12 Email Marketing Best Practices That Still Work

Did you know that a data-based strategy is one-half of the two most effective tools for a marketer?

The other one is email marketing best practices. Combining them both is a sure way to a successful marketing campaign. 

Now, with so much disruption happening in the digital marketing space, what still works in 2024?

Let’s look at the 12 practices that still drive results.

1. Understand your audience needs

For any email marketing campaign to be successful, as a business you must first understand your target audience.

It means understanding your audience’s pain points, preferences, and needs. So, creating email campaigns that address their challenges is a sure way to increase performance.

A MailChimp study showed that email segmentation results in a higher open rate (14%) and 100.95% CTR. The study shows that understanding and segmenting your audience for targeted campaigns works.

Now, there are some measures that marketers can take to understand their audience fully.

They include:

• Developing buyer personas that represent each segment of your email list.
• Running polls and surveys on the segments to understand their preferences.
• Segmenting the email list using advanced criteria like behavior.

An excellent real-life example of this application is Spotify. Spotify personalizes its promotional emails to create compelling offers for subscribers.

Spotify also uses listener data to suggest new podcasts or music, making each email feel personal.

There are some misconceptions that marketers need expensive research tools to understand their audience. However, that’s not the case.

In fact, simple surveys or polls and site analytics can offer valuable insights into your audience.

2. Don’t purchase email lists

It may seem like a fast way to build a large subscriber base. However, it comes with the risk of buying spam traps and irrelevant or outdated email addresses.

Creating an email marketing campaign around such contact can heavily impact email deliverability and your brand reputation.

Trend Micro published an Email Spam and Phishing report in 2023 stating that phishing attacks had grown by 17%. The shocker is that most of the spam comes from purchased email lists.

There are better ways of building a safe subscriber base than risking spam traps disguised as email lists.

They include:

• Focus on building organically through list-building strategies like lead magnets or social media.
• Implementing double opt-in steps to ensure subscribers want to receive your emails genuinely.
• Using email automation software for efficiency and streamlining the campaigns.
• Exploring contact enrichment services to add valuable info like a phone number.
• Monitoring the email deliverability and engagement to refine your strategies.

An excellent example of organically building an email list from scratch is through gamification. Online stores can leverage gamification through a spin-the-wheel type of game. 

It can work where subscribers could win something based on what the gamer lands on. It can be an additional product, coupon, free shipping, or anything else.

There are some misconceptions that buying email lists is a quick way to build a large contact database. While it’s true, the risks outweigh the benefits.

3. Always provide value to your subscribers

Creating valuable content is a sure way to keep your email list engaged and likely to take action. While providing value can take many forms, marketers must ensure it is relevant to their subscribers’ preferences.

According to a study by Marketing Sherpa, 21% of American customers unsubscribe from brand emails because they receive irrelevant content.

Tailoring your email content to your list segments is a sure way to better marketing results.

To create relevant and valuable content for your emails, there are some tips to consider.

They include:

• Segment your audience into groups and create tailored content for each.
• Create educational content like guides, tips, and more.
• Provide offers or incentives like early access, loyalty programs, or discounts.
• Personalize the content by using subscriber data to recommend offers.
• Monitor and refine the segments for better results.

An excellent example of this is Netflix. It offers a guide to subscribers through its extensive library by highlighting trending shows.

Netflix also personalizes recommendations based on previous watch history, reducing the chance of overwhelming the subscriber. 

There are some misconceptions that sending regular promotional emails to your email list is enough. However, subscribers need dynamic content, including guides that build trust before a sales push.

4. Customize your email signature

Sometimes, they’re known as email footers and include more than a marketer’s name. A well-crafted email signature should include a job title, company, address, phone number, and website URL.

Customizing your email signature has its benefits, such as:

• Improve brand awareness.
• Offer contact info.
• Drive engagement to your social media.

Now, there are best approaches for customizing your email signature to make it look professional.

They include:

• Include your first and surname.
• Add your affiliation info (company, job title, department).
• Add secondary contact info like phone number.
• Include social media profile links to reinforce your brand.
• Add a CTA that aligns with your business goals.
• Add a photo for a personal touch.
• Add your pronouns(optional).

An excellent example of this is New Scientist. They use color blocking to highlight the main points of the email signature. Not only that, but they also include extra information in the section below.

There are misconceptions that a name and email are sufficient for an email signature. However, customizing it reinforces a brand and adds professionalism.

5. Nurture lists with drip campaigns

Using drip campaigns in your marketing strategy is a sure way to nurture and educate your leads about your brand.

Drip campaigns are effective because they:

• Personalize a customer journey where a marketer sets triggers based on specific actions.
• Improve engagement by delivering valuable content.
• Improve conversions by addressing audience pain points.

According to a HubSpot study, automated email campaigns can increase engagement and conversions by 71%. Nurtured leads also make a 47% larger purchase.

Now, there are some tips on the best way to nurture your leads with drip campaigns.

They are:

• Create targeted messages to your audience segments.
• Plan the drip campaigns around the sales funnel.
• Create a drip campaign with 5-10 emails spaced 4 days to 2 weeks apart.
• Write easy-to-read content that’s scannable.
• Monitor and refine the drip campaign strategies over time.

To’ak Chocolate is an excellent example of this application. It uses drip emails to boost its brand story and drive conversions.

Through Omnisend, it achieved its goal of transforming abandoned carts messages into a marketing strategy.

There are some misconceptions that drip emails are spammy. That’s not true. However, when structured well, they offer value and build trust.

6. Create an autoresponder series for new subscribers

The good thing is that subscribers accept autoresponders as part of the email marketing experience.

It gives marketers a leeway to nurture leads for conversion without looking pushy. Not only that, but it also allows the provision of essential product and brand information. 

A study by Campaign Monitor found that welcome email read rates are 42% higher than those of other promotional emails. It proves that well-structured email series have a powerful impact.

Now, when creating an autoresponder series for new subscribers, there are some pointers to consider.

They are:

• Identify the end goal of your series.
• Segment your email list.
• Map out your email sequences, and remember timing is crucial.
• Write compelling email content and ensure you personalize it.
• Monitor the sequences and adjust where necessary.

An excellent example of this application is Lyft. Here, they offer a feedback request through email autoresponder. It is a smart way to collect data for future marketing efforts.

The trigger, in this case, is a previous interaction or purchase.

There are misconceptions that email autoresponders are spammy. However, when marketers time them well, they can improve the experience.

7. Stay compliant

Marketing is a heavily regulated industry that protects users from cybercrime and safeguards their privacy. So, complying with regulatory bodies like GDPR or CCPA, among others, is crucial.

Compliance ensures marketers avoid legal issues and that their marketing emails reach targeted inboxes.

According to a study by Statista, 45% of marketing emails get classified as spam. On average, 27% of global businesses get 4-6 cyber attacks annually through malicious spam.

Now, there are ways that businesses can stay compliant when sending their marketing campaigns.

Here are some pointers to consider.

• Ensure you put authentic header information (domain, email, and sender info).
• Use honest and accurate subject lines describing what is in the email.
• Indicate if the email is an Ad by adding a disclaimer.
• Provide a visible opt-out link with a one-click option.
• Ensure you honor opt-out requests within a week.

A good example of a brand that faced a hefty fine for not complying with GDPR guidelines is Marriott International. The hotel chain got a fine of 99.2 million euros for sending marketing emails to customers without consent.

There are some misconceptions that compliance is unnecessary. However, in hindsight, it protects the sender from legal issues and the recipient from phishing.

8. Create a consistent email schedule

A consistent email schedule does more than keep you on top of subscriber minds. Instead, it builds anticipation and trust and lets them know when to expect your emails.

Email calendars are helpful in planning toward your marketing goals.

According to a study by Woodpecker, adding a follow-up email to your sequences raises your reply rate by 27% from the initial email.

The study also showed subscribers who receive emails on a consistent schedule are likely to click and open them.

There are steps that marketers need to follow to create effective email calendars.

These include:

• Define the objective of the email calendar.
• Pick the content that your calendar will feature.
• Use automation software to drip the email sequences.
• Ensure you create a schedule that fits different occasions and events.
• Ensure the calendar is easily accessible to the subscribers but not the public.

Sezane, a French Apparel brand, is an excellent example of email scheduling. It sends weekly emails to subscribers showcasing its latest collections.

The emails also share styling tips and exclusive deals.

There are some misconceptions that the more emails sent, the higher the engagement. However, that’s far from the truth.

Scheduling quality emails is more effective than bombarding subscribers with junk.

9. Make your subscribers double opt-in

Businesses should never send marketing emails to people who don’t opt in. It is a sure way for them to mark the emails as spam, sinking your campaign and domain. 

With double opt-in, your email subscribers can wholeheartedly agree to receive your messages. It helps improve engagement, deliverability, and conversion.

According to a MailChimp study of 30K users, double opt-in lists have 72.2% better open rates and a 114% increase in CTR than single opt-in lists. It means a cleaner email list with interested subscribers is more valuable.

There are ideal ways to create double opt-in emails to send to your subscribers.

Here are some pointers:

• Create a concise email confirmation explaining the purpose of the double opt-in.
• Simplify the confirmation process through a one-click tap.
• Set a timeframe for the confirmation to balance genuine interest with convenience.
• Set expectations on the type of content the subscribers can expect.

A real-life example of a double opt-in application is Tome Saas software. The software ensures that opt-in emails are clear and direct, from the subject line to the CTA and content.

There are some misconceptions that double opt-in emails discourage sign-ups. In some cases, it might be true, but the quality of engaged subscribers outweighs the quantity.

10. Avoid using ‘No Reply’ in the sender email address

While the ‘No Reply’ email address may work to prevent spam, it can negatively impact your business. You’ve most likely encountered one that looks like this ([email protected]) in many applications.

This type of email will for sure confuse and frustrate your customers if their replies bounce. 

There are some pointers to consider when setting up a sender email address to avoid ‘No Reply.’

They include:

• Create a dedicated email address for customer inquiries.
• Use automation tools to offer quick feedback, such as chatbots.
• Create content in FAQs, blogs, and tutorials on common inquiries.

Google Analytics is an excellent example of a brand that uses ‘no-reply ’ emails. Here is an image of one of their emails.

Some marketers have a misconception that no-reply emails prevent spam. However, the best approach is to create a dedicated email for inquiries while still being able to filter spam.

11. Keep your email design consistent

Nothing strengthens your brand more than a consistent design across all email marketing campaigns. A consistent email design shows professionalism and reinforces the brand voice. 

According to a study by MECLABS, brand consistency across marketing platforms increases brand recognition by 80%. It rubber stamps the impact of a cohesive brand design in email marketing.

Creating effective email designs that are consistent across all marketing channels is essential.

Here are some pointers on the best practices:

• Define your brand colors, logo, and visual style.
• Create email templates that incorporate your brand elements.
• Use the right sender name to build trust.
• Optimize the email templates for mobile.
• Nail down a typeface unique to your brand.
• Optimize the CTAs.

An excellent example of this application is AirBnB. The email templates and overall design are crisp, with evocative photography. They also use short paragraphs with balanced white space.

There are some misconceptions that varying email designs can keep subscribers engaged. However, that’s not the case because excessive variations can dilute brand recognition.

12. Leverage pre-made email templates

Pre-made email templates guarantee brand consistency across platforms. They also allow customization flexibility to streamline campaign workflows.

The best part is that pre-made templates help reduce errors, save time, and more. 

There are critical elements to consider when using pre-made email templates to use in your marketing campaign.

They include:

• Pick templates that complement your brand color, font, and visual style.
• Personalize the templates with targeted content and CTAs.
• Opt for templates that you can rearrange sections.
• Ensure the templates are responsive across devices.
• Run split tests on the templates to see which performs best.

An excellent real life example of platforms with pre-made email templates is Shopify. The platform offers businesses a variety of templates like product launches, abandoned cart reminders, and more.

The templates offer customization options relevant to each campaign. The best part is that they still maintain a consistent experience.

There are some misconceptions that pre-made email templates look unprofessional and generic. However, premade templates provide a foundation to build upon.

Start using these email marketing best practices

Implementing these practices is a sure way to succeed in your campaigns. The strategies are practical, actionable, and proven to deliver results. 

Whether you’re starting or looking to revamp your strategies, these tips will equip you with the right plan. Remember, staying adaptable and informed can help you navigate the digital marketing space.

Plus, these 12 email marketing best practices will work in 2024.