject line - Always include your subscriber’s first name in your email subject lines. It’s a basic tactic, but it’s highly effective when encouraging subscribers to open your email and make a purchase.
● Copy - You should also greet subscribers by their first name in the copy of your email. Check out the email below for inspiration on how to do it effectively.
● Images - Do you sell gender-specific items? If so, personalize images according to the gender of your subscribers.
When you follow these personalization tactics, you’ll improve your revenue and keep your brand top-of-mind for subscribers..
#5 Track your performance.
You can’t tell if you are getting your desired level of return without tracking your email marketing performance. Make sure you keep an eye out for these key performance indicators (or metrics).
● Open rate - The percentage of recipients who opened your email.
● Click-through rate - The percentage of recipients who clicked on a link such as an offer.
● Conversion rate - The percentage of recipients who clicked on the link and actually completed the purchase.
● Overall ROI - The amount of return that your campaigns generated. (Campaign sales less the money you invested)
● Email sharing rate - The percentage of recipients who share your emails on social media or forward it via email. While not a measure of revenue per se, it is still beneficial for you to track email sharing rate because it lets you know how many subscribers are recommending your products to their friends.
● Revenue per email - In contrast to overall ROI, revenue per email only measures the ROI of a specific campaign. Calculating this can help you weed out emails that are not performing to your standards.
In addition to analyzing your own data, it’s advantageous to learn email data outside of your brand.
Take some time to Read up and update yourself on current email marketing benchmarks. That way, you can compare your data to industry standards and see how your email performance stacks up relative to your industry.
● Open rate - The percentage of recipients who opened your email.
● Click-through rate - The percentage of recipients who clicked on a link such as an offer.
● Conversion rate - The percentage of recipients who clicked on the link and actually completed the purchase.
● Overall ROI - The amount of return that your campaigns generated. (Campaign sales less the money you invested)
● Email sharing rate - The percentage of recipients who share your emails on social media or forward it via email. While not a measure of revenue per se, it is still beneficial for you to track email sharing rate because it lets you know how many subscribers are recommending your products to their friends.
● Revenue per email - In contrast to overall ROI, revenue per email only measures the ROI of a specific campaign. Calculating this can help you weed out emails that are not performing to your standards.
In addition to analyzing your own data, it’s advantageous to learn email data outside of your brand.
Take some time to Read up and update yourself on current email marketing benchmarks. That way, you can compare your data to industry standards and see how your email performance stacks up relative to your industry.
#6 A/B test your emails.
A/B testing can improve your conversion rates by 25%. This makes A/B testing a critical component of your email strategy if your objective is to increase your email marketing ROI.
Consider implementing these A/B tests for your next campaigns.
● Subject line
○ Length - Test short subject lines and lengthy subject lines. Use whichever gets the most responses.
○ Offer - Test two offers and see which one generates more opens. You can try testing an offer for a discounted purchase and an offer for free shipping.
○ Others – You can try to include the name of the recipient, adding power words or even include emojis on your email subject lines to increase open rate.
● Content
○ Length - Do your subscribers prefer long-form text-based content or do they like short content that is broken up by high-quality images? Test both and see which one gets better engagement.
○ Content type - Send newsletter-type content to one subset of subscribers and send promotional content to another. You can also include video in your email marketing strategy.
● Call to action (CTA)
○ Copy - Test using generic language such as “Download Here” against incentivizing language such as “Get This Helpful Ebook Now”.
○ Button vs Link - See which one gets more clicks: a button that stands out or a standard hypertext link.
● Cadence
○ Time - Test sending emails in the morning, afternoon, and at night to figure out what time your subscribers usually open your email. Sending an offer at just the right time increases the likelihood of subscribers seeing your email and engaging with it.
○ Day - Send emails in the weekdays and the weekend to determine what exact day your subscribers are likely to engage with your brand.
Consider implementing these A/B tests for your next campaigns.
● Subject line
○ Length - Test short subject lines and lengthy subject lines. Use whichever gets the most responses.
○ Offer - Test two offers and see which one generates more opens. You can try testing an offer for a discounted purchase and an offer for free shipping.
○ Others – You can try to include the name of the recipient, adding power words or even include emojis on your email subject lines to increase open rate.
● Content
○ Length - Do your subscribers prefer long-form text-based content or do they like short content that is broken up by high-quality images? Test both and see which one gets better engagement.
○ Content type - Send newsletter-type content to one subset of subscribers and send promotional content to another. You can also include video in your email marketing strategy.
● Call to action (CTA)
○ Copy - Test using generic language such as “Download Here” against incentivizing language such as “Get This Helpful Ebook Now”.
○ Button vs Link - See which one gets more clicks: a button that stands out or a standard hypertext link.
● Cadence
○ Time - Test sending emails in the morning, afternoon, and at night to figure out what time your subscribers usually open your email. Sending an offer at just the right time increases the likelihood of subscribers seeing your email and engaging with it.
○ Day - Send emails in the weekdays and the weekend to determine what exact day your subscribers are likely to engage with your brand.
Final Thoughts About Increasing Your Email Marketing ROI
There is no question that emails are effective at driving revenue for your brand. Email marketing is one of the top low cost, high ROI marketing tactics to grow your business. However, that doesn’t mean you can just send promotional messages left and right and hope that your subscribers make a purchase. You have to have a plan.If you want to ensure you get the highest revenue possible from your email marketing, follow the advice outlined in this blog post.
Growth Hackers is a full-service email marketing agency helping startups, entrepreneurs, business owners with branding, digital marketing, and growth hacking. Not only, we'll help you boost your email marketing ROI, we'll help you build your overall growth strategy. Don't worry, we won't stop to just strategizing, we'll execute the plan for you so your business will grow higher and faster. Do you want to grow your business with scalable and sustainable growth techniques? Just send a message to Growth Hackers today and you'll generate traffic, leads and sales in no time.
Ash Salleh
I am the Director of SEO at Campaign Monitor, where I work closely with content, copy, and analytics teams to improve site-wide optimization. Prior to my time at Campaign Monitor, I also provided SEO and digital marketing expertise at Zappos and Axiata Digital.
1 Comment
Great Insights. In today’s digitally active and crowded word email marketing if used right and effectively and posted or sent to the right target and potential customers can prove extremely beneficial to the company as it will not only provide information about products and services to the target customers but also inform them of deals and offers that an organisation wants to communicate through. It is an incredible marketing tool if used wisely.