Want to start creating engaging email campaigns, but not sure where to start? You’ve come to the right place 🙌

In this article, we’ll show you how to create email campaigns that stand out in your audience’s inboxes – and ultimately, get clicks and conversions.

In the run up to Black Friday, email marketing is an important channel to be investing time in to elevate your sales.

No matter the email marketing platform you use, professionally-created email campaigns are a great way to creatively advertise your products with an audience that’s already invested in your business, and nurture strong customer relationships with a clear brand identity.

 

How can you ensure your emails stand out from the rest?

 

Building a strong campaign

So, what are the key elements you need to be paying attention to?

 

1. Subject line (/preview line)

This is the first thing your audience will see from your campaign, and it’s vital you ensure it entices your audience to click on the email and view it- so make it count!

 

Here’s some examples of email subject lines – which ones stand out from the rest?

 

Consider what would attract your audience’s attention as they scroll through their inbox and see your brand’s email. Have you got any promotions running? If so, include how much your products currently cost (for a limited time only!), or how much they could save.

Alternatively, use a powerful CTA to compel your audience to click – this could evoke a sense of ‘fear of missing out’ if they don’t click, eg:

Subject lines that create a sudden surge of interest, but don’t disclose all information unless the recipient clicks to read it, is a great way to raise your open rate.

The use of emoji is up to you and your brand guidelines – but if you’re going to use them, stick to one or two. Their bright colours often help to direct the eyes to your subject line, over other emails in the inbox.

 

2. Copy

Your email’s copy is the perfect place to communicate your brand’s personality and encourage conversions in a creative way.

Keep copy punchy and easy to read, to communicate your message in an engaging way. 

 

An example of simple, punchy copy from H&M’s email marketing – smoothly leading to a CTA.

 

Bear in mind that most recipients will be checking their inboxes on their phones – ensure you get to the point in a few lines to sustain their interest.

Draw attention to any offers or discounts with bold text that the audience will see in an instant. 

Include link buttons with CTAs to take them to relevant product page- these can appear more than once if your email is longer, to ensure your audience always has an opportunity to click and visit your site.

 

3. Imagery and graphics

Great, memorable emails include attractive graphics with eye-catching headlines, that show off featured products in their best light. 

 

Even just a simple image and headline, like Schuh’s here, is a great way to communicate your brand identity and create an engaging send.

 

Aim to keep your recipients scrolling through your email without getting disengaged and clicking away. This might mean summing up copy in an easily-digestible infographic if you wish to communicate more information (eg a list of USPs).

Your audiences are unlikely to stick around and read large chunks of text. Break them up with professional imagery, text-based graphics and links, to keep your campaign engaging.

If you’ve got a larger product offering, it might be worth creating a product catalogue at the end of each send – so recipients can easily see your new/bestselling product lines. 

 

Here’s an example of a simple product catalogue by Monki, which allows recipients to browse a portion of the product offering before clicking to view the site.

 

To make your sends more dynamic, consider creating GIFs that flicks between images, or simple animated graphics featuring moving objects. 

These may take more time to create, but they could be a great way to elevate your campaigns and engage your audience.

 

Now we’ve gone through the essential elements you need for a good campaign – how can you get started on your email planning?

 

It’s definitely advisable to plan your email calendar in advance- for example, planning the month ahead each month, or even the next few months.

 

Campaign planning

Now Black Friday’s coming up, it’s more important than ever to plan ahead to achieve a higher volume of sales. Email marketing is one key factor in the effort to engage customers and boost your conversions.

Decide how many campaigns you’d like to send out each week, and what you’ll include in each of them. If you’re building a business, we’d suggest at least 2 a week to gain an inbox presence. 

 

As part of the planning process, visualise what you want your emails’ layouts to look like, and what content you’d like to include.

 

We’d advise splitting your sends between sales-focussed campaigns and community-building campaigns. 

With the latter, prepare short blog-style articles that would interest your audience – whether that’s telling your brand story, discussing a subject of interest to your niche, or giving product-based advice. 

This is a great way to add value to your subscribers’ experience with your brand – making them more likely to purchase from you down the line.

For the remainder of your sends, focus on your products’ USPs (unique selling points) and features, and utilise persuasive, creative language to drive clicks and conversions on your site.

 

But when should you send emails for the highest click and conversion rates? Let’s find out…

 

 

Optimising your campaigns

By scheduling sends in advance, you can ensure you send out emails when your audience is most likely to open them, and buy from you. 

Consider your target audience’s lifestyles and habits – when are they going to be checking their inboxes, their phones, or working on their laptop? 

Target their lunch break, commute and after-work leisure time during the working week. Evenings are a particularly golden time for online purchases; your audience is often scrolling through their phone and catching up with their notifications after a busy day. 

 

 

With blog-style campaigns, consider when recipients will more likely commit to reading your content. Perhaps steer clear from later on in the evening, to avoid tired brains that don’t wish to commit to a longer read!

As you begin sending out campaigns, you can start paying attention to the analytics- when are more customers opening, clicking, converting from your campaigns? 

Send campaigns again at high-performing times for your audience, and test new times to see what the stats are like. 

 

Keep an eye on your CVR (conversation rate), open rate, click rate and recipient activity (What are they clicking on? What are they responding well to?)

 

 

We hope this helps as you begin your email marketing journey! 💪

 

However, if you’re needing expert help to get your email campaigns off the ground, you’ve come to the right place 🙌

Our team of marketing experts know their way around the entire process of making a high performing send, no matter the platform. 

We can help elevate your email content calendar to the next level, engaging your audiences and driving your sales.

 

Book a call in with us now, to discuss your strategy and goals – so we can get cracking on your content calendar ready for Black Friday 🚀

You’ll also be able to find out more about the other marketing services we offer, and how we could be the perfect growth partner for your brand.