Digitalization has made our notifications buzz constantly. Perhaps one can say nothing seems to make minds move faster than an e-mail, especially those from work. This differs in the case of marketing e-mails. A user glances at these for less than 2 seconds and to decide to read the mail. Marketers need to know how to make the best use of this attention and convert them. In this blog, we look at three aspects of e-mail marketing:
All these finally comes down ‘Have you influenced the user to behave a certain way?’ Let’s dive right in to know more.
You might have one inbox or many inboxes, for personal and office/business use. In some of these inboxes the mail segregation happens as priority/ promotional/ updates etc. Have you noticed how often and how quickly you consume emails that come to your priority inbox?
First attention goes those emails in the priority inbox. As a marketer, your goal is to try and have your mail pop into this inbox. However, if the mails have a lot of design and HTML coding, it often goes to the promotional category. It is based on a simple filter that everyday emails do not have the HTML or design elements in them. They are simple and personal. There are other factors while drafting an email that is worth checking out.
Similarly, what happens after you open an email that is not work-related? You scan the email real-quick to decide if you want to continue reading or not, don’t you?
Capturing a user's attention and retaining it becomes important in e-mail marketing. With the reading time increasing by 7% between 2011 and 2016, there is a huge potential here according to Litmus E-Mail Analytics. Optimising the mails to be read on mobiles is mandatory. Marketers must include responsive mobile-friendly designs, optimally using ‘above the fold’ and ensuring the email loads quickly. Before sending out an email, all the technical aspects of HTML emails have to be checked.
Now we are coming to the age-old question
A HubSpot study looked at how the HTML emails were consumed in reality. When analysed, the same user consumed more marketing e-mails that were in plain text. Translating the results, HTML emails are consumed liberally by these users, yet in comparison, plain text works better. The idea is to have the balance and give a choice to the reader. While creativity sells, it refers to being careful about using HTML based emails.
Following the email hygiene is essential. Always remember to include to plain text version while sending out the HTML emails. This will help you bypass the filter used to identify promotional emails.
It is clear as day, that plain text emails are the clear winners. But when we look at it, they win because of the content. A marketer looks at this in many ways.
Industry-specific: In case of industries like e-commerce, and tech-based industries - the reader wants only HTML rich emails. A marketer can cater to this or innovate and give the users a touch of something new as well.
Everything in moderation: Being aware and deliberately sending rich HTML based e-mails is helpful. Establishing trust with the reader and sending HTML rich emails and includes GIFs, images and more converts better. Mixing the strategy between plain and HTML rich content is helpful.
There are many e-mail campaigns and newsletters are successful by using HTML emails. Their content speaks for them, builds trust and then users themselves pulls the mails back to the primary inbox. At the end of the day, an email is a tool at the disposal of a digital marketer. How each one chooses to use, and what converts for their audience is all that matters.