9 Shocking Facts About Email Marketing

Email Marketing: 9 Shocking Facts

In this video, Alex shares some shocking facts about email marketing that all marketers and copywriters should be paying attention to right now.

The Power of Email Marketing

• Email still pulls a lot of weight when it comes to helping millennials and even those 18 and younger make a purchasing decision.

• There are currently 3 billion active email users, and that number is projected to go up.

• Most marketers still use email campaigns as a major way to nurture their audiences.

Importance of Preview Text

• Preview or preheader text is the 100 or so characters of an email’s content that you can see directly in your inbox, right after the subject line, without having to open the email.

• Over 1300 American adults were asked what they looked at first when deciding whether to open an email. An unexpected 24% said preview text!

Robots Taking Over

• Many people prefer to have their emails read out loud by digital assistants like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google’s Google Assistant.

• People no longer like to read their emails because it's hard.

Crafting Effective Emails

• Writing great subject lines is crucial for getting subscribers to click open your emails.

• Including a well-crafted meta description along with the email and subject line can increase engagement with your audience.

Conclusion

Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways for businesses to reach customers. By understanding how preview text works, adapting to new technologies like digital assistants, and crafting effective emails with great subject lines and meta descriptions, marketers can continue to leverage the power of email marketing for years to come.

Introduction

In this section, the speaker introduces the topic of email marketing and teases some of the key points that will be covered in the video.

Taking Over

• The speaker jokes about email marketers taking over.

Pre-Gaming in Your Subscriber's Inbox

In this section, the speaker discusses how to engage subscribers before they even reach your landing page by using interactive emails.

Interactive Emails Increase CTR

• Science says that interactive emails increase CTR by 73%.

Encouraging Engagement in Your Emails

• Including slides, videos, accordions, collapsible menus, or animated GIFs can greatly encourage engagement in your emails.

• Asking a 'Yes' or 'No' question with each answer being a button that then directs to a different piece of content can create engagement early on and provide a more relevant and personalized experience for your reader.

Don't Overdo It

• Always use good judgment and test well.

• Cramming a bunch of media into your email is not going to solve your email woes.

• Always keep your content valuable, relevant and crystal clear.

Dodgy Clickbait vs Genuine Email Marketing

In this section, the speaker discusses how to avoid making subscribers feel cheated or tricked by using transparent subject lines.

Feeling Cheated

• According to OptinMonster survey results, 54% of respondents reported feeling cheated, tricked or deceived into opening promotional emails based on subject lines.

Keep Subject Lines Simple and Relevant

• Keep subject lines simple and to the point.

• Be personal and transparent.

• Experiment with emojis as they add a personal feel to messages.

• Don't overdo it.

Landing in the Inbox

In this section, the speaker discusses how to ensure that your emails land in subscribers' inboxes by avoiding spam trigger words.

Only 79% of Emails Reach the Inbox

• According to a study by ReturnPath, only about 79% of emails sent by legitimate email marketers reach the inbox.

Avoid Spam Trigger Words

• Make sure your emails are squeaky clean when it comes to spam trigger words.

• Keep a list of spam trigger words handy that you can reference every time you write an email.

• Use tools to check spam score before sending an email.

• Hubspot released a great list of spam trigger words.

It's Time Consuming but Worth It

• This is a simple but often-overlooked step so when you add this into your email writing process, you'll drastically increase your chances of landing in the inbox and skyrocket the results of your email campaigns.

HTML vs Plain Text Emails

In this section, the speaker discusses how plain text emails may be more effective than HTML image-based emails.

Respondent Preferences vs A/B Test Results

• In a study done by Hubspot, 64% of respondents said they prefer HTML image-based emails over plain text emails.

• Every single A/B test that followed showed that the emails with fewer HTML elements actually won.

• Hubspot found that HTML emails received lower open rates than their plain-text counterparts.

Importance of Optimizing Emails for Mobile Viewers

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of optimizing emails for mobile viewers and provides tips on how to do so.

Plain-Text Emails Perform Better on Mobile Devices

• Plain-text emails are the closest thing to a hand-written letter these days.

• Test what performs best with your audience and provide an optimized plain-text version as an option.

Mobile Optimization is Crucial

• Almost 60% of read emails worldwide are viewed on mobile devices.

• If an email is not optimized for mobile viewing, it's deleted within three seconds in almost 70% of cases.

• Get a responsive email template and test it. Ensure that any graphics and media used look good on a tiny screen.

Use Call-to-Action Buttons Instead of Hyperlinks

• Including call-to-action buttons instead of relying solely on hyperlinks can improve click-through rates.

• A mix of both buttons and links should be used to account for different types of devices.

Importance of Personalization in Email Marketing

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of personalization in email marketing and provides tips on how to achieve it.

Personalization Increases Engagement

• Maintaining a personal approach in subject lines can go a long way. Addressing people by their first names, remembering birthdays or mentioning previous orders can make subscribers feel special and important.

• Personally-relevant content is a determining factor in consumer buying decisions.

Use Send Check It Tool to Improve Subject Lines

• Send Check It is a free tool that compares your subject line to other emails sent by marketers like you.

• Use this tool to see how your subject lines measure up against others in the market.

The Future of Email Marketing

In this section, the speaker discusses the future of email marketing and emphasizes the importance of behavior-based emails.

Behavior-Based Emails are the Future

• Gone are the days of relying on "batch-and-blast" email campaigns.

• The future of email marketing will rely on behavior-based emails.

• Survey, tag, and segment subscribers to customize user journeys and provide hyper-relevant content.

• Segmented email marketing campaigns get almost 15% more email opens and 60% more clicks compared to non-segmented campaigns.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes by summarizing the key points discussed in the video.

Key Takeaways

• Plain-text emails perform better on mobile devices.

• Mobile optimization is crucial for engagement.

• Personalization increases engagement and relevance in marketing messaging leads to a massive increase in engagement.

• Behavior-based emails are the future of email marketing.

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