Email Applied: 5 Ways to Grow Your Email Marketing Revenues

Imagine you could do just five things to improve your email results. Each could give you an incremental lift in opens, clicks and conversions, but if you can make at least three out of five pay off, you get the bonus of the multiplier effect. Response improvements can combine to make a difference.

I'll start with some easy wins and then look at ideas that are harder to implement. You've heard the exercise mantra "no pain, no gain," well, it applies to email marketing as well. Email should be your hardest working channel, but it should be worth the effort.

1. Test subject lines at least twice a month. You know subject lines drive open rates. Your primary mission is to get more subscribers to open your message. If they don't open, they can't engage.

Some email service providers (ESPs) have a nifty feature that allows you to set up a subject line test. You define test cells and whether opens or clicks are your success metric as well as the number of hours to run the test. The ESP can then automatically send the winning subject line to the balance of your list after the initial time frame. What's not to like about optimizing results to boost response!

If your ESP doesn't offer this feature, it's relatively easy to set up test cells and make your own determination of the winner. Commit to doing this regularly.

2. Use a marketing snippet in the pre-header. A "snippet" plays off the subject line and presents readers with additional appealing details.

Why should you do this? Almost half your audience that's reading your emails on a desktop may use the preview feature, thus only seeing part of the email. A snippet may convince them to open and act on your email. For emails read on a mobile device, if your subject line is relatively short the recipient will also be able to see additional copy from the top of the email.

The example to the left shows the top of an email, including the subject line, I received from Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes. On my smartphone using a vertical view, I see "Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes" as the sender, followed by the subject line and snippet, "Have you experienced Crab Cake Perfection?"

Many marketers put administrative messaging at the very top of their emails — for example, "View in a web browser." An email from Best of Web Buyers Guide viewed on a mobile device displayed the subject line followed by "Finding us in your spam." The company wants recipients to add its sending address to their address book, but with incomplete display, the viewer may just associate the message with spam.

3. Use authentication. This topic is more technical, but important in increasing the odds that your email is delivered to the primary inbox and not to a bulk folder. Essentially, authentication identifies you are who you say you are as an email sender. The systems in place were originally designed by various ESPs to address phishing and spoofing messages. Internet service providers (ISPs) and major B-to-B inbound email handling platforms use authentication to determine whether a sender is legitimate.

This is a complex topic for sure, so here are some summary points:

• There are four authentication systems currently in place: SPF, Sender ID, Domain Keys and DKIM.
• Different ISPs will recognize some or all systems.
• Ask your ESP what authentication systems it supports.
• DMARC, an industry group that standardizes how email receivers perform email authentication, is a good resource at your disposal.

4. Employ segmentation regularly to be more relevant. Some emails should reach your entire audience, while others will perform better when targeted to specific subgroups of your subscribers. The top attributes used by B-to-C marketers for segmentation are demographic, geographic and behavioral data. Behavioral data identifies product categories and offers that recipients click on regularly from your emails. For example, a bookseller might identify a segment of mystery buffs made up of individuals who click on mystery titles multiple times over a given time period.

Here are some thoughts to help those email marketers who haven't used segmentation before:

• Start slow. Identify two or three meaningful target groups within your list.
• Measure results. Did the segmentation have a positive impact on results?
• If results show success, slowly increase the percentage of emails you send using segmentation.

5. Make sure your emails are optimized for mobile devices. Over 40 percent of emails today are opened on a mobile device. By the end of 2013, we could see more emails opened on mobile devices than on desktops. Don't assume the majority of subscribers on your list will initially open your emails on a mobile device, then come back to read them on a desktop. That's a myth! Studies show over 98 percent of emails are opened and read on only one device.

It's critical for retailers to optimize their emails for mobile devices. Here are some simple things you can do:

• Your email width should be narrow — between 485 pixels and 525 pixels — to enable more of your content to display.
• Place your headlines, calls to action, links and buttons on the left-hand side to be sure all can be seen, allowing users to take advantage of your content and offers.
• Don't place links and call-to-action buttons too close together. You want mobile users to be able to interact easily with your email content and navigate your site seamlessly.
• Don't put large images near the top of your email. Doing so will push your content down and can limit how much of your email can be seen by mobile readers.

By putting these five tips into practice, your brand should see improved results (i.e., more engagement and conversions) from its email program.

Reggie Brady is the president of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions, a direct and email marketing consultancy. Reggie can be reached at reggie@reggiebrady.com.