Top Email Marketing Strategies for Digital Marketers: Email marketing is one of the highest ROI digital marketing channels. Over 4 billion people worldwide use email making it a ubiquitous communication tool. Email generates $42 for every $1 spent, according to DMA statistics. For digital marketers, mastering professional email marketing techniques is essential for engaging audiences and driving conversions.

In this post, we’ll explore some of the best email marketing strategies and proven best practices for creating effective and result-driven email campaigns.

Segment Your Email Marketing List for Relevance

One of the foundational best practices for email success is list segmentation. Instead of sending a generic broadcast to your entire list, you need to divide subscribers into distinct groups and then tailor your emails based on user attributes, interests and behaviors.

Some ways to split your master list include:

• Demographic data – Age, gender, location etc.
• Buyer personas – Grouping by common behaviors and motivations
• Purchase history – Existing customers vs non buyers
• Engagement levels – Active vs inactive subscribers
• Purchase recency – Recent vs long-lapsed customers

This allows you to send content that’s highly relevant to each subscriber group. For example, you can send special promotions to re-engage inactive subscribers or surveys to get feedback from active users.

Always provide an option for subscribers to update their preferences and offer profile-based unsubscribe options so people can opt out of inappropriate lists.

Personalize Content for Higher Engagement

One of the most effective email strategies is personalization. Include subscriber-specific dynamic content, tailored product/topic recommendations, custom offers and other personalized elements in your emails to boost open and click-through rates.

You can personalize by using:

• Merge tags to include names, locations etc.
• Behavioral data to segment and tailor content
• Subject lines personalized with subscriber details
• Dynamic content blocks based on user attributes
• Personalized product suggestions based on past purchases and site browsing

Personalized subject lines alone can generate 6x higher open rates according to Experian. Include subscriber names, location references or contextual phrases for higher open rates.

Testing and optimization is key – you may find that some groups prefer informal subject lines while others respond better to formal titles.

Optimize Subject Lines for Maximum Impact

Your email subject line is usually the first impression you deliver and impacts open rates. Some best practices for optimizing email subject lines are:

• Catchy phrases – Use power words like “New”, “Introducing”, “Sale” etc.
• Emotional triggers – Relevant words like “You”, “Instant”, “Guaranteed”
• Direct value – Communicate the key benefit clearly
• Urgency – For time-sensitive offers use “24 hours only”
• Personalization – Add first names, location etc. to customize
• Brackets and emojis – Use these to stand out in the inbox

Always A/B test multiple subject line versions to determine which converts best based on metrics like open rate, CTR, unsubscribes etc. The ideal subject line piques curiosity, conveys relevance and drives the desired action.

Leverage Triggered and Behavioral Email Marketing

Timely automated emails sent in response to subscriber actions often see high ROI. These triggered messages include:

• Welcome emails – Thanking new subscribers
• Abandoned cart – Reminding users who didn’t complete a purchase
• Re-engagement – For inactive subscribers to lure them back

You can also set up behavioral emails based on subscriber interests and habits like:

• Browsing-based – Recommend products they viewed but didn’t buy
• Purchase or interest-based – Related products based on past purchases
• Date-based – Announcing sales on the subscriber’s birthday or anniversary

Tools like customer data platforms (CDPs) help create 360-degree subscriber profiles that support highly targeted behavioral email campaigns.

Drive Action with Strategic Calls-to-Action

Every email you send should clearly steer readers towards one desired action or conversion. As a digital marketer, include strategic CTAs that support your goals, whether it’s driving traffic to your blog, promoting a sale or getting users to sign up.

Some tips for effective CTAs:

• Match CTA to email goal – Sign-up for a webinar, shop the sale etc.
• Use action-driven language – Click, Buy Now, Get Started
• Make CTAs visually stand out
• Place CTAs strategically – Beginning and end

Testing different CTAs will help determine which wording, placement and visual treatment works best for your audience.

Also Read – How to Use Influencer Marketing

Continually Test and Optimize Campaigns

The best way to improve email performance is to constantly test and analyze data. A/B test email content like copy, design, subject lines and sending times to see what resonates most with your subscribers.

Tools like MailChimp and HubSpot make it easy to test and compare campaign metrics. Assess open rate, CTR, conversions and unsubscribe rate for every campaign. Learn about subscriber behaviors like day and time preferences, engagement with segments and preferences.

Use these insights to create continually optimized, highly relevant email campaigns that deliver value for subscribers and achieve your KPIs.

In Conclusion

Email marketing allows digital marketers to build relationships, nurture prospects and drive business growth. By focusing on list segmentation, personalization, strategic CTAs and testing, you can engage your subscribers and boost conversions.

Remember to always provide value for your subscribers first with educational or entertaining content before promoting products. With email best practices, you can break through the noise and connect with audiences in an authentic way.

Stay up to date on inboxes, devices and email regulations. Aim for inbox placement, mobile optimization and permission-based sending to build a reputable and long-term email program. With a stellar and ever-evolving email strategy, you can maximize marketing ROI and growth.