5 Steps on How to Create an Email Campaign that Really Converts

A recent report showed that for every $1 a company spends on email campaigns, they make about $36 in return, which makes emails incredible marketing tools. However, in order to enjoy this amazing ROI, you need to create good email campaigns that convert. 

In this article, we're revealing the 5 essential steps that will help you master your email marketing efforts.

1. Go for a simple design or no design at all

Oftentimes, when marketers start putting together new email funnels, they receive messages from their clients with screen grabs or email forwards from big brands, asking if they can do something similar. Indeed, those nicely designed emails look cool, thus most clients would like that for their business. Plus, almost every email provider out there offers numerous built-in templates to choose from.

So why not actually focus on the email design? The thing is that those designs look like a big commercial when they hit the inbox. The email was created to communicate with family and friends, as well as for work, not to be flooded with ads. The whole idea here is to casually slip into your customers' inbox as a friend or at least as a helpful person that they can trust. This person won't sell to them but will guide them in the direction they want to go.

Therefore, the secret is sending out plain text emails. These are much more likely to be read because they look like a genuine email someone would get from a friend, neighbor, or family neighbor.

via GitHub

Another reason to ditch those template emails is that all the images and the links inside are the best way to make sure that you never reach your customers' primary inbox. Do you know the Promotions tab in Gmail? You don't want to end up there, but in the actual primary inbox, where you belong. Hence, try to keep those images and links in the email to a minimum. No more than a single link and one image (but preferably no pictures) per email are recommended.

2. Focus on storytelling

Rather than simply delivering some tips or advice in the email make it count for more by including a short story that illustrates your point. Whole parts of the human brain that light up and fire off when hearing a good story. Moreover, it makes the brand more relatable and personal.

3. Incorporate video

Not only include a video in the body of your email but let the customers know as they read the subject line. Here's a good example: Video: How to Increase Your Sales in 2021. This can even double the open rates.

Another benefit of adding a video is that people are more likely to actually consume your content, get the message you're trying to send them in a video format versus seeing an image or just reading plain text. And almost everybody's much more able to understand and retain information when they're seeing it and hearing it.

If we don't have a video, we can use another visual resource. In the example below, we can see Adrenaline Travel using gif with a play button over it.

Adrenaline Travel via Vyond

You can just take whatever content you were planning to put in the email and make a short video about it. Worry not, it doesn't have to be high-production value. You can simply use your smartphone and do a selfie-style video: it will connect just fine and you'll get your point across.

4. Play the hits

A lot of small businesses get intimidated when they start thinking about putting together an email campaign. Nonetheless, more times than not they already have content that they can repurpose and string together into an email series. 

So if you have some great blog posts already or a podcast interview you did, or maybe a cool video, you can introduce it in the email or link to it.

via SemRush / Global Marketing Day

If you don't have anything yet, that's ok, just start writing one new email a week for as long you think the email series should go on. So essentially you're building an email campaign once and then it can go on and live on forever.

5. Simple segmentation is key

Let's say your business offers two different types of products that appeal to different kinds of customers. Create two lead magnets or freebies that are geared towards each product. Then, you could start each person who opts in for a particular freebie onto its matching email sequence, so basically putting them on track A. Simultaneously, when someone downloads your freebie for the other product, you put them in the other email sequence, so they're on track B.

via Automizy

Each person starts then getting helpful content related to the product they're interested in. This way, you increase the chances of conversion and lower the risk of people unsubscribing from your newsletter because you're only sending out mixed content that doesn't really appeal to them.

Follow these steps and create awesome email campaigns that will end up converting.