In the era of digital communication, think of your email signature as your virtual business card. Whether reaching out to new clients or keeping in touch with your network, your signature ensures your emails stand out.

Creating the perfect email signature might sound technical, but with an email signature creator, it’s straightforward. These tools allow you to effortlessly design a customized signature, enhancing your professional image without needing HTML knowledge.

In essence, leveraging the right tools and strategies for a Gmail professional email signature can significantly boost your email’s impact, ensuring a memorable and professional impression with every interaction.

Why Bother with a Gmail Signature?

Sending emails from Gmail without a signature? Think again. That bit at the bottom of your email is prime real estate going to waste. Imagine it as a billboard for showcasing your professionalism. Grab the chance to make this often-overlooked space work for you by incorporating a sleek Gmail signature.

Consider Gmail signatures the secret weapon of email marketing strategies. They are your ticket to making every email a branding opportunity. Stand out from the crowd by adding that dash of professionalism and uniqueness to all your emails.

What’s Supported?

Gmail is ahead of the curve when it comes to HTML email signature support. You’re in good hands whether you choose a simple text-based signature or a more complex HTML version across:

Desktop Webmail Client (Gmail.com)

iOS App

Android App

Setting up either is a breeze with our step-by-step guide.

Thinking of Switching Up Your Gmail Signature?

If your Gmail signature feels a bit ‘meh’, it’s probably time for a change. You might be attached to your current design, but is it really working hard enough for you?

Stepping Up from Plain Text:

Plain text signatures are a missed opportunity. Without HTML, you’re saying no to images, links, and a pop of color. Amp up your signature with your brand’s color, spice up your logo with flattering colors, weave in social media icons for both looks and utility, and offer a doorway for recipients to learn more about you online.

Dreaming Bigger:

Picture your ideal Gmail signature. Whether it’s vibrant and fun, sleek and modern, or crisply professional, if your current signature isn’t cutting it, it’s time for a change.

A well-crafted email signature should include your name, role, company name, website, email address, logo, and social media icons at a minimum. Feel free to pack in more details like banner ads, phone numbers, additional sites, emails, and calls to action, depending on your needs.

Plus, it’s an excellent channel to hype up your latest sale, events, or to make scheduling meetings through online booking tools a breeze.

Compatibility is Key:

Simply testing your signature by sending it to your Gmail won’t suffice. Since email clients display HTML differently, it’s crucial to ensure your Gmail signature looks sharp across all platforms, devices, and screen sizes.

Just like you’d fine-tune HTML email newsletters to look impeccable everywhere, your Gmail signatures demand the same attention to detail. They need to be thoughtfully designed, coded, and tested.

If your current Gmail signature ticks all these boxes, you’re golden. If not, it might be time for an upgrade.

Picking the Right Image Size:

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the images in your email signature. However, there are design best practices to follow for that professional edge.

Going Big:

Sometimes, bigger is better. Large images can captivate and make a strong statement, be it through:

●     Showcasing professional photography

●     Highlighting property developments

●     Team or office photos

●     Capturing the essence of your restaurant, including seating and menu options

●     Displaying profile photos, headshots, or prominent business logos

Yet, from a design standpoint, there’s a fine line. Oversized business logos or life-sized profile pictures might be more jolting than jaw-dropping to your email recipients.

Finding the Sweet Spot:

The trick is to find that perfect balance. Typically, a logo or headshot should cap at around 80-100 pixels in height. Larger images, like banner ads or promotional graphics, can stretch a bit further but should always be optimized for quick loading times and scaled for visibility across different devices.

Character and Format:

When it comes to images in your signature, the PNG format reigns supreme, thanks to its high-quality output and transparency support. This means no more awkward white boxes around your logos or images!

Fonts and Typography:

Fonts play a crucial role in your email signature’s readability and overall aesthetic. While you might be tempted to use fancy or custom fonts to stand out, remember that not all email clients support these. Sticking to web-safe fonts ensures that your signature remains consistent and professional across all viewing platforms.

Fonts like Arial, Verdana, and Georgia are not only widely supported but also ensure your text is easily readable.

Maximizing Your Signature:

Your Gmail signature isn’t just about looking good—it’s a marketing tool, an identity marker, and a way for people to connect with you or your brand. Make the most of this space by incorporating:

●     A call-to-action (CTA) like “Book a Consultation” with a link to your scheduling tool

●     Banner ads promoting an event, sale, or new product

●     Social media icons linking to your profiles

●     Legal disclaimers or confidentiality notes, when necessary

Testing and Adjusting:

Once you’ve crafted your perfect Gmail signature, it’s essential to put it to the test. Send emails to accounts on different platforms (Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.) and open them on various devices to ensure your signature looks great everywhere.

Making the Change:

Ready to switch to your new Gmail signature? Gmail makes it easy to update your signature settings, allowing you to paste your new HTML code or construct your signature within Gmail itself.

Don’t forget, maintaining your signature is as important as creating it. Regularly update your signature to reflect changes in your business, promotions, or even just to give it a fresh look for the new season.

Creating Awesome Gmail Signatures:

Following these insights and tips will enable you to create compelling, professional email signatures that elevate your brand and engage your email recipients in meaningful ways.

Remember, your email signature is an extension of your personal or professional brand. Make every email count by leaving a lasting impression that reinforces your brand identity with each send.

Embark on your journey of crafting the perfect Gmail signature today—it’s an essential step in enhancing your digital communication and branding strategy. With the right approach, your Gmail signature can be more than just your name and contact info; it can be a dynamic tool for connecting with others, marketing your offerings, and showcasing the professionalism and uniqueness of your brand.

The field, however, has changed drastically. We’re living in the age of higher computing power, AI, and tool integrations. Naturally, each of these tech trends has a profound impact on email marketing. Here’s what you need to know on the subject matter.

1. More careful choice of an email host

The first thing that digital marketers will have to be more serious about in 2024 is the choice of their email host. 

Modern email marketing is incredibly demanding. Because of email automation, email marketers are no longer sending hundreds of emails every day; they’re sending hundreds of thousands. This is why even a smaller difference in uptime can result in a more significant loss for the marketing team. High uptime and reliability are the No.1 priority.

Then, there’s the international nature of email marketing and a requirement that the host is compliant with regulations like GDPR or CCPA. Since the automation is getting out of hand, you will no longer be able to handle it all manually (if this was ever an option to begin with).

Lastly, we’re talking about the importance of performance. Even here, the differences can be quite significant, and you want to consider them. 

According to tech expert Krishi Chowdhary from Techopedia, picking an email hosting provider for business or personal needs without proper research is reckless behavior that no digital marketer should display. So, be sure to think about what you need from the provider before settling on one.

2. Adjusting to the industry

The email marketing campaign needs to be adjusted to the specific industry. Email services treat different industries differently, which is why you might be subjected to throttling or marked as spam for more subtle activity than you otherwise would.

For instance, promoting anonymous casinos via email marketing is far more likely to have you marked as spam if you’re not very careful about regulations, promotional terms, and information that you’re providing. You have to curate your content more carefully since misleading information might be treated far more harshly. 

The same thing goes with timing and scheduling your emails, especially since overloading isn’t treated the same in the same industry. You need to pick optimal send times for each industry, and this may vary depending on use. 

Keep in mind that you’re not just trying to appease email providers, internet service providers, and regulations either. Your email marketing campaign also needs to be effective in the message that you’re trying to convey. There are studies out there dealing with the number of emails from e-commerce and other industries that your audience will receive before they deem it as too much and the type of content they want to receive.

3. The use of AI in email marketing

The next thing we have to address is the future of AI in email marketing. 

First, it’s important to understand that this trend makes a level of personalization possible, unlike anything seen in the past. Sure, you already had templates that you could automate with CRM integration; however, using AI with a powerful NLP system is completely different.

In fact, you can leverage the NLP and generative AI to create completely unique emails for every single one of your recipients. If you already have some information about them in your CRM database, the results will be quite impressive.

Even if you don’t take the route of full automation, you can at least use the AI assistants while making your own emails. With their incredibly high predictive capability, you can finish your sentences with a single tap of your “tab” key instead of having to type it all out. 

The biggest problem with AI automation in the past was the fact that people preferred talking to other people, not bots. Well, in 2024, AI is closer to passing the Turing Test than ever before. While this is a thought that might be unsettling to some, for a lot of email marketers, this is no short of a saving grace.

4. Focus on integrations

The key to any email platform is the integration of your email marketing with your other services. For instance, we’ve already discussed the importance of integration with CRM, which is arguably the most important one on the list. This way, your automation system has all the information it needs for segmentation and personalization of email content.

Integrating with e-commerce platforms is important because you usually send post-sale follow-up emails this way and if you have the right system, you even have a chance to retarget your customers with a pretty high success rate.

Third, there’s the integration with your social media platforms. While this is not something that a lot of brands will openly brag about, the reality is that social media is a source of a lot of customer data.

Lastly, you want to tackle all the advantages of using adequate analytics and reporting tools. This way, you’ll have a massive advantage when it comes to insights and a much quicker time implementing change. Email marketing requires vigilant reporting, and if you do the right integrations, it will become significantly easier.

5. Superior segmentation

Segmenting your audience is an essential outreach tip, and it’s never as widespread and relevant as in the field of email marketing. 

Imagine a hypothetical scenario where your entire audience consists of exclusively 10-year-olds and 90-year-olds in a 50/50 split. Now, the average is 50 years of age, so imagine if your brand message was crafted to target people who are 50 (this is the age you pick for your customer persona). The message you send would resonate with no one, seeing as how this demographic will be off the mark in every respect.

Modern email marketing tools are designed to identify and profile these segments more accurately. This means that they’ll create several groups with the same common denominators and allow you to create a separate email marketing strategy for each of them.

Sure, with the modern power of personalization and AI, you can almost target people on an individual level. This means that every single user or customer can become like an entire group and have its separate, individual strategy. Still, the majority of small and medium businesses lack the technical prowess to pull this off. Under these circumstances, segmentation is more than enough. 

Email marketing is getting more and more potent by the hour

With all the trends mentioned above, your email CTR will be through the roof. Just think about it for a second: you can pick the optimal email host, adjust it to the industry and the customer, and send an email that is as hand-crafted as an 18th-century love letter. In other words, if this doesn’t get your email clicked on and read through, nothing ever will. Moreover, thanks to the availability of these services and technologies to businesses of all sizes, even the smallest brands in the game have a fighting chance. 

If not handled properly they can harm your reputation, diminish trust from customers and lead to issues. Here’s a detailed guide on the dos and don’ts of sending mass emails to help you steer clear of mistakes and make an impact.

Dos for Sending Mass Emails

1. Do Obtain Explicit Consent

Securing consent from your email recipients is crucial when sending out mass emails. This  ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR in Europe and the CAN SPAM Act in the U.S.. It also helps build trust with your audience. Utilize opt in procedures where subscribers confirm their email addresses to confirm their interest in receiving your messages.

2. Do Segment Your Email List

Properly segmenting your email list is key for email marketing campaigns. Categorize your subscribers into groups based on factors, like demographics, behavior patterns, past purchases or engagement levels. This enables you to deliver content that resonates with each group leading to higher engagement levels. For instance you may choose to craft emails, for subscribers compared to loyal customers.

3. Do Remember to Add a Personalized Touch to Your Messages.

Personalization involves more than inserting the recipient’s name. Customize your content based on their preferences, past interactions and behaviors. Tailored emails demonstrate that you have a grasp of and concern for your audience’s interests resulting in increased click through rates. Utilize content to ensure emails are more pertinent to each segment of your subscriber list.

4. Do Ensure That Your Email List Remains Clean and Up to Date.

Regularly purge your email list of subscribers and incorrect email addresses. This practice helps uphold deliverability rates and guarantees that your communications reach individuals to engage with them. Employ reengagement strategies to attempt to rekindle interest among subscribers before removing them from your mailing list.

5. Do Craft Clear and Captivating Lines for Impact.

The subject line serves as the recipient’s initial point of contact so it should be compelling. Formulate concise, lucid and engaging lines that accurately represent the emails contents. Steer clear of using deceptive clickbait methods that can result in a surge in rates and harm your credibility. Experiment with styles, like questions or intriguing statements to determine what resonates effectively with your audience.

6. Do Make Sure to Test and Improve Your Email Campaigns

It’s important to conduct A/B testing to enhance the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts. Experiment with elements like subject lines, email content, images and call to action buttons to determine which versions yield results. Evaluate the outcomes. Utilize the insights gained to enhance campaigns. By refining your approach you can optimize your strategy and achieve improved performance over time.

7. Do Ensure Your Emails Are Mobile Friendly

Considering that more than half of emails are accessed on devices it’s vital that your emails are optimized for viewing. Implement design techniques to ensure that your emails appear formatted and functional across all devices. Mobile friendly emails not only improve user experience they also have the potential to boost engagement rates significantly.

Avoid These Mistakes in Mass Emailing

1. Don’t Send Unsolicited Emails

Never send emails to individuals without their consent. Unsolicited emails not irritate recipients. Can also result in severe consequences under anti spam regulations. They can tarnish your brand’s reputation and lead recipients and email providers to mark your messages as spam.

2. Don’t Overlook Email Analytics

Disregarding the data gathered from your email campaigns represents a missed opportunity for enhancement. Monitor metrics such as rates, click through rates, conversion rates and bounce rates for valuable insights, into campaign performance.

Use this information to analyze what is effective. What is not then use the insights to make informed decisions to improve your approach.

3. Don’t Disrespect Your Subscribers Space

Be cautious about the frequency of your email communications. Sending emails can result in a surge of unsubscribes and spam reports. Strike a balance by monitoring engagement data and feedback to identify the frequency for your audience. Sometimes less is more when it comes to nurturing a rapport with your subscribers.

4. Don’t Use Spammy Language

Steer of employing wording and styles that might trigger spam filters. This encompasses an overuse of capital letters, exclamation points as spam inducing terms like “free ” “guarantee,” and “act now.” Maintain professionalism in your language. Keep your formatting neat to enhance deliverability and ensure that your emails land in the inbox.

5. Don’t Neglect to Provide Value

Each email you send should offer something to the recipient. Whether its content, exclusive deals or practical advice ensure that your emails are worthwhile, for the readers time investment. Consistently delivering value through emails will help establish trust and foster continued interaction with your brand.

6. Don’t Forget to Include an Unsubscribe Option

Always include a clear and easy way for recipients to unsubscribe from your emails. This is not only a legal requirement but also a best practice for maintaining a healthy email list. Making it difficult for subscribers to opt out can lead to frustration and increase the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.

7. Don’t Ignore Feedback

Listen to what your subscribers have to say. Whether they respond directly to your emails or you notice trends in how engaged their feedback can give you insights into what works and what doesn’t with your audience. Use this feedback to make your email campaigns better over time.

More Tips for Avoiding Common Mistakes

Respect Privacy and Follow the Rules

Make sure that your email marketing activities comply with the privacy laws and regulations. This means getting consent offering ways for people to opt out and handling their personal information responsibly. Not following these rules could get you into trouble. Harm your brand’s reputation.

Be Open and Honest

Tell people who you are, why you’re emailing them and what they can expect from you. Being upfront helps build trust and reduces the chances of your emails getting flagged as spam. Stay away from any tactics. Always make sure that your messages provide value.

Train Your Team

If multiple team members handle your email marketing efforts make sure that everyone knows the practices and rules, for compliance.

Consistent training and updates are essential, for ensuring the quality and impact of your email marketing efforts.

Becoming proficient in mass emailing entails adopting an approach that strikes a balance between reaching an audience and delivering personalized value centric messages. By adhering to these guidelines marketers can steer clear of mistakes. Craft compelling email campaigns that captivate recipients and yield positive outcomes. It’s crucial to establish and nurture trust with your audience by providing content that resonates with their interests. With planning and implementation mass emailing can serve as an asset, in your digital marketing toolkit driving engagement, conversions and sustained success for your business.

If your company inadvertently causes the leak of protected health information (PHI), you could be in a situation that’s much more damaging than a fine. It could result in a loss of trust among your patients, reputational harm that causes other healthcare companies to avoid partnering with you, and ultimately even bring down your business. 

Naturally, this makes HIPAA compliance a top priority for every company in the healthcare industry. Part of what makes it so challenging is that it affects many aspects of your operations, including how you structure your healthcare premises to ensure patient confidentiality, how to protect your information system from hackers and cyberthieves, and even how you communicate through email. 

HIPAA email compliance requirements are not complicated, but they can feel overwhelming at times. To help you maintain a robust HIPAA compliance posture, here are five aspects to keep in mind. 

1. Compliance Assessment and Policy Development

The first fundamental step in ensuring HIPAA email compliance is to meticulously assess how HIPAA applies to your organization, so you can understand your regulatory obligations and develop appropriate policies. This primarily involves examining which types of patient data are handled by employees. 

Once you know the scope of your HIPAA commitments, you can develop robust access control, email usage, and additional compliance policies that address your specific needs. These policies should delineate who has access to sensitive patient information, how it is transmitted securely via email, and protocols for PHI storage and retrieval. 

Bear in mind that this can’t be a one-and-done activity. You’ll need to regularly review and update your policies to make sure that they keep pace with evolving HIPAA mandates, changing operational practices, and technological advances. 

2. Email Infrastructure and Security

Healthcare organizations also need the right tools and infrastructure for HIPAA-compliant emails. 

It’s vital to choose an email service provider that prioritizes HIPAA standards, with features such as strong encryption protocols and secure transmission methods like Transport Layer Security (TLS). Only work with a provider that signs a business associate agreement (BAA), which establishes a legal framework mandating HIPAA compliance and accountability for safeguarding patient data. 

At the same time, you need stringent security measures for inbound email, and the storage of and access to sensitive information that it may contain. These should include spam filters, antivirus software, and authentication protocols, as well as advanced email security solutions capable of detecting and blocking phishing attempts, malware infiltration, and other malicious activities. 

3. Staff Training and Awareness

In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, HIPAA email compliance is not merely about implementing technical solutions; it’s also about cultivating a culture of awareness and responsibility among staff members. Regular staff training sessions equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate HIPAA regulations, understand email security best practices, and handle PHI safely. 

These training programs should encompass both email security best practices and recognizing and responding to email-related security threats and incidents. Topics should include data encryption, secure email protocols, and the proper handling and transmission of PHI via email. 

In addition, it’s a good idea to train your team on how to recognize common phishing scams and other suspicious activities, and what to do in the event of a security incident. Prompt reporting can mitigate the potential impact and minimize the risk of data breaches.

4. Risk Management and Assessment

Regular risk assessments are essential for robust HIPAA email compliance. By conducting a thorough evaluation of your email system, you can gain insight into potential weaknesses such as outdated software, inadequate encryption protocols, or gaps in access controls. 

This proactive approach allows you to address vulnerabilities before they are exploited by malicious actors, reducing the risk of data breaches and HIPAA violations. Proactive risk mitigation needs to go hand in hand with risk assessment. Measures should include upgrading software to the latest versions to prevent vulnerabilities, hardening access controls on the principle of least privilege, and adopting stronger encryption protocols. 

Additionally, steps should be taken to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of PHI, such as regular backups and disaster recovery plans.

5. Incident Response and Documentation

Last but not least, every healthcare provider needs an incident response plan to ensure that any mistakes or breaches are addressed swiftly and effectively. It should outline the roles and responsibilities of key personnel, the procedures for identifying and containing security incidents, and the steps for investigating and remedying the situation. 

A well-defined incident response plan can minimize the impact of security breaches and mitigate potential harm to PHI. All your compliance measures, including your incident response procedures, training sessions, policies, and risk assessments, should be fully documented. 

This demonstrates your adherence to HIPAA regulations in the case of audits and investigations, provides transparency and accountability, and reduces the risk of penalties and legal repercussions.

Stay Ahead of HIPAA Email Compliance 

While HIPAA email compliance should be a serious matter, there’s no need for it to become a cause of stress. Taking care of these five issues should go a long way to ensuring compliance and verifying that your employees, your systems, and your policies are all aligned to protect PHI, guard patient privacy, and prevent data breaches. 

Understanding Generative AI: Revolutionizing Content Creation
Generative AI represents a significant leap forward in content creation. By leveraging vast datasets, algorithms can generate new content across various formats, including text, images, audio, and video. This innovation streamlines the creative process, empowering marketers to produce large-scale, personalized content.

The Rise of Predictive AI: From Prediction to Creation
Before delving into generative AI’s role in email marketing, it’s essential to differentiate it from predictive AI. While predictive AI focuses on forecasting outcomes based on historical data, generative AI is about content creation. This distinction is crucial, as it underscores generative AI’s potential to transform the email marketing landscape by automating and enhancing content generation processes.

Why Generative AI Matters: Efficiency, Personalization, and ROI
The benefits of integrating generative AI into email marketing are manifold. Firstly, it saves time by automating repetitive tasks such as drafting subject lines, writing body copy, and designing visuals. With generative AI handling these aspects, marketers can focus on strategy and creativity, driving innovation and differentiation in their campaigns.

Secondly, generative AI enables hyper-personalization at scale. By analyzing vast datasets and user behavior patterns, algorithms can tailor content to individual preferences and interests. This personal touch enhances engagement, fosters brand loyalty, and ultimately drives conversions.

Furthermore, generative AI facilitates optimization through iterative testing and data-driven insights. Marketers can experiment with different content variants, analyze performance metrics, and refine their strategies accordingly. This iterative approach leads to continuous improvement, ensuring email campaigns remain relevant, impactful, and effective.

The Human Touch: Balancing Automation with Creativity
While AI streamlines content creation, it’s essential to maintain a human-centric approach. Marketers play a crucial role in guiding AI algorithms and ensuring that the generated content aligns with brand values, tone, and messaging. This “human in the loop” approach combines AI’s efficiency with the creativity and intuition of human marketers, resulting in compelling, authentic campaigns that resonate with audiences.

Integrating Generative AI with Email Marketing Platforms
One of the most exciting developments in email marketing is the integration of AI into existing platforms such as Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud. With tools like Salesforce Einstein, marketers can harness the power of AI to create personalized, data-driven email campaigns effortlessly.

Einstein leverages customer data, behavioral insights, and predictive analytics to generate subject lines, body copy, and visual assets tailored to each recipient. By automating these processes, marketers can deliver relevant, engaging content to their audience, driving higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Email Marketing
As AI technology evolves, its role in email marketing will only become more pronounced. Advancements in natural language processing, image recognition, and machine learning will enable even greater personalization and customization. By embracing AI-driven strategies, businesses can stay ahead of the curve, delivering compelling, relevant email experiences that captivate audiences and drive business growth.

In conclusion, integrating generative AI into email marketing represents a paradigm shift in how brands engage with their audience. By combining AI’s efficiency with human marketers’ creativity, businesses can create impactful, personalized email campaigns that resonate with customers on a deeper level. As AI matures, its potential to revolutionize email marketing is limitless, offering marketers new opportunities to innovate, differentiate, and succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape.

This article is based on expert advice from the Social Media Marketing Podcast:

Instead of focusing solely on specific words or phrases, successful subject lines often share common characteristics:

1. Relevance: Your subject line should be relevant to the recipient and the content of the email. Generic or misleading subject lines will only lead to disappointment and disengagement.
2. Clarity: Keep it clear and concise. Your subject line should give the recipient a clear idea of what the email is about without being overly long or cryptic.
3. Curiosity: While clarity is essential, a little intrigue can go a long way. A subject line that piques curiosity or teases valuable information can compel recipients to open the email to satisfy their curiosity.
4. Personalization: Personalized subject lines, including the recipient’s name or other relevant information, can increase open rates by making the email more tailored to the individual.
5. Urgency or FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Creating a sense of urgency or scarcity in your subject line can motivate recipients to open the email to avoid missing out on a time-sensitive offer or opportunity.
6. Value Proposition: Communicate the value or benefit of opening the email. What’s in it for the recipient? Whether it’s a special offer, valuable information, or exclusive access, make it clear why they should open your email.
7. Testing and Iteration: What works for one audience might not work for another. That’s why testing different subject lines and analyzing the results is essential. Don’t be afraid to experiment and iterate based on what resonates most with your audience.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to subject lines. What’s important is understanding your audience, experimenting with different techniques, and continuously refining your approach based on data and feedback.

In conclusion, while subject lines are crucial to email marketing success, there’s no magic formula for guaranteed results. Instead, focus on creating relevant, clear, and compelling subject lines that resonate with your audience and drive them to open your emails. And remember, testing and iteration are key to continued improvement and success in email marketing.

Dave Gerhardt, VP of Marketing at Drift, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth podcast by John Rougeux who is VP of Marketing at Skyfii. Gerhardt discusses conversational marketing as a new B2B product category and how it is changing marketing from reaching out to you later to a conversation that is happening now:

Conversational Marketing is About Connecting You Now

Conversational marketing is a whole new way of thinking about marketing and sales. The traditional way of doing marketing and sales is all about later. Come to my website and fill out this form and somebody is going to reach out to you later, when it’s convenient for them. The big shift that is happening in marketing and business over the last five to ten years is customers have all the power today. You can’t make people wait. Information is free now.

I can find anything I want to know about a company without ever having to go to your website. It’s crazy to think that you are going to force people to go to your website, fill out a form, wait three days to hear back from your sales team, and then get a demo. Conversational is all about connecting you now with the people who are ready to buy now while they are live on your website.

B2P – Marketing to People

It’s not about buyers. It’s not about sellers. It’s not about sales. It’s not about marketing. It’s about people. That’s how people all communicate online today. I pressed one button in my car and I got a list. I ordered something from Amazon while I was here this morning to send back to my house and it’s going to be there tomorrow when I get home. There are countless examples of that. That is how we all behave online in our real lives today.

But then something happens weird happens. We go to our jobs in B2B and none of the tools that we use match how we actually buy as real people. That’s the most exciting thing to me about conversational marketing. It’s really closing the gap between B2C and B2B. We just call it B2P, marketing to people.

What Ties Our Products Together is Conversation

We have an email product and we have a landing page product. Black and white versions of those people would say everybody has email, everybody has landing pages. The thing that ties those together is conversation. That forces us to think about what is conversational email? What is conversational landing pages? What is conversational whatever? That one word forces our product team to think about how can we change this? If our fundamental stance as a company is that the internet should be one conversation, then how does that weave into everything that we build?

Ultimately what we care about is that email becomes a conversation. Meaning, the way that marketers have had to use email the last decade is a one-way channel. Email is meant to be a two-way channel. Marketers have been using it as, “John come to my webinar.” What happens if you actually respond to that email? Most of the time you can’t because it’s donotreply@ or it just goes to some inbox where nobody is answering it. That is a terrible experience. Our belief is that if you reply, “Hey actually I can’t make it. Can you reregister my colleague?” That should get handled. We are thinking of that from an evolution standpoint.

The same thing with landing pages. Most landing pages today are static. You go to the landing page, put a bunch of info in and you are gone. What if that was a real-time conversation on the page? That one topic has to weave itself into everything we do from a product perspective.

>> Listen to the complete interview with Drift Marketing VP Dave Gerhardt on the B2B Growth podcast.

You can reach your audience through email. The commercial messages may provide information about your brand or product or advertise them. You can use this communication channel for advertisement and driving leads or sales. However, a successful outreach depends mainly on emails landing in recipients’ inboxes.

Factors Influencing Email Deliverability

Recipients will likely open, read, and act on your email if it gets to their inboxes. However, all messages don’t reach the inboxes. Several factors can cause them to end up in the junk folders. Recognizing and resolving these issues help your emails get delivered in the intended folder. 

Sender Reputation

The credibility of senders determines the folder mailbox providers place emails sent to recipients. The messages may also bounce. Emails from senders with high reputation will get delivered in the inbox. However, they will bounce or end up as junk if your credibility score is low. Of course, this can be avoided with a good deliverability tool like Mailreach. The reputation results depends on several factors:

IP Address

Mailbox provider’s algorithm rejects emails from IP addresses it didn’t trust or directs them to spam folder. Following good practices when sending messages using a particular device increases their deliverability rate. 

Blacklists

Emails from blacklisted domains will not get delivered to their intended recipients. The messages will land in the spam folder. 

Spam Complaints

Recipients also damage your reputation by marking your emails as spam. Individuals who didn’t authorize you to send emails to them will likely regard them as unwanted messages and move the emails to the spam folder. Also, recipients who expressly permitted you to email them may regard the messages as junk while decluttering their inboxes.  Likewise, your consequent emails will land in the same folders.

Engagement

A recipient’s action upon receiving your commercial messages influences your reputation. If the person opens, reads, or forwards the email or follows links in it, the engagement is good. It can enhance deliverability rate. Contrarily, our credibility score reduces when a recipient leaves your mail unopened or deletes it. 

Bounce Rate

Undelivered emails negatively impact the sender’s reputation. Your messages will bounce if sent to invalid email addresses. Besides, they won’t be delivered to a full inbox. An increase in your email volume may trigger the ISP to flag the messages as suspicious, damaging your credibility.

Email Content

Crafting messages with superior content increases email deliverability. It would help if you cautiously choose relevant words and images for your emails and don’t over punctuate the text. Avoid spam filter triggers like “act now” and “free.” They will hinder your messages from reaching their destination. Also, ensure you create engaging emails.

Email providers frown at content that contains unacceptable codes, including embedded tags. Your emails should have clean codes and add closed tags. Links to trusted websites are acceptable, but you shouldn’t shorten the URL. 

Deceptive subject lines leads to poor deliverability. You can use a title that aligns with your content. Besides, you should add your data (name and physical location). Including an easily identifiable email address and sender name enhances deliverability. 

Email Authentication

Email service providers verify the domains and IP addresses individuals use to send messages. Authenticating emails proves the senders’ legitimacy and improves the messages’ deliverability. It will also safeguard your domain from being used for fake sender addresses.

Email Engagement

Mailbox providers observe user behavior, which helps them determine whether the recipients want to receive your emails. High spam reports or unsubscribe rates can damage a sender’s reputation. However, you will have high open rates if your emails are relevant to the recipients. Work on your email warmup to make it engaging and personalized.

Get Your Emails Delivered to Inboxes

Recipients are more likely to open and act on messages received in their inboxes. Getting your commercial messages delivered to inboxes ensures the success of your business outreach. Here are tips that will help you improve email deliverability.

Use a Dedicated IP

Use an IP address that you are the only user to have better control of your IP reputation. Unlike using shared IP, the poor practices of other senders will not affect your email deliverability.

Seek Intended Recipients Consent

Ensure you build an email list of individuals who have permitted you to contact them. Such recipients are less likely to ignore your emails, delete them, or mark them as junk.

Declutter Your List

Regularly delete inactive contacts from your email list to enhance engagement rates and sender reputation.

Include an Unsubscribe Option

Offer your subscribers an easy opt-out to prevent marking your emails as unsolicited messages. Even a few spam complaints can hinder your emails from reaching the inboxes. It also helps to activate an email spam test solution.

Avoid Bounces Due to Increased Volume

You should maintain an even pattern, sending the same amount of emails regularly. However, you can slowly increase the volume weeks before a massive email campaign.

You should use reputable email providers and adopt best email practices to avoid blacklisting. Besides, high-quality content can prompt recipients to engage with your emails.

Email Deliverability is Necessary

Subscribers interested in your content may not receive your emails in their inboxes. Mailbox providers separate emails they consider spam from genuine ones using filters. Unfortunately, some relevant messages will also end up in the junk folder. You must adhere to best practices and improve your sender reputation to boost the deliverability rate. Besides, proper authentication of your emails and tracking of the engagement metrics contribute to the success of email marketing outreach.

Nirosha Methananda, Vice President of Marketing at Bombora, discusses the challenges of marketing without annoying your potential customers by bombarding them with marketing messages in an interview with Logan Lyles on the B2B Growth Podcast:

Marketing Is Really About the Customer Experience

As a B2B marketer, I get marketed to a lot. It’s something that I have increasingly noticed and I’m probably not the only one. That’s just becoming part of the experience in terms of being inundated with different messaging and different calls and this, that, and the other. Use this, do this, buy this, whatever it is. It’s really not a great experience. It doesn’t necessarily provide value. Marketers are so busy as it is, and I know that is applicable across the board with everyone we are marketing to. Being able to cut through the noise and having an understanding of all these different things is very challenging. 

Having on top of it being inundated with this constant flow of messaging like meet me, meet me, meet me, is not very helpful. That’s one of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s really about customer experience. I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying

It also leads to this annoyance and irritation which leads to distrust of brands and that’s not great for this industry. From a customer perspective those bad experiences, unfortunately, more than good experiences, they stay with you for longer and you remember that. Another thing that we don’t necessarily think of is that it’s wasteful. It’s wasteful of time and it’s wasteful of money especially for marketing and sales where money is a precious resource. It’s not something to be wasted. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.

As an example, our Intent Event was our first flagship event that we did last year. It was a closed event so we did have limited numbers and we were limited as to what we could do with promotion. What we did was try to have mindfulness around what we were sending out and ensuring that it was helpful. Making sure that the recipients, the people that we invited, were given all the relevant information, but there was brevity in the communication as well as encouraging them to participate without forcing them to be there. 

There was certainly some urgency around some of our communication but it wasn’t you need to attend this and this is why you must attend this. It was more about being a bit more subtle in presenting them the idea and the concept of what it was, why it would help them, and exactly the information that they needed. What that meant was not sending out multiple emails, being very controlled around it, really thinking about what the experience was before the event, to during the event, to after the event. We were really focused on the customer and making sure that all of the content and communication was educational and helpful.

A significant amount of email campaigns are unsuccessful, which underscores the importance of getting it right. No matter which email marketing services you use, this article is here to help you use them better.

1. Craft compelling subject lines

Your subject line is the first thing people see and use to decide whether or not they’ll open your email. Nearly 70% of your recipients will report it as spam after reading it if it comes off as too salesy or it isn’t relevant to them. Here are a few ways you could personalize your email subject line to seem human and connect with your readers:

• Use emojis, puns, and questions to pique their curiosity.
• Include a benefit that the recipient will get from reading your email.
• Keep it short (maximum of five words).
• Include a keyword or phrase that explains exactly why you want them to open your message.

Put yourself in your recipient’s shoes. Think of all the “spammy” emails you receive and what they say. Typically, they ask a generic question or seem to be trying to sell you something. Avoid these words and phrases in your subject line instead.

2. Segment your email list

Segmenting your email list is one of the best ways to optimize your email marketing strategy. It makes it easier to identify who you should target with specific mailers, as well as what content is most effective for different types of people within that segment. This makes it easier to focus on what each segment cares about and deliver personalized messaging. If you’re a retailer, this means you could segment your list by:

• Location
• Customer type (new, frequent, VIP)
• Product categories
• Purchase history
• Demographics

The email marketing software you already use (Mailchimp, Constant Contact) will already have segmentation built in, so you can create, test, and run campaigns on different segments with just a few clicks.

3. Use free tools to your advantage

There are plenty of tools available that help you streamline your workflow and design better campaigns and landing pages. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Image conversion: A PDF to JPG converter makes it easier for you to take design examples and implement them in your visual email builder.
• Template management: A template manager allows you to create custom templates that can be reused for email campaigns, making maintaining consistency and brand recognition easier.
• Email campaign visualizer: If you run sales email campaigns, a visualization tool like Lavender can help you see what your email will look like to the recipient. That way, you can optimize your subject line and body text for readability and appearance.

4. Optimize for mobile

Today, over 80% of emails are opened on mobile devices. If your emails are too long, complicated, or have images that don’t fit properly on mobile, they’ll be hard to read and won’t perform as well. To make sure your messages look great no matter what device your recipients are using, follow these tips:

• Keep it short: Write concise subject lines and limit the length of your emails to three or four sentences.
• Make it scannable: If you’re designing a visual campaign, take web design principles (e.g., using a grid system) and run with them.
• Have one clear message: Having multiple CTAs in your email can be confusing, especially for mobile users who won’t read through your entire message. Use eye-catching text to convey this message.
• Keep your CTA button above the scroll: This way, people can take immediate action without reading the rest of your message (if they don’t want to).
• Optimize your website for mobile: Your site will likely be the next stage in the conversion funnel, since it is where they will eventually make a purchase. In that case, you’ll want to make sure it loads fast and is accessible to mobile users.

5. Personalize email content with dynamic variables

Dynamic content is the easiest way to personalize, and it lets you create contingencies within your email marketing platform, then send one email to multiple segments with a personalized message to each recipient.

Let’s say you want to blast an email about a new product launch. Instead of sending the same email to everyone on your list, you could use dynamic variables to include their first name in the greeting and offer them specific discounts based on their purchase history or interests. If they’ve purchased from you before, you could even add a few sentences about their last purchase to make it more relevant.

6. Leverage email automation sequences 

Email automation lets you send automated emails at specific times or when certain conditions are met, such as after a customer signs up for your newsletter or a shopper leaves something in their cart. This allows you to nurture leads, deliver product updates, drive sales, and optimize your campaigns without manually sending emails every time.

You’ll have to test the right amount and frequency of emails for your individual campaigns, but most email automation services have reporting features to help you analyze your performance and adjust things accordingly.

7. Write conversational copy.

The best way to sell is to write how you talk. Casual but relevant language is the way to go when you’re trying to connect with your audience. Anything too rigid or formal will immediately throw them off. Here are a few tips:

• Use contractions to sound less robotic.
• Address your buyer as “you.”
• Don’t be afraid of acronyms, abbreviations, filler words, and slang (if your target audience also uses them).
• Tell stories, make references, and use analogies (pop culture references, sports metaphors).

At the very least, your emails will make your customer smile or connect with your content, which could lead to a purchase later on.

Endnote

Optimizing your email marketing strategy takes time and effort, and there are seemingly endless ways to do it. Ultimately, you’ll have to figure out which tactics work best for you, but the tips above are a great place to get started. There isn’t any universal approach, so don’t be afraid to experiment and test what works best for your audience.

Partially due to the increasing scams and oversaturation of ads on social media, eCommerce email marketing is many consumers’ preferred form of advertising. While you do want to use marketing mediums that fit your team members’ expertise, your consumers are the ones who are ultimately exposed to the finished product. Moreover, if you or your team members are struggling considerably with writing creative email copy, it may be worthwhile to invest in an eCommerce email marketing agency. But why is email marketing such a preferred advertising method by employees and consumers alike? What makes it superior?

What is the Difference Between eCommerce Email Marketing and E-Marketing?

Before exploring the ways in which eCommerce email marketing can improve your business, it’s essential to understand what eCommerce email marketing does. Any company can use email marketing—that is, sending product information or ads for new products via email. It’s becoming increasingly rarer for a store to have a physical shop without an online shop, but those stores that do can still make sure of email marketing. If you have a business, you can send out marketing emails. Similarly, if you have an online store, you can send out eCommerce marketing emails. This means that a non-profit can use email marketing but not eCommerce email marketing. E-Marketing, on the other hand, refers to any online marketing medium, including social media platforms and email. eCommerce email marketing can include general emails about upcoming sales in an online shop or emails that are tailored to a shopper and the items in their cart.

Consumer Control

Unlike social media marketing, email marketing allows consumers more control over the advertisements, coupons, and deals that they receive. Because consumers are required to subscribe to your company’s mailing list or newsletter in order to receive emails from you, consumers are less likely to receive emails from brands that they don’t know and trust. Any scam emails are directed to spam, and consumers have the freedom to unsubscribe from a mailing list in order to stop receiving product information.

More Trustworthy

While it may seem counterintuitive to allow consumers to stop receiving product information from your company, it is imperative to win their trust. In fact, 77% of consumers prefer to receive marketing information via email. It makes sense that emails are the most trustworthy. We’re already using our email addresses for work and networking so it feels professional whereas social media ads are fun, but a little too casual to be legitimate. Email marketing feels trustworthy and professional, but how can it work for your business? How do you ensure that your emails are being opened and your content consumed?

High Open Rates and ROI

It’s more likely than you think that consumers will open your marketing emails. According to Forbes, 65% of small businesses report that between 11 and 50% of their marketing emails are opened. It’s easy to track open rates using tools like Cirrus Insight. Even if a customer doesn’t open your email as soon as they receive it, there is a potential that they may do so later. Social media posts, on the other hand, disappear as soon as someone refreshes their feed—meaning they might never even see it. It’s also hard to beat the price and return on investment of marketing emails.

Forbes tells us that you earn $42 for every dollar you spend, and most email marketing campaigns cost very little. You might find that your open and click-through rates become even higher when you put effort into the design and layout of your emails. As long as you don’t flood your consumers’ inboxes (40% of small businesses send marketing emails weekly while 30% send them at least once a month), your clients are sure to appreciate a thoughtfully made email with memorable colors and graphics. Cleverly worded subject lines that include slang and emojis are especially popular with more “hip” brands like skincare lines and fashion companies.

Conclusion

Even with the rise of social media, eCommerce email marketing is still a trustworthy form of marketing—and, in fact, one that is usually preferred by consumers. The return on investment and ease of content creation makes email marketing a no-brainer for your next campaign.

There’s no denying that collaboration and teamwork are two of the most important drivers of business success. Having a well-oiled machine where team members communicate efficiently and are always on the same page can make a huge difference when it comes to productivity since it means you are getting the most out of your human resources.

On top of this, the rise of remote work has made collaboration and teamwork even more important in the modern workplace. With team members now spread out across the world and face-to-face interaction becoming less frequent, it can be difficult to keep everyone in sync.

Fortunately, with Microsoft Outlook, businesses can leverage the power of collaboration and teamwork while still staying secure, no matter where team members are located. On that note, here are the main advantages of using Outlook for collaboration and teamwork:

Increased Productivity

One of the most significant advantages of using Outlook for collaboration is its ability to help teams stay productive and organized. By harnessing Outlook’s powerful tools such as shared calendars, task reminders, and automated scheduling services, team members can not only keep track of their assigned tasks but also stay on top of deadlines, follow up with colleagues, and ensure that all projects move along smoothly.

Moreover, by integrating with Office 365 suites like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, team members can collaborate on projects in real-time without the need for cumbersome email chains or other slow-moving systems. This helps keep everyone in sync while still allowing teams to work remotely or from different offices around the globe.

Improved Communication

Outlook makes it incredibly easy for teams to stay connected in real-time without the need for lengthy in-person meetings. Through its chat and messaging features, team members can quickly share ideas, updates, and questions – helping them to stay cohesive while working apart.

Additionally, Outlook’s voice calling feature lets users make calls directly within its interface – allowing them to get answers faster no matter where they may be. And with the ability to create a custom Outlook email signature, team members can maintain a professional image and streamline communication with clients and colleagues alike.

And perhaps most importantly, Outlook helps create a people-centric environment by making it easier for everyone to interact with each other regularly. This fosters stronger relationships between colleagues which can help increase morale and productivity, leading to more successful collaborations all around!

Streamlined Collaboration

When collaborating on projects or reports within Outlook users can easily share comments with one another within a shared document or project which makes gathering feedback simpler than ever before. When changes have been made they are synced automatically so there’s no need to copy/paste files back and forth between team members anymore.

Additionally, tasks assigned within this shared environment are tracked in real-time meaning that everyone knows who is responsible for what at any given moment – helping increase overall efficiency.

Enhanced Security

One of the biggest concerns in today’s modern workplace is security – especially when dealing with sensitive data exchanged over multiple devices.

Fortunately, Microsoft has taken steps to ensure that Outlook remains secure at all times by implementing TLS encryption (Transport Layer Security) as well as two-factor authentication methods. This requires users to enter both a username/password combination as well as another form of identification such as an SMS code sent directly from their mobile device before being allowed access to their account.

Flexible Scheduling Tools

Outlook also provides incredibly useful scheduling tools that make it easier for remote teams to adequately manage their workloads even if they are spread out over multiple time zones. Shared calendars allow team members from across the globe to view upcoming tasks and events together so no one misses out – ensuring efficient workflow throughout all operations regardless of physical location.

Additionally, task reminders help keep everyone informed about deadlines and upcoming assignments – further simplifying project management.

Integrations With Popular Business Tools

Finally, Outlook integrates with some of the most popular business tools available today, making it easier than ever to collaborate with the tools you already know and love. This includes applications such as:

• Salesforce
• Dropbox
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Microsoft Teams
• Asana
• ClickUp

With the integration of these tools, users can stay up-to-date with projects and calendar events without having to switch between multiple applications or tabs. As an example, if you have an important meeting today, you can sync your Outlook calendar with Slack so that everyone on your team receives the event invitation in real time.

Conclusion

Outlook remains one of the most versatile platforms available today due to its capabilities around facilitating collaboration and communication while still maintaining a high level of security throughout operations. With helpful scheduling tools such as shared calendars and task reminders, those using Outlook can effectively work together regardless of location while staying organized and productive along the way – ultimately resulting in greater efficiency during all stages of any given project.

Microsoft unveiled Viva Sales in mid-2022, touting it as “a new seller experience application.” The app is designed to work with various CRMs and integrate their data with Microsoft’s suite of apps.

The company is now integrating ChatGPT into Viva Sales so salespeople can use the AI to write emails for them. According to Bloomberg, the software “will cull data from customer records and Office email software. That information will then be used to generate emails containing personalized text, pricing details and promotions.”

Microsoft is investing heavily in ChatGPT and its creator, OpenAI. The company is planning to unveil a version of Bing that utilizes a new and improved version, and has invested billions in OpenAI.

The company clearly sees potential for ChatGPT to help it in its efforts to take on Salesforce’s dominance in the CRM market.

Hence, the significance of email marketing is no surprise for your business to influence your target audience. Moreover, utilizing the power of artificial intelligence to optimize your email marketing strategy further enhances the impact on your target audience.

Businesses that use AI to drive email marketing are likely to grow by US $1.2 trillion annually.

In fact, 49% of marketers are already implementing automation in their email marketing strategy.

Artificial intelligence can be used for smart segmentation, optimization of email subject lines, and email automation workflow, which can help you to increase click-through rates and open rates.

Let’s deep dive into how you can leverage AI to optimize your email marketing strategy.

1- Write Appealing Subject Lines

With the help of AI, you can optimize your subject, body copy, and CTA.

The subject of the email is one of the most crucial parts of the email content. More than 35% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone.

By integrating artificial intelligence, you can analyze the performance of past emails and determine which subject lines have performed the best in the past. It also assists you by recommending a subject line that can be engaging and interactive. You can also find spam words that can be avoided while writing subject lines.

2- Optimize Your Body Copy and CTA

Similarly, the main content of the email can be tailored based on the past behavior of users. AI evaluates the content explored by users on your website and changes the e-newsletter from week to week when the user begins to explore a new category of content. 

Moreover, provide a unified company-wide email signature to brand every message that you send to your subscriber. Focus on Office 365 email signature management to centrally manage and sync your company email signatures.

For optimizing CTA, utilizing AI helps you to find the change in user behavior and interest and present the next CTA accordingly.

For example, a user was not checking the technical document on your website. But gradually started showing interest and became engaged in your technical content. Taking it as a signal, AI prompts to offer a technical whitepaper in the next email CTA. 

3- Create a Segmented Email List

You can win customers through data segmentation as it enables you to send targeted emails to the audience. However, manually segmenting your data requires a lot of time and effort.

Therefore, by AI it is more stress-free and an easy task. Using AI, you can easily segment users based on:

●  Demographics, such as age, location, or gender.

●  Past purchase behavior of the users.

●  Email behavior, such as open or click activities in their mailboxes.

After evaluation, AI-powered apps come up with a segmented list, allowing you to boost email marketing efforts to the fullest. It also enables you to create real-time and accurate marketing segments based on customer insights drawn from cross-channel activities.

Moreover, it helps you to segment your subscriber based on their position in the sales funnel. Thus, AI-powered techniques allow you to target users individually for hyper-relevant marketing.

4- Personalize Your Emails

Integrating AI in your marketing strategy enables marketers to study the behavior of users and predict the perfect time to send them an email.

It also helps you to reduce the spillage and reach a definite audience based on their locations, interest, likes, preferences, and search patterns. Using this data, marketers can predict the type of content that their users would like to see. Thus, making it possible to personalize your email.

In addition, you can use professional and personalized templates that will increase the chances that your subscribers will open and read your mail.

Utilize AI-powered email marketing tools, such as ConvertKit, Sendinblue, or Moosend, that help you create more personalized emails.

5- Automate the Workflow

AI-based data insights enable marketers and strategists to schedule the mail at regular intervals. If you have a wide range of users from multiple time zones, then it is better to set and optimize delivery times as per their time zone.

AI helps you to figure out the time when your users are actively looking at their emails based on their past behavior. 

Therefore, with the help of AI, you can optimize the send time and send sales or limited time offers when your subscribers are active and more likely to click on it.

6- Better Reporting and Actionable Analytics

Traditional methods of reporting included capturing statistics, such as opens and clicks. However, it can be improved with the help of AI. It enables you to generate data that can be utilized to get better insights and achieve the intended goal.

Some of the improved techniques that you can use to get detailed insights into user behavior and create better emails are funnels, cohorts, and churn analysis.

●  Funnel analysis: It analyzes the actions taken by the users before reaching the desired goal. Funnel analysis helps marketers to determine where they are losing the most users and where they are converting them. With the help of this information, you can implement necessary steps to drive traffic, encourage subscribers to take action or entice them. 

●  Cohort analysis: It helps you to find out a group of subscribers that share the same characteristics. For example, some users signed up for emails in February and opened their emails in the following months of March, April, and May. Using this data, you can understand what products, promotions and marketing initiatives attract your subscribers.

●  Churn analysis and prediction: It helps you to identify signals that a subscriber is about to unsubscribe you. An example of such a single is subscribers that stopped interacting with your emails. Thus, it enables you to take action in advance to retain your subscribers. 

Final Thoughts

Your emails must be distinctive, specific, and target-oriented to stand out of the clutter in the mailbox of your target audience. It is because a common emailer with a repetitive message will not fetch you the desired click-through rate. You can easily achieve that by integrating AI with your email marketing strategy.

It helps you to provide more customized, targeted, and personalized emails to the subscribers. It is one of the effective strategies to deliver quality and insightful campaigns. It uses a combination of automation and advanced tools to synchronize and create appealing email campaigns. Thus, it is advantageous to incorporate AI technology to witness exceptional growth.

The whole point of marketing is to get the attention of your audience. If your emails no longer do that, it’s time to rethink your strategy.

To solve this issue, you need to start re-engagement campaigns.  71% of marketers believe that these campaigns are an effective way to win back inactive subscribers. However, only 57% use this type of marketing technique.

So, if you’re among that 57% and still exploring your marketing options, read on to find out the importance of a re-engagement campaign and how you can execute one for your brand.

Importance of Re-engagement Campaigns

Email marketers can fix the inactive status of their email subscribers, ignore it or remove those subscribers from the list. Unfortunately, the ones who ignore the inactive status of their subscribers continue sending the same old emails in hopes of different results.

On the other hand, those who remove these people from the email list lose a significant number of potential customers. Studies reveal that, on average, the value of an inactive subscriber is 32% of an active subscriber.

The most effective way to deal with inactive subscribers is to win them over with a re-engagement campaign. Unfortunately, even though the first two options seem more straightforward to execute than this and require minimal effort with minimum resources, they will multiply the risk of damage.

One of the most significant troubles of emailing inactive subscribers is that your open rates get impacted. A drop in open rates of your emails can negatively affect your email reputation, as your internet service providers (ISPs) will note it.

This ultimately means that ignoring inactive subscribers instead of winning them back can cost you loss of a significant sum of revenue.

3 Effective Ways To Re-engage Subscribers

Here are a few ways you can re-engage subscribers.

Make Your Emails Relevant

Most businesses usually make the mistake of only sending sales and offering emails to their list. But, unfortunately, these monotonous emails can lose the interest of your subscriber. So, it would help you run an effective email marketing campaign if you made your emails more relevant.

You can base your emails on current news or points that might interest your subscribers and be relevant to your brand too. Providing them with something new every time will compel them to open your email. If it becomes predictable that you’ll always send them offers, they will stop opening the emails.

So if you want to hold the attention of your subscribers, come up with eye-catching content. For example, if you are creating a Shopify newsletter, find the right layout and use striking visuals to grab your readers’ attention and ultimately direct them to your Shopify store.

Moreover, the click-to-open rate has dropped to 18%. This could be attributed to the fact that Americans receive 121 marketing emails per day, making it very unlikely for them to open all of them. Only the ones that manage to win the attention of the user will survive. So, make your email worth opening.

Rebuild the Relationship

The broken relationship between your brand and your subscribers needs to be mended. There are many ways you can do that. Running a campaign that references the lack of engagement of your subscriber can be a great idea. State it as the purpose of your campaign, something like, “(brand’s name) Misses You!”

This campaign will make your subscribers feel noticed and appreciated. Moreover, its transparency provides them all the reasons to engage with it.

Send Personalized Emails

It is crucial to make your subscribers feel important. One way to do that is by sending personalized emails. When they recognize the effort, you seek their attention. They will most likely want to open and respond too.

For example, you can sort the purchase history of your subscriber, their web behaviors, or product usage. Then use this information to provide recommendations regarding similar products or birthday/anniversary discounts through your marketing campaign.

This re-engagement campaign will shoot your click-to-open rates, making your email marketing successful.

In Conclusion

Spending massive sums on your marketing campaigns that don’t bear results can be a disappointment. Unfortunately, inactive subscribers can be a primary reason for the campaign’s failure. To eliminate this liability, you need to try some new and novel tactics to win them back. Make it your ultimate priority, and you’ll start receiving engagement from them in no time.

While they are the first choice for communicating with your customers, spice your content to make it one of the most effective mediums to reach your prospective customers. There is no secret ingredient to make your emails stand out, but certainly, you’ll need to employ a few tricks to make your emails more captivating.

Below we are listing some of the practical tips that, as an entrepreneur, you can try to implement in your email marketing and deliver some powerful effective emails to your customers.

Create Enticing Subject Lines

To create engaging emails, you need to make sure your subject lines are creative and unique to stand out from the crowd. You need to develop your subject line so the message resonates with the audience and people don’t judge your email content with its cover. This aspect will spark genuine interest in your clients and make them engage in your emails considerably.

Prepare Useful Content Strategy 

With the increasing popularity of emails, plan your email content wisely. Keep them illustratively captivating and relate them to the needs and desires of your readers. From adding CTAs to educational resources, connect your email content with the reader in a personal way. This approach, in return, adds value to your business and enables you with potential buyers. Moreover, never talk only about your company or product and cut through the noise by offering engaging content.

Keep it Personal to the Recipient

The secret to delivering enticing emails is by targeting the emails in a personalized way. By adding dynamic content specific to your reader, you can greet them with their name and develop a personal connection to the brand. Everything you do as a business needs to lend value, and thus, ensure to provide them something to gain by encouraging them to open your emails.

Make Them Interesting

To make your email resonate with your audience, you need to bring in some visually appealing content. Ensure to keep the email layout enjoyable to read with a mixed balance of images and texts. The right flavor can quickly grab your subscriber’s attention. So, enhance the overall design while staying on-brand, creating relevant, high-converting emails, and boost engagement for your email campaigns.

Make it Easy to Unsubscribe

To facilitate your emails with maximum growth, allow your emails to have a visible unsubscribe link in your email footer. Don’t keep the link hidden, and ensure to complete the process with two-step clicks. By configuring this facility, you don’t have to force your readers to be in your contact lists and hurt your engagement level. For more tips to ask people to sign in, you can take help from a reputable email agency. Also, check the email marketing agency pricing before you hire them for your customized services.

Ensure Mobile-Friendly Layout

If you want to connect to a vast audience and hope to improve your email open rates, create mobile-friendly emails. With an estimated mobile user climbing in numbers every day as a business entrepreneur, you need to create emails that have high open rates on every type of mobile device.

Get Your Frequency Just Right

If you are a start-up, then at the beginning, do not bombard your readers with emails. Create a sense of bond and faith between yourselves and send enough emails to stay consistent. By this, you can uphold your brand’s presence and develop that balance of customer engagement. Maintain the frequency of sending your emails just right by understanding the customer’s interactive pattern. Additionally, depending on your industry or campaign objective, you can fluctuate the frequency and allow the open rates to grow.

Analyze and Improve

Last and foremost, by sending a variety of emails, analyze the performance of your email. This aspect can enable a high success rate and help you to plan and improve future campaigns. You can even test different emails to determine which styles perform better through A/B testing. Thus, with well-researched and insightful material, you can develop patterns of success for improvement and adjust your overall strategy.

In Conclusion

From the above content, you may have an idea of how email marketing campaigns can work by creating effective emails. These tips are necessary to develop your email content on point and ensure that your emails are not termed spam. Thereby the emails are developed and crafted wherein they get opened and acted. By doing this, you can add significant value to your business and adjust your strategy seamlessly. So, use this powerful marketing tool wisely and ensure to drive customer retention and acquisition.

Email newsletters can lend a great deal of help in client retention, communication, and revenue-building. Many newsletters provide readers with coupons, exclusive offers and products, as well as membership perks and discounts. As a result, experts have found shoppers to spend nearly 137% more with a business after receiving email offers. To the benefit of the brand, a $45 return is seen for every $1 spent on email marketing.

In other words, the key to successful email marketing is getting your content seen and engaged with without getting flagged as spam. Luckily, this is achievable in various ways.

One of the easiest things you can do to raise your email open rates is to replace any irrelevant text or uninteresting subject lines. When crafting an email, be personal. Feel free to use the recipient’s name or location as a conversation-builder. Continuing on, be brief. As a general rule of thumb, keep email subject lines under 10 words – and/or 60 characters. However, remember to keep your subject line friendly, as this personable method also increases email open rates. With this, be sure to use no more than 3 punctuation marks and 1 emoji.

Of course, there are many methods to messaging targeted recipients. A/B comparison methods can assist as they allow for testing across various subject lines. With its results, you can learn which outreach variant your customers prefer.

You can also categorize your contacts into interest groups and geolocation to ensure content is relevant to all receivers. Geolocations can be as specific as time zones or regions.

On the other hand, you can increase your click-through rates using hacks just as easy. For example, change your hyperlink’s text, and avoid using “click here.” Remember: not many email recipients click for more. Instead, take the opportunity to embed multiple links to the same content, and create descriptive and concise link text when doing so. You can also use A/B style testing here to test out content blocks.

When conducting outreach, one of the most important keys to remember is not getting marked as spam. Recipients rarely flag marketing emails as spam; but when they do, it’s because they’ve grown stale of the marketer’s content, their contact information has been purchased, they have been contacted without permission, or something else along these lines.

As a human courtesy, ask customers to opt-in to receiving your emails before auto-blasting them with content. In fact, take the time to explain the benefits such as coupons or other exclusive offers when asking them to op-tin. Regardless of what you, never purchase email addresses. Similarly, never hide the unsubscribe link from your emails. It’s always important to keep emails and campaigns professional – so stick to any email frequency expectations you have set for your team.

Overall, all marketers want consumers to engage with their content. The best way in doing so may be through email marketing. Do you know the best tactics for engaging with the public?

Nirosha Methananda, Vice President of Marketing at Bombora, discusses the challenges of marketing without annoying your potential customers by bombarding them with marketing messages in an interview with Logan Lyles on the B2B Growth Podcast:

Marketing Is Really About the Customer Experience

As a B2B marketer, I get marketed to a lot. It’s something that I have increasingly noticed and I’m probably not the only one. That’s just becoming part of the experience in terms of being inundated with different messaging and different calls and this, that, and the other. Use this, do this, buy this, whatever it is. It’s really not a great experience. It doesn’t necessarily provide value. Marketers are so busy as it is, and I know that is applicable across the board with everyone we are marketing to. Being able to cut through the noise and having an understanding of all these different things is very challenging. 

Having on top of it being inundated with this constant flow of messaging like meet me, meet me, meet me, is not very helpful. That’s one of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s really about customer experience. I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying

It also leads to this annoyance and irritation which leads to distrust of brands and that’s not great for this industry. From a customer perspective those bad experiences, unfortunately, more than good experiences, they stay with you for longer and you remember that. Another thing that we don’t necessarily think of is that it’s wasteful. It’s wasteful of time and it’s wasteful of money especially for marketing and sales where money is a precious resource. It’s not something to be wasted. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.

As an example, our Intent Event was our first flagship event that we did last year. It was a closed event so we did have limited numbers and we were limited as to what we could do with promotion. What we did was try to have mindfulness around what we were sending out and ensuring that it was helpful. Making sure that the recipients, the people that we invited, were given all the relevant information, but there was brevity in the communication as well as encouraging them to participate without forcing them to be there. 

There was certainly some urgency around some of our communication but it wasn’t you need to attend this and this is why you must attend this. It was more about being a bit more subtle in presenting them the idea and the concept of what it was, why it would help them, and exactly the information that they needed. What that meant was not sending out multiple emails, being very controlled around it, really thinking about what the experience was before the event, to during the event, to after the event. We were really focused on the customer and making sure that all of the content and communication was educational and helpful.

Dave Gerhardt, VP of Marketing at Drift, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth podcast by John Rougeux who is VP of Marketing at Skyfii. Gerhardt discusses conversational marketing as a new B2B product category and how it is changing marketing from reaching out to you later to a conversation that is happening now:

Conversational Marketing is About Connecting You Now

Conversational marketing is a whole new way of thinking about marketing and sales. The traditional way of doing marketing and sales is all about later. Come to my website and fill out this form and somebody is going to reach out to you later, when it’s convenient for them. The big shift that is happening in marketing and business over the last five to ten years is customers have all the power today. You can’t make people wait. Information is free now.

I can find anything I want to know about a company without ever having to go to your website. It’s crazy to think that you are going to force people to go to your website, fill out a form, wait three days to hear back from your sales team, and then get a demo. Conversational is all about connecting you now with the people who are ready to buy now while they are live on your website.

B2P – Marketing to People

It’s not about buyers. It’s not about sellers. It’s not about sales. It’s not about marketing. It’s about people. That’s how people all communicate online today. I pressed one button in my car and I got a list. I ordered something from Amazon while I was here this morning to send back to my house and it’s going to be there tomorrow when I get home. There are countless examples of that. That is how we all behave online in our real lives today.

But then something happens weird happens. We go to our jobs in B2B and none of the tools that we use match how we actually buy as real people. That’s the most exciting thing to me about conversational marketing. It’s really closing the gap between B2C and B2B. We just call it B2P, marketing to people.

What Ties Our Products Together is Conversation

We have an email product and we have a landing page product. Black and white versions of those people would say everybody has email, everybody has landing pages. The thing that ties those together is conversation. That forces us to think about what is conversational email? What is conversational landing pages? What is conversational whatever? That one word forces our product team to think about how can we change this? If our fundamental stance as a company is that the internet should be one conversation, then how does that weave into everything that we build?

Ultimately what we care about is that email becomes a conversation. Meaning, the way that marketers have had to use email the last decade is a one-way channel. Email is meant to be a two-way channel. Marketers have been using it as, “John come to my webinar.” What happens if you actually respond to that email? Most of the time you can’t because it’s donotreply@ or it just goes to some inbox where nobody is answering it. That is a terrible experience. Our belief is that if you reply, “Hey actually I can’t make it. Can you reregister my colleague?” That should get handled. We are thinking of that from an evolution standpoint.

The same thing with landing pages. Most landing pages today are static. You go to the landing page, put a bunch of info in and you are gone. What if that was a real-time conversation on the page? That one topic has to weave itself into everything we do from a product perspective.

>> Listen to the complete interview with Drift Marketing VP Dave Gerhardt on the B2B Growth podcast.

There’s no denying that collaboration and teamwork are two of the most important drivers of business success. Having a well-oiled machine where team members communicate efficiently and are always on the same page can make a huge difference when it comes to productivity since it means you are getting the most out of your human resources.

On top of this, the rise of remote work has made collaboration and teamwork even more important in the modern workplace. With team members now spread out across the world and face-to-face interaction becoming less frequent, it can be difficult to keep everyone in sync.

Fortunately, with Microsoft Outlook, businesses can leverage the power of collaboration and teamwork while still staying secure, no matter where team members are located. On that note, here are the main advantages of using Outlook for collaboration and teamwork:

Increased Productivity

One of the most significant advantages of using Outlook for collaboration is its ability to help teams stay productive and organized. By harnessing Outlook’s powerful tools such as shared calendars, task reminders, and automated scheduling services, team members can not only keep track of their assigned tasks but also stay on top of deadlines, follow up with colleagues, and ensure that all projects move along smoothly.

Moreover, by integrating with Office 365 suites like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, team members can collaborate on projects in real-time without the need for cumbersome email chains or other slow-moving systems. This helps keep everyone in sync while still allowing teams to work remotely or from different offices around the globe.

Improved Communication

Outlook makes it incredibly easy for teams to stay connected in real-time without the need for lengthy in-person meetings. Through its chat and messaging features, team members can quickly share ideas, updates, and questions – helping them to stay cohesive while working apart.

Additionally, Outlook’s voice calling feature lets users make calls directly within its interface – allowing them to get answers faster no matter where they may be. And with the ability to create a custom Outlook email signature, team members can maintain a professional image and streamline communication with clients and colleagues alike.

And perhaps most importantly, Outlook helps create a people-centric environment by making it easier for everyone to interact with each other regularly. This fosters stronger relationships between colleagues which can help increase morale and productivity, leading to more successful collaborations all around!

Streamlined Collaboration

When collaborating on projects or reports within Outlook users can easily share comments with one another within a shared document or project which makes gathering feedback simpler than ever before. When changes have been made they are synced automatically so there’s no need to copy/paste files back and forth between team members anymore.

Additionally, tasks assigned within this shared environment are tracked in real-time meaning that everyone knows who is responsible for what at any given moment – helping increase overall efficiency.

Enhanced Security

One of the biggest concerns in today’s modern workplace is security – especially when dealing with sensitive data exchanged over multiple devices.

Fortunately, Microsoft has taken steps to ensure that Outlook remains secure at all times by implementing TLS encryption (Transport Layer Security) as well as two-factor authentication methods. This requires users to enter both a username/password combination as well as another form of identification such as an SMS code sent directly from their mobile device before being allowed access to their account.

Flexible Scheduling Tools

Outlook also provides incredibly useful scheduling tools that make it easier for remote teams to adequately manage their workloads even if they are spread out over multiple time zones. Shared calendars allow team members from across the globe to view upcoming tasks and events together so no one misses out – ensuring efficient workflow throughout all operations regardless of physical location.

Additionally, task reminders help keep everyone informed about deadlines and upcoming assignments – further simplifying project management.

Integrations With Popular Business Tools

Finally, Outlook integrates with some of the most popular business tools available today, making it easier than ever to collaborate with the tools you already know and love. This includes applications such as:

• Salesforce
• Dropbox
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Microsoft Teams
• Asana
• ClickUp

With the integration of these tools, users can stay up-to-date with projects and calendar events without having to switch between multiple applications or tabs. As an example, if you have an important meeting today, you can sync your Outlook calendar with Slack so that everyone on your team receives the event invitation in real time.

Conclusion

Outlook remains one of the most versatile platforms available today due to its capabilities around facilitating collaboration and communication while still maintaining a high level of security throughout operations. With helpful scheduling tools such as shared calendars and task reminders, those using Outlook can effectively work together regardless of location while staying organized and productive along the way – ultimately resulting in greater efficiency during all stages of any given project.