7 Tips for Optimizing Email Campaign Clicks & Conversions

What’s a top priority for email marketers in 2015? Getting higher click-through rates and email interactions, according to a recent survey by Campaigner. Here are some tips for optimizing your email campaigns to help drive more clicks and conversions.

  1. Use benefit-focused content to motivate action. How can your product or service make your subscriber’s life better? Does it solve a problem? Will it in some way make him or her happier? That’s what needs to be communicated in the copy and images of your email message. Rather than listing a product’s options and features, for example, describe how it will benefit the subscriber who buys it.
  2. Use a single call to action for each email. At FulcrumTech, we’ve found that dedicated emails — emails with one primary call to action — outperform emails with multiple calls to action. Companies often try to fit multiple calls to action into one email, such as to purchase a product, download a coupon, sign up for an email newsletter, follow them on Facebook, etc. When users are confronted with so many options in one email message, they may be overwhelmed, which can greatly reduce your chances of getting any clicks at all.
  3. Make clicking and converting easy. Make sure the primary call-to-action button or link is prominent, stands out on the page, and is situated above the fold. When it comes to the call-to-action copy, think user-centric, action packed, and urgent. For example, “Download your free newsletter now!” In addition, the email’s eye path should lead subscribers’ attention to the call to action, without distracting images or links along the way.
     
    For examples of emails that do an exemplary job of making clicking and converting easy, check out the following emails featured in our Get the Click email reviews:

  4. Reduce the anxiety of taking action. Is this the right product or service for me? Is it worth the price? Is this purchase process secure? These are just a few of the many sources of anxiety for potential customers who are considering converting in response to your email campaign. Here are a few examples of things you can include in an email to help alleviate prospects’ worry:
    • Credible testimonials from satisfied customers that include their names, titles (when appropriate), and photographs (when possible)
    • Client roster and numbers of customers using your products/services
    • Privacy policy reminder
    • Purchase security protection statement.

    As we highlighted in a recent Get the Click email review, Dover Saddlery provides a good example of how to reduce the anxiety of completing a purchase in their abandoned-cart series. In addition to featuring a photograph of the company’s customer service manager, Dover includes her signature at the end of the email message. There are also several bullets that reaffirm the value of shopping at Dover, which are strategically placed right below the “Return to Your Cart Now” call-to-action button. Plus, a bullet that states “100% Security Protection” is positioned closest to the product price in the shopping cart — the part of the sale that causes the most anxiety for customers.

  5. Personalize your email campaigns. As we discussed in a previous NewsLever issue, personalization pays off. The type of personalization that we’re referring to goes beyond using a recipient’s name in the email. It involves customizing email content based on demographic and behavioral data, such as items previously purchased or products they’ve viewed at your company’s website. Personalization is an important way to help keep your emails relevant and subscribers engaged.
  6. Keep the message consistent between the email and the landing page. It’s important not only to have a dedicated landing page for email offers, but also to keep the main message, copy, design, and call to action consistent with that used in the email itself. Once subscribers click through, the primary offer introduced in the emails should be highly visible on the landing page so they know they’ve arrived at the right place.
     
    Although this seems rather obvious, you may be surprised at how many companies fail to follow through their email campaigns with a dedicated landing page. Here’s a good example of an email from Deer Park that promotes a specific product, but when the call-to-action button is clicked, takes users to a log-in page. Then, if they decide to actually log in, users are taken to their account summary page, which doesn’t even mention the product. This email campaign may have gotten the click, but it likely didn’t get the sale (conversion).
  7. Always consider mobile users in your email design. Mobile-friendly emails are a must today. If subscribers open your email on a mobile device and there are multiple small links on top of each other, or the images don’t render properly, they’ll likely get frustrated and abandon the email without converting. For a great example of a mobile-friendly email, check out this responsive design from TOMS.

Optimizing emails and landing pages is a top area of expertise for FulcrumTech. Email us or give us a call at 215-489-9336 and see how we can optimize the clicks and conversions for your next email campaign.


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