Small Business Email Campaigns that Get More Clicks

• Apr 01, 2022
• Architechs for the Web
• General Info

Launching an email campaign is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies small businesses can employ to build customer loyalty, promote products and services, and share new developments. Plus, there is a high probability that the campaign will be successfully delivered to the recipient's inbox. However, for best results, extra steps like these may need to be taken to prompt the recipient to open the email and click on the links inside. 

Determining the Best Length
Growing the engagement in your emails often starts with getting to know your audience and the topic of the email to determine how long your email should be. For example, recipients may be looking for more details and clickable images, buttons, and article or video links in an informative email. Meanwhile, keeping it brief with a singular large image or a large image with up to four smaller product images and call-to-action (CTA) buttons may work better for promotions. Of course, the exception being a large number of coupons and discounts.

Regardless of the length of the email, the subject and preview should be succinct and direct about the email contents while still piquing the recipient’s curiosity. MailChimp recommends using fewer than nine words. As you may imagine, this can be a delicate balance. Try asking a question or building the subject and preview content around a popular topic, challenge, or keyword. Ask yourself, “What would the reader want to know about your products, services, industry, or company?”

Choose Eye-Catching Images
While marketers often use a more personal approach as if writing a letter to a friend without images, adding images and videos are another excellent way to attract the recipient’s eye and prompt clicks. When adding pics and videos, try to limit the descriptions to engaging keywords that prompt clicks on the picture or button to view more details. The links should lead the customer to the business website page where they can find more product details and photos or videos.

While it’s true most any iPhone or current model of major phone brands should be able to produce professional-grade images with a little help from basic editing software and a green screen, it may take a photography class or two before you can capture images that grab and hold the customer’s interest. Another alternative to using a professional photographer or videographer is to ask manufacturers for permission to use their promotional pics and videos for the products you sell.

Use a Clean Visually Appealing Design
Unlike when you are writing a blog article or creating content for your website, you can theoretically use as many links as you like in an email. However, it is often best to make a clean design around your images and call-to-action (CTA) buttons before adding your content and links. This way, the customer will be drawn to the layout visually and may feel more inclined to click to learn more about each item being promoted or the announcement being shared. In other words, a polished and professional layout prevents the recipient from feeling overwhelmed and builds trust in your brand.

Make it Personal
Everyone likes to see an email personally addressed to their name with a friendly message or a tailored promotion they can’t pass up for a business they trust. For new customers, email is all about cultivating a relationship where the business owners reach out to them and learn more about how they can help the customers find what they need. Loyal shoppers or clients want to stay informed of sales, company news, and the latest must-haves for the current year.

Whether electing to send a personal message from the CEO without images or a personalized informative or promotional email with images, try to cater to the recipient’s interests as much as possible and always include the recipient’s name. Also, make links to the website, social media channels, directions to the place of business, and customer service phone number easy to find for the recipient’s convenience. It may help to think of each email’s layout and content as an answer to that customer’s questions about a particularly hot topic based on data you have collected, such as demographics, browsing or purchasing habits on your website, Google analytics, social media analytics, etc.

Track Your Clicks
Some email marketing services, such as MailChimp, will automatically track clicks to URLs. You can then compare the number of clicks by link or discover the most engaging part of the email by the number of clicks. Furthermore, you can learn which of your recipients is opening your emails and clicking on your links, which can help you better determine how to keep those individuals engaged while trying new strategies to reach those who are not opening or clicking on the links.

If your email marketing service does not include tracking, it’s easy to add tags to your URLs for each email. Ask your marketing solutions provider to include tags and offer reports to find your best path forward and ensure all of these simple email tweaks are leaving a positive impression that converts to more sales for your growing business.