How to Plan Your Email Marketing Strategy in 2023

Did you know the average customer receives 100 to 120 emails daily?

That’s a lot. But it makes sense as email is the most effective marketing channel to boost revenue and sales, according to the Litmus State of Email Report. It also offers a higher ROI than any other marketing channel, returning around $38 for every dollar you invest.

That’s why most businesses focus their marketing efforts on this channel.

But to receive such high returns, you need an effective email marketing strategy to engage your audience, boost sales, and grow your customer base.

We’ll cover six email marketing tips you can use to create successful email marketing campaigns.

1. Define your business goals and target audience

The first step to building an effective email marketing campaign is having clear business goals and a deep understanding of your audience.

For instance, what’s your goal for running email marketing campaigns? Are you looking to increase sales and revenue? Or maybe you want to boost click-throughs to your website? You can maximize your email marketing results by understanding your goals and aligning your campaigns accordingly. Try the OKR methodology for objectives and goals.

Once you know your goal, it’s time to create a buyer persona you can target with content that resonates with their needs to drive meaningful results.

For example, if you have an online business that sells premium athletic footwear and accessories, you can create a buyer persona like this:

You can better understand your customers’ preferences, interests, and motivations with such a detailed buyer persona. As a result, tailor your marketing messages, product offerings, and email campaigns to meet their needs.

2. Choose a reliable email marketing platform

The right email marketing platform can help you engage customers effectively and boost sales. So, when choosing an email marketing solution, assess your business needs and budget carefully.

For example, do you want email software to build and nurture relationships with your existing customers? Or is it for promoting your products and services? Or maybe you just want to offer educational content and newsletters to engage subscribers.

A platform that aligns with your needs will help you optimize your campaigns and achieve your marketing objectives.

Here are some factors to consider when choosing an email service provider:

• Email marketing automation: Automation saves time and effort and ensures relevant communication with your audience. It allows you to set up email sequences triggered by specific actions or events, such as welcoming new subscribers, sending personalized follow-ups, or re-engaging inactive subscribers.
• Segmentation and personalization: Choose a platform to segment your subscribers based on their interests, behaviors, or demographics. You can send personalized messages to enhance engagement and build solid customer relationships.
• High email deliverability: Ensure the platform has a good reputation for email deliverability to avoid your emails being marked as spam and to maximize the chances of your messages reaching your subscribers’ inboxes. For instance, Sender has excellent email deliverability, meaning your emails will end up where they should – straight to the inboxes. I use Sender for many projects, and I’ll reference it in this article. Learn more about stopping spam emails in this guide.
• Drag-and-drop email editor and pre-built templates: A user-friendly email editor with a drag-and-drop functionality simplifies the process of creating attractive emails. In addition, pre-built templates can save you time and effort while maintaining a professional look for your emails.
• Real-time reports and analytics: The platform should offer real-time insights into open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and other crucial metrics. This information shapes crucial steps for marketing funnel analysis, helps you measure your campaign’s success, and make data-driven decisions.

Besides choosing an email marketing platform, opt for a project management tool to keep track of your campaign. My advice—try out and create a free account in Paymo.

3. Build your email list

According to Nielsen’s Annual Marketing 2023 Report, 50% of marketers say email is a powerful marketing channel.

One way to leverage this channel to create a winning email marketing strategy is to build a robust email list to connect with your customers and grow your business.

You can find someone’s email and other relevant data by using unique platforms for prospecting. Such solutions usually have large, powerful databases with publicly available contact data and advanced search filters that will allow users to find the most targeted prospects and personalize email campaigns.

But how do you build your email list effectively?

List building consists of two key components that work together to increase your subscriber numbers: lead magnets and opt-in forms.

Let’s explore each of these elements in detail:

Lead magnets

A lead magnet is an enticing offer you give potential subscribers in exchange for their emails. The key is to offer something relevant and valuable that addresses their needs or interests. To illustrate, if you’ve found your potential client’s email through a LinkedIn email finder, and you’re new to them, you can expect trust if you offer something helpful or necessary.

Some examples of effective lead magnets include:

• Ebooks;
• Infographics;
• Whitepapers;
• Webinars or courses;
• Tools or software;
• Reports or case studies.

Opt-in forms

After creating your lead magnet, design attractive and branded sign-up forms to capture visitors’ attention and encourage them to subscribe.

You can use email service providers like Sender to create eye-catching opt-in forms that integrate seamlessly with your website or landing pages.

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Also, place your opt-in forms strategically where visitors can easily see them, such as on the homepage, blog posts, or exit-intent pop-ups. After that, create clear call to action (CTA) buttons that tell visitors what they get by subscribing and emphasize your lead magnet’s value.

These two components — valuable lead magnets and well-designed opt-in forms — will help you grow an email list of interested and engaged subscribers. As a result, you can increase your chances of converting prospects into loyal customers.

4. A/B test your email campaigns

A/B testing helps you compare two versions of your email marketing campaign to see which one performs better. That way, you can determine what works best for your audience and make better decisions to improve your results.

Some elements you can test include:

• Sender name;
• Subject lines;
• Preheader;
• Email copy;
• Email design;
• Email frequency.

With that in mind, let’s examine how you can A/B test your email marketing campaigns.

How to A/B test your email campaign

Here’s how you can do A/B testing:

• Choose the elements you want to test. This could be your subject lines, images, CTAs, or the colors used in your emails.
• Make two versions of your email campaign, with the elements you’ve chosen being the only difference. For example, if you’re testing email subject lines, you can leverage the best tools after creating different subject lines but keep the rest of the email the same.
• Split your audience into two equal segments. Group A will see version X of your campaign, and Group B will see version Y.
• Send out the two versions to the respective segments. Allow the test to run for a specific period, like a few days or weeks, to gather enough data.
• After the test period, analyze the data and compare the performance of each version. Look at metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to see which performed better.
• Based on the results, apply the version that performed better to your future email marketing campaigns.

A/B testing is an ongoing process, so test different elements regularly and tweak your campaigns based on the results. Remember, small changes can lead to a significant impact over time.

5. Optimize your email marketing campaigns for mobile

According to a 2022 Pew Research Center report, 76% of U.S. shoppers purchase products online using smartphones. So, whenever you send promotional emails to customers, you can expect approximately three-quarters of your subscribers to access your online store on a mobile device.

That clearly demonstrates why it’s critical to create mobile-friendly emails. Customers who shop on their phones will likely open their emails on the same device. So, optimize your email marketing campaigns for mobile users to create a positive user experience, increase engagement, and maximize the ROI of your emails.

Here are some tips to make your emails look good on mobile:

Use premade templates for responsive design

Responsive emails automatically adjust their layout and size to fit different screen sizes. As a result, your content looks excellent whether recipients view it on a desktop or mobile.

Leverage email marketing solutions like HubSpot or Sender that offer premade templates designed to be responsive on various devices.

Adopt a single-column layout

A single-column layout is much easier to read and navigate on smaller screens.

Don’t clutter your emails with multiple columns that can overwhelm readers on mobile devices.

Simplify the layout to make your messages more transparent and accessible to all recipients.

Create touch-friendly CTA buttons

Design your CTA buttons with touch-friendly dimensions since most mobile users interact with their devices through touch.

Make the CTAs large enough to be tapped easily to increase the chances of conversion.

Use the preheader text effectively

The preheader text appears right after the subject line, and it should work together with the subject line to tell the story.

So, use your preheader to provide additional context or a compelling snippet of your email’s content. That way, you can entice readers to open the email and discover more, improving your open rates.

6. Track your email marketing campaign metrics

Tracking your email marketing metrics helps you understand how your email campaigns perform so you can build on strategies that work and eliminate what doesn’t.

Some metrics to monitor include:

• Open rate: Percentage of recipients who open your emails. A high open rate indicates that your sender name and subject lines are compelling and relevant to your audience. To improve your open rates, create engaging and personalized subject lines that entice recipients to click and discover what’s inside.
• Click-through rate (CTR): Number of subscribers who click on a link or call to action in your email. A high CTR shows that your content resonates with your audience. To boost your CTR, send personalized content based on your customers’ interests and have clear and compelling CTAs.
• Conversion rate: Percentage of recipients who take your desired action, like buying a product or signing up for a webinar, after clicking a link in your email. A high conversion rate means people want what you’re offering, and they can easily get it.
• Bounce rate: Bounces occur when your emails don’t reach your recipients’ inboxes. A high bounce rate can harm your sender’s reputation and deliverability. Therefore, clean your email list regularly to remove invalid or inactive subscribers to reduce bounce rates.
• Unsubscribe rate: Number of subscribers who opt out of your email list. While it’s natural to see some unsubscribes over time, monitoring this metric and analyzing the reasons behind the opt-outs is crucial. This will help refine your content to meet your audience’s expectations better.

Email marketing software, such as Sender, allows you to track your email campaigns in real time and adjust your email marketing strategies accordingly.

Key takeaways

The right email marketing strategy can significantly impact your company’s success. And it all starts by setting clear goals and identifying your target audience. That way, you can lay the foundation for targeted and meaningful communication.

In summary, if you want to create effective email marketing campaigns, you need to:

1. Define your business goals and target audience;
2. Choose a reliable email marketing platform;
3. Build your email list;
4. A/B test your email campaigns;
5. Optimize your email marketing campaigns for mobile;
6. Track your email marketing campaign metrics.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to email marketing. Plan, experiment, and fine-tune your campaigns to get the perfect mix for your business.

First published on October 6, 2023.