Best Email Marketing Practices for 2022

Email remains to be a crucial marketing channel for small businesses. In fact, Forbes considers it as the most powerful tool you can use to promote your products and services and grow your company.  

It’s probably because this method continues to deliver the highest ROI ($42 per dollar spent) of all the different marketing channels available today.  

As your go-to SEO company in West Palm Beach, we believe that email marketing deserves a central spot in your overall marketing plan next year.  

But, before finalizing how you’re going to use email to lure your prospects to convert and get your customers to buy from you again, take note of these email marketing best practices.  

Email Marketing Practices to Grow and Innovate Your Business This 2022

Most of the trends that played a huge role in the development of email marketing in 2021 will continue to shape email campaigns next year. Some of these are related to trends, while others are basic email best practices that you should prioritize in any case.  

1. Simplify Your Email Design

Before you start planning for your email campaigns next year, try to declutter and optimize your email designs first.  

Why is it important to simplify your email templates?

People are constantly bombarded with all sorts of marketing materials from left to right, including emails. In fact, it is estimated that around 121 business emails are sent and received per day.  

In this era of unlimited distractions, simple designs keep winning people over. It’s likely because simple email designs are short and sweet. They get to the point immediately.  

Don’t get us wrong though, simple doesn’t necessarily mean minimalist. You can still use flashy graphics, animations, and write wordy newsletters to engage your email list. Just make sure that you only use one or a few elements to keep your readers focused and avoid distracting them.  

Here’s how you can optimize your email templates:

• Get rid of any unnecessary visuals, text, or graphics that will distract your recipients from doing what you want them to do.

• Utilize white space to lead your readers from one element to another.  
• Use one image only to help you deliver a clear message to your recipients.  
• Your layout should have structure so your readers can follow through with your emails easily.  
• Focus on the purpose of your email to make your campaigns more effective. Don’t try to jam different goals in one email.  

If the goal of your email is to generate more traffic, design it in a way that will make your readers want to visit your site. Don’t include other CTAs or links that will distract them from doing what you want.  

2. Be Transparent

Consumers want more control over their data. That is why Apple has released a new privacy update and Google is considering getting rid of its third-party cookies to give users the power to decide to whom they'll entrust their data.  

Because of this, transparency will be a major thing next year. People want brands they support to be honest with them, including how they’re gonna get email addresses.  

So, don’t be sneaky and try to get people’s emails without asking them first. Always ask for their permission and let them opt-in to your emails if they’d like to receive promotional materials. You can even let them indicate which types of email they wish to receive and how frequently they want to hear from you.

Those who are really interested in your brand won't mind filling out a short form to get your newsletters. If you choose to be dishonest, however, you risk alienating your audience, getting flagged as spam, and damaging the image of your brand.  

3. Focus on Being More Inclusive

Aside from being transparent and genuine with your audience, you also need to be more inclusive.  

Take a stand on social issues and stop being silent. Doing so can boost customer loyalty and help drive sales.  

Research shows that 76% of people are more loyal to brands that promote diversity and inclusion and prefer to buy from them. They feel more connected and they can easily identify themselves with brands they share the same beliefs with.  

If you truly are for inclusivity and equality, then your marketing materials should reflect the beauty of diversity.  

Do your visuals represent all people? Are you using stereotyped language? You have to assess the content of your emails and try to communicate diversity and inclusion through them.  

4. Include Free Content in Your Emails

According to Bluewire Media, email click-through rates are three times higher when they include free content like templates, eBooks, and tools.  

This means that giving out discounts and rewarding your email list with free content aren’t just effective ways to attract leads and grow your subscriber list, but they can increase engagement too.  

If you’re wondering what types of content you should be giving out to your subscribers for free, you’ll have to test with your own list. As the leading SEO company in West Palm Beach, we suggest that you experiment to see which type of content your recipients are most responsive to.  

5. Leverage User-Generated Content

Many companies utilize user-generated content (UGC) in their websites to serve as social proof. They can help you build trust, establish a connection, and engage your subscribers.  

Olapic, a visual content platform, revealed that businesses that incorporate UGC into their emails experience a 43% boost in click-through rates and a 2-3x increase in conversion rate.  

Unfortunately, not many leverage it through email marketing.  

UGC is unpaid content created by your existing customers, fans, and most loyal followers. What makes them extremely effective in persuading people to convert or buy from you is the fact that UGCs are firsthand stories and experiences of real people - not celebrities or any endorsers - making them more believable.  

Another reason why UGCs work is because it helps transform your products or services into experiences.  

Remember that times have changed. What was considered as enough then (that a brand has great products, good pricing, and its products are readily available in most stores) no longer works for today’s modern consumers.  

For your prospects to choose you over your competitors, you must tell them what sets you apart. And, one of the best ways to do this is to showcase your customers’ success stories with your products or services.  

People don’t buy from you because they need your products, but because of the experiences, benefits, and cache that others have acquired by buying the same things.  

Here’s how you can incorporate UGC into your email marketing strategy this 2022:

• Ask for UGC once a customer has had the chance to learn about your product. You can automatically send out personalized emails with the exact product image and titles of the products they bought from you and ask for feedback or review.  
• Create a hashtag and invite people to post photos of them with your product. You can even take a step further by incentivizing your customers with a prize like a chance to be featured on your site or a one-year supply of their favorite product.  
• Create UGC-led recommendations to give your prospects insights about your customers’ most favorite products and help them decide what to buy.  

Using UGC in your emails also deems your brand to be trustworthy. It’ll be so much easier for you to convince your customers to buy if they can see the positive experience others have received by using your products and services.  

6. Automate Your Emails

Do you want your emails to be more effective in generating leads and converting them into customers this 2022? You better start automating your emails then!  

Behavioral emails or transactional emails enable you to send the right email to the right people at the right moment. They’re triggered by pre-defined behaviors, actions, events, and other signals.  

For example, if a prospect signs up for your email newsletter, you can send them a welcome email series. This presents an opportunity to introduce your brand, show people how you can help, build familiarity over time, and even make a sale.  

Welcome emails have twice more click-through and open rates compared to any other emails. That’s because a prospect who just recently converted into a subscriber is at their peak interest - they trust your brand and want your content.  

Based on years of experience as an SEO company in West Palm Beach, we can say that setting automatic email responses is one of the best ways to get your subscribers to engage and interact with your emails.  

Stay Ahead of Your Competitors this 2022 With Email Marketing

Email marketing remains an integral tool for small businesses to grow this 2022. So, step up your email marketing strategy next year to ensure that you stay ahead of the curve.  

Use the tips we shared above to help you finalize your email marketing strategy for next year. By automating your emails, using UGC, giving out free content, being more inclusive and transparent, and simplifying your email designs, we’re confident that you can put yourself ahead of your competitors.  

Digital Resource is an SEO company in West Palm Beach. We specialize in digital marketing, including SEO and email marketing. If you're not getting the kind of results you expect from your current email marketing efforts, don't hesitate to reach out to us.  

Our team of digital marketing experts can craft a custom email content plan that will help you achieve business goals. Contact us today to get ahead!

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