Dotmailer is a leading marketing automation platform with effective email practice at its core. Recently, they produced a Best Practice Guide on 5 Tactics for Better Email Practice based on their takeaways from the 2016 DMA Consumer Email Tracker Report. 

To ensure a successful and effective email marketing campaign, we’ve covered some of their basic email marketing tips below:

One thing that is absolutely imperative to understanding effective email marketing, is to acknowledge that the email platform is more powerful and accessible (with the help of mobile and tablet devices), than ever before. Henceforth , as Dotmailer explains, a key prioritisation needs to be about the customer and their user experience.

Effective Email Practice

Do Not Alienate Your Customer

According to a report produced by Forrester, customers who experience, 'disgust, anger, or a feeling of neglect' during a brand interaction are around eight times more likely not to forgive that company'. There is an overwhelming amount of noise in the average consumer's inbox and the idea is to delight your subscribers.

This is where the importance of segmenting comes into practice.

Segment your emails to relevant customers only- not every email will be suitable for your entire clientele list. Knowing this is fundamental to maintaining effective email practice. By doing so, customers will feel more comforted and assured that they are receiving personalised and meaningful emails that are catered directly to and for them.

This all falls under Dotmailer's urge to exceed expectations. Do more than what is necessary.

Accept That Ghost Accounts Exist

By refusing to accept that the average consumer has more than one email address, you are being of great detriment to your company and its success. By the end of 2016, a total of 79% of respondents (Forrester) admitted to intentionally using a seperate email address for any marketing communication and more than half of customers confessed to keeping live but dormant 'ghost' email accounts... their reason for vacating that particular email account? Marketing overload.

 48% of customers professed to receiving anywhere up to twenty brands/businesses- what makes your message more desirable than the other 19?

'What are your brand's emails delivering that will keep you in touch with your customer wherever they roam?' - Dotmailer.

In order to identify which customers are actively engaging with your emails, it is vital to maintain a clean database, which means:

• Updating your customer details.

• Cleaning your data free of accounts that have become unengaged/inactive for an extended period of time.

The matter of your campaigns success correlates directly with the cleanliness of your data.

Security 

The DMA report indicates that brand trustworthiness has hit an entirely new low. Be sure to promote your protective side. The distrust adopted by consumers has caused the result for increased regulation. The General Date Protection Regulation (GDPR) will officially come into practice in 2018, which will provide individuals with greater control over their personal data. Email marketers should anticipate and prepare for this change - reassure customers that they can trust you.

The easiest form of effective email practice is to be honest and open with your customers. Tell them, what data you are collecting and why you are collecting it/how are you going to use it?

Create a Preference Centre. Let your subscribers customise what they want to see e.g. volume, frequency and category of emails they want to receive from you.

Don't Become Spam

It is a tried and tested fact that hiding the unsubscribe link within the depths of your email largely increases your chances of being sent to Spam- 35% of consumers are likely to send you/the sender to spam because they are unsure or irritated by your complicated 'unsubscribe' system.

Educate your customers on what the 'unsubscribe button' actually means. A lot of users complain that they still receive emails from your business- e.g. explain to them that unsubscribing from your mailing list will not stop transactional emails from coming through. This is crucial for effective email practice.

It is also worth reminding your subscribers of exactly how and when they signed up. Over a third of customers claimed they are unsure as to how/why they are receiving your emails.

Mobile Centricity

More than 50% of email use is now performed through mobile devices. Unfortunately this statistic does not match the rate of conversions made through mobiles, as only 8% buy directly from the phone.

The smartphone dominates everything for the millennial generation except for conversions. What's going wrong?

This conveys a clear weakness in businesses mobile campaign strategy.

• 31% of customers who open up your email on their mobile device will wait until they can purchase on their PC or laptop.

• 22% would prefer to visit the store.

The statistics presented above reflects an opportunity for better mobile marketing. Businesses need to strategise and effectively work around taking their email marketing to the small screen effectively. That's not to say that campaigns should be designed exclusively for mobiles- your email needs to be read easily on a variety of devices. Less is more and simplicity is fundamental to an effective email strategy.

Strategising for multiple devices will be time consuming and somewhat rigorous and testing is imperative, but the outcome will be extremely beneficial to your business.

Email is still at the top of the digital marketing chain, but this all depends on the best practice of responsible email marketers. More strategy needs to be done to avoid alienating consumers. Businesses can no longer get away with assuming their consumer is ignorant. Modern consumer's are intelligent and empowered- it is their decision as to whether or not they want to be persuaded, so give them a reason to be.

Remember: Knowledge is King-

'Knowing what consumers think of your communicating drives you to become an even better email marketer'- Dotmailer. 

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