“Damn, I wish I received more email blasts.”
Said no one ever.
The truth is: email blasts are usually boring. Of the million and one emails you get per day, how many are actually useful, relevant, and timely?
All you want to do is change your name and move to Mexico.
While email marketing’s ROI is extremely tantalizing (3,800% on average), it’s hard to see those returns if your email blasts are as interesting as a can of sea cucumbers.
That’s why we’ll show you 10 email blast tips you can use to turn those cucumbers into a real party for your customers. While blastin’ loud music.
Let’s take a look!
1. Personalize and Segment for Success
No two subscribers are alike, and neither should your emails be.
It’s true that most of us think about email blasts as promotional emails sent to all of our subscribers at once, but it’s a bad way of thinking if we want to convert them to customers.
Instead, you should segment your audience according to their interests in your product.
When a subscriber gets your email, they should never ask: “Why am I getting this?”
Instead, they should feel like the universe aligned to present them with the unique benefits of your product.
A great example of putting email segmentation to practice comes from HubSpot:
HubSpot knows what topics you may be interested in based on your previous activity data, and they use it well!
They keep it simple and specific by describing exactly what the course is going to cover, and who will benefit from it the most.
How To Use This Email Marketing Tip:
You can use the personalization and segmentation tip by dividing subscribers according to other factors.
For example, if some subscribers came from your Facebook ads where you’re advertising one feature, add them to a list that’s explicitly interested in that feature.
And when it’s time to send the email blast, your subscribers will feel like you know them better than anyone.
2. Mixing Things Up
We read all the time. From blog posts and texts to emails.
And while you may be making a great offer in your email blast, double-check that the email itself isn’t boring and unremarkable.
When you show that your offer is truly one of the kind, your subscribers will get the same feeling.
And if it looks just like any other email, there’ll be nothing to take notice of and seriously consider (which is kinda what you want your subscribers to do).
This tip goes for headlines and content, as well. Not just the format.
For example, Trendy Minds uses interactivity to learn more about their subscribers and direct them to personalized offers based on their responses:
Penguin Random House, on the other hand, promotes great reads by dividing them according to different states:
Both of these were very effective as they stood out from the rest of the emails. And sometimes, that’s exactly what your reluctant leads need to convert.
How To Use These Email Blast Tips:
Some of the things you can try to make your email blasts interactive are:
- Visual storytelling
- Carousel images
- Gifs, animations and cinemagraphs
- In-email surveys and polls
- Drop-down menus
- Gamification (spin to win)
3. Encourage Referrals
If you sell to your customers and attract new ones with the same email blast, it’s like killing two birds with one stone.
And it’s completely possible.
The best two routes to take here are: offering great value (typically, with a discount that applies to both the existing customers and the person they attract), or delighting your subscribers so much with the email that they can’t resist sharing it.
This is how a lot of companies got the viral traction they needed to grow, as well.
For example, take a look at DigitalOcean’s email:
The email itself is simple, but the animation is what got it on the list of the best emails ever. People couldn’t wait to share it with their friends.
The first reason was the fact that they’d be getting account credit for it. The second was definitely the interesting animation.
How To Use This Email Blast Tip:
Use your existing customers to reach new ones, simultaneously delighting both. Give them an incentive to share you with their friends.
And if you can’t offer a huge discount, at least offer something pretty.
4. Subscription Blasts: More than Filler Emails
So many businesses use subscription, verification and other logistical email blasts as perfunctory.
It’s a waste of perfectly good space that could be the key to turning subscribers into paying customers.
Greats, on the other hand, asks subscribers to confirm they’ve got shoe game and directs them to the brand’s social media, as well as telling them to refer a friend:
While it’s true that there should usually be just one CTA in email blasts, the only stage where this may not always be true is in the subscription/verification email.
In that stage, customers are dying to know more. Their enthusiasm and curiosity are fresh. It’s a waste of money and words not to use it by directing them to places that’ll get them hooked on your business.
How To Use This Email Blast Tip:
Integrate best articles, social media or special offers into subscription confirmation emails and other emails that usually bore.
You can also use the info you’ve got on your subscribers (like the channels they subscribed through signifying their intent) to serve them with relevant content.
5. Reactivate by Enticing
When you’ve got a serious case of inactive users, you have to ask yourself two questions:
- Is it me?
- Is it them?
Basically, the same thing you’d ask after a breakup.
Jokes aside, you should segment your reactivation according to possible reasons.
Someone may have just forgotten about your product (in which case – politely up your email game). They may have also stopped finding it useful and valuable.
We’ll start off this example with Fortnite. The marketing team behind the game knows it’s best when binged so when people stop playing, they draw them back in with all the benefits of their product:
AirBnB, on the other hand, shows travel aficionados what they’re missing out on if they don’t host:
How To Use This Email Blast Tip:
First, understand why your users stopped being active, and then find a relevant way to entice them into coming back.
A discount may not necessarily help. Instead, highlight your product features and/or play on the fear of missing out and loss aversion.
6. New Features Call for New Techniques
One of the best email blast tips we’ve got for you is:
If you’re giving subscribers something new, make it feel new.
It’s the difference between the new car smell that car dealerships literally spray everywhere. It raises the value and builds up the anticipation.
So when you’re sending an email blast that’s new to subscribers in any way (welcome emails, new product features, offers, referrals, etc.), make it feel like a whole new world for them.
No one conveys the feeling of discovery and excitement like Apple:
Let’s be real: every new iPhone is not that cutting edge compared to the previous model and compared to what’s on the market, but Apple sure makes it feel like it is.
How To Use This Email Blast Tip:
Use the atmosphere of discovery for more than just your welcome email. Constantly improve your email marketing, and highlight that when you’re reaching out to subscribers about something for the first time.
For example, if you usually send more long-drawn, personal statement emails, mix things up by going minimalist with the next very important email.
It’ll help keep things interesting, especially for subscribers who read your emails a lot.
7. Increase Email Engagement
Discounts, special offers and curated content are all well and good, but if you want your subscribers to be ready to hop on the next great thing you’ll show them, you have to increase their engagement.
Because of the way email newsletters work, it’s not exactly intuitive to reply to them or engage with them other than by clicking through.
However, there’s a workaround for that.
The first example is coming from AirBnB again (there’s a reason why a small startup made it this big):
While they are encouraging their subscribers to click through, this email blast is highly relevant and gives off the vibe of AirBnB truly caring about their users’ experience while on holiday.
Plus, it’s a good way to make people use their Experience feature.
The second example comes from Sweetgreen who sure know how to sweet talk their audience:
By rewarding participation and telling their subscribers what to do next, Sweetgreen makes it impossible not to engage.
How To Use This Email Marketing Tip:
If you want your subscribers to engage, go the extra mile to make their experience awesome.
Whether it’s through compliments or an appropriate tone of voice, or by offering tips on how to make the most out of their product, do something in your email blasts that delights.
8. Make Your Newsletters Highly Relevant
There comes a time every year when everyone on the planet is looking to show their goodwill through gifts for the important people in their lives.
Which event springs to mind when you read that?
Because there’s more than just one holiday and seasonal event. From Christmas to Black Friday, people are in the mood for getting great offers for their gifts.
And they buy – a lot. In fact, US shoppers were predicted to spend over $20 billion just for Valentine’s Day alone.
When you add the other milestones and festivities, you’ve got a lot of potential emails to send. Just think about what you’re going to send when a subscriber has been using your platform for a year.
Let’s take a look at how Spotify used the end of 2016 to make their users engage more in 2017:
How To Use This Newsletter Tip:
Incorporate seasonal happenings into your email blasts, and be consistent.
9. Provide Value – Always
Ideally, every email should bring value to the subscriber’s table. Whether you do it through educating them or telling them about similar products they might like is up to you.
However, you shouldn’t just focus on promotional emails. That may drive sales after you send the email, but it won’t keep them coming. And since we know that about 40% of revenue comes from repeat customers, it’s in your best interest to be as friendly as possible with them.
After all, that’s how a business turns into a brand that keeps working even as the market changes.
The first, short-term way to provide value is through educational content. Just take a look at what AdWeek is doing with their webinars:
The second way is by asking for value. How? Through surveys formatted as interactive experiences, just like Trulia does:
This is the one that can keep you running for a long time. If you stay in touch with your customers, they’ll alert you to changes your company should adapt to.
In the long run, it helps you make better decisions.
If you don’t have to try too many new things because you know what to target because of your customer insight, you’ll reduce costs and increase profits.
After all, it’s all about your customers, and they know themselves better than you do.
10. Don’t Overdo It
The best email blasts are the best because they appear only for extra special opportunities.
That is the point of calling them “blasts,” after all.
And while you should work hard to make sure your subscribers are opening and loving your emails regularly, keep an eye out for extra special ideas for your blasts.
After all, the goal is to make them stick around. Not skip town.
Happy blasting!