5 Email Marketing Tips to Boost Online Sales

Whether it's online sales for big-box chains, pure-play retailers or mom-and-pop stores, email marketing has become one of the most effective marketing tactics to reach targeted audiences and boost return on investment and revenue. In fact, email marketing accounts for 5 percent to 10 percent of all e-commerce transactions today.

However, not every email is equally effective. Some require much more than just hitting the inbox. I've pulled together my favorite email marketing tips to help you compile a sophisticated email marketing strategy. These tips will help bring your company's future campaigns to the next level by increasing customer engagement and keeping sales up for good.

1. Make it relatable. One of the best ways to capitalize on existing customers is to send emails offering products that relate to their previous purchases. For example, if a customer purchased dog food from your site before, it's safe to assume they're in the market for new pet toys, treats or the like. Sending your customers an email showcasing products they're interested in is a quick and easy way to stay relevant and increase revenue potential per customer.

2. Be spontaneous. Discounts are great, but why not shake things up a bit? Instead of falling into the habit of sending an email at the same time every month, try a flash sale or a sporadic promotion. For example, offer a flash discount sale on the 11th of the month at 11:00 a.m. and offer 11 percent off? Of course, the 11 percent off is only good on the 11th, but this will create a sense of urgency and excitement to the reader, which isn't usually present in standard email marketing.

3. Split test: There are so many different ways to create an e-commerce email campaign, so it's absolutely critical that you test yours to find out what creates the best conversion rate. Test the bigger features — e.g., different subject lines and sender names — but also don't forget to play around with the small details too, like product placement within the email, call-to-action phrasing and design.

4. Re-engage lost customers. Reactivating customers who haven't purchased from you in a while represents one of the fundamental benefits of email marketing. Whichever e-commerce platform you use, exporting a list of customers who haven't purchased in six months to 12 months is a simple click or two away. Once you have this segmented list, send an email to remind them why they shopped with you in the first place — and perhaps provide an incentive to make your brand relevant to them once again.

5. Give in to seasonal marketing. Holidays and other seasonal initiatives provide marketers with a unique opportunity to reach out to their subscribers. Though there's sure to be plenty of email promotions in recipients' inboxes during the holidays, your customers expect to hear from you. Offer fantastic discounts or promotions — it's almost always the customer's top reason for joining a mailing list in the first place!

Eric Krattenstein is the U.S. chief marketing officer for Mailify, a responsive email marketing app with over 20,000 users worldwide.