Happy Monday Marketers! What say we dive back into the workweek with a few email-marketing related news items? Here we go:
Tips for success for email marketing on the Apple Watch
The Apple Watch Series 2 is expected to begin shipping this week, and Jess Nelson, writing on Media Post’s Email Marketing Daily, sees a growing role for it in email marketing. “With Apple Watches slowly penetrating mobile technology, more and more consumers will first view their emails on their wrists,” Nelson writes. “So how can email marketers ensure their messages are readable on a small screen that ranges from 38 to 42 millimeters?”
She passes along seven suggestions to help answer that question: messages should use short subject lines, not include links or hashtags, be designed using slim templates, be easy to read (with clearly defined and easily found CTAs), contain large action buttons that can be easily tapped, be sent from a recognizable address and employ “clean” tags.
‘Email blogging’ an effective strategy for engagement
“Blogging and email marketing are two of the most effective digital marketing strategies,” writes Juliane Heise on Business 2 Community. “Both are great ways to increase brand awareness, build a loyal customer base and, in the end, generate revenue. No matter who you’re targeting, loyal readers are always the ones that buy the most.”
Heise then makes a compelling case for “email blogging” – a technique that combines the two strategies. Email blogging is “basically email with a strong focus on content that entertains and provides knowledge,” she writes. “But unlike your usual blog post, this content is available to your subscribers only. The readers don’t leave their inboxes until they are ready to complete a purchase or explore your brand further, which makes it more appealing to those wary of clicking on your CTAs.” Heise shares several examples of this hybrid marketing genre and says when it comes to email blogging, “the possibilities are endless and the only limit is one’s own creativity.”
Just say ‘no’ to ‘no-reply’
“Sometimes overlooked, the reply-to email address and name are key identifiers for your subscribers,” writes Jaina Mistry on the Litmus blog, “This is especially true if your subscribers choose to reply to an email — which many do! From a customer service viewpoint, they’re important parts of your email that should never be overlooked.” Her advice to email marketers is simple: “say no to no-reply email addresses.”
She says that using “info@” or “hello@” have potential as “friendlier” alternatives to “no reply,” and shares several examples of marketers who have taken even more creative approaches. “Email is there to engage with your subscribers—it shouldn’t be a one-way street.” Mistry writes. “Your messages, including the reply-to, should encourage customers to get back to you with valuable feedback. So instead of discouraging people from replying, think about ways to help handle responses from customers who are getting back to you.”
Email marketing and social media as complementary strategies
“Both email marketing and social media have their strengths and benefits, and marketers need to focus on how to make the two work together rather than prioritizing one over the other,” writes Scott Heimes on Marketing Land. “There are more than 2.6 billion email users worldwide, almost twice the number of daily active Twitter and Facebook users combined.
This presents an opportunity for marketers to increase traffic and revenue through a platform many users already have and are familiar with. In fact, email is almost 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter.” Heimes advises marketers to develop strategies that leverage the strengths of both social media and email marketing and use both tools “to complement, not compete with, each other.”
To learn how to create synergy between your email marketing and social media efforts, see our June post: “4 Fast Ways to Turn Your Social Followers Into Email Subscribers.”