While choosing a strategy for creating an online shop or developing online sales, considering e-mail marketing one of the most effective channels is necessary. Thus, with the help of effective email marketing tools, it is possible to make audience networks stronger, more active, and potentially converting-oriented. 

But what if you could leverage the full potential of the ordinarily deemed ‘boring’ email marketing tactics? That is the beauty of email marketing hacks. These subtle trickery and good practices extend to the next level and are targeted at making the emails as unique, catchy, and appealing to the audience as possible.

Seven rules for the effective use of email marketing to increase the turnover of an e-commerce business are described in this article. Read on!

Email Marketing Hack #1: Getting Personal to the Next Level

Being personal is a great way to catch people’s attention and remove all the information noise. It is about crafting messages in the size of emails that seem as if they were personally composed for the recipient in question, raising engagement levels.

Why Personalization Matters:

• Relevance is King: Compared to bulk emails, personalized emails are much closer to what an individual is interested in, which will probably compel the person to open the email. Think about it: Would you not be more interested in an email about health insurance if you think you recently searched for it?
• Boosts Engagement: Personalization makes the brand non-threatening, which is important when making the customer feel close to the brand. Let’s approach it this way: Imagine a person of yours receiving an email with a suggestion of a new book they might like based on previous purchases—it means a lot to them.
• Drives Conversions: Often, a targeted and well-timed email specific to your customers and their interests will produce more sales than a mass email to all your customers. As a consumer, when a user is in love with a particular product or service, the journey to transition to the buying state becomes easier.

Examples of Effective Personalization Techniques:

• Go Beyond the Name: Ah, yes, greeting a customer by his or her name is okay, but don’t stop there. For instance, use previous purchasing habits, website visits, and/or deserted orders to recommend certain items or blog posts.
• Segment Your Audience: It is also important not to be hasty and not treat everyone the same way. Categorize the recipients depending on their age, buying habits, or the topics they are interested in. This can be used to send e-mail communications that contain information the selected customer niches are likely to be interested in.
• Dynamic Content: Employ methods linked to email advertising with tools that involve dynamic content. Such tools automatically add customized segments, such as product suggestions, alerts on carts, or reminders about a customer’s birthday, depending on the information a business gathers about that client.

Tools and Software for Automation:

There is a plethora of options available; many of the email marketing tools have integrated personalization options. Here are some examples:

• Mailchimp: This service allows users to use merge tags in messages to set up individual greetings and recommend certain products.
• Klaviyo: Focused on eCommerce marketing with superior segmentation and evaluation options.
• HubSpot offers a solid marketing automation tool with an opportunity to further utilize workspaces and components for dynamic content and personalization.

Hack 2: Segment Your Email List – Tailor Your Message, Maximize Impact

Picture yourself explaining the benefits of the new camping equipment to a man who recently purchased a new blender. Yeah, not quite? A recipe for success, if you will? To accomplish this, let me introduce this email marketing hack to you.

It sorts out your entire mailing list according to information filters to create subgroups with shared attributes. These messages connect with each segment better because they are more likely to have higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

Benefits of Segmentation:

• Increased Open Rates: When messages are received and opened more frequently, the targets are individuals interested in the content of the emails. That is why segmented emails seem more engaging than simple, general mailing lists, as they aim to provide consumers with a solution to definite needs and interests.
• Targeted Messaging: This includes dividing the audience into different segments so that you can work on the targeted sending of the message. Rather than mailing a broad message to the receiver, you can pinpoint the items that are more likely to interest each segment.
• Improved Customer Experience: Targeted emails prove that you respect the individuality of your customers’ client base. This prolonged experience helps the business cherish the value and loyalty of customers.
• Boosted Engagement: And yes, it may sound counterintuitive, but instead of bombarding customers with messages that they don’t care about, those that are genuinely interesting mean that they are more likely to navigate through to your website and interact with your brand.

Criteria for Segmentation:

There are many ways to segment your email list, but some of the most effective criteria include:

• Demographics: For instance, you can subdivide by age, gender, or location to communicate a specific message depending on a recipient’s category.
• Purchase History: Divide consumers according to the items they have bought and then offer similar products or an upgrade/similar/additional purchase.
• Browsing Behavior: Analyse website tracking data to identify the critical products customers have previously viewed and refine the later segments by their browsing profiles.
• Customer Behavior: Within the subscribers’ list, segments by their activity, such as their open rates, click-through rates, or visits to the company’s website, tailor messages to interested, re-activated, or passive customers.
• Sign-up Source: Specify and divide your consumers by how they subscribed to your list (for example, the newsletter subscription and abandoned cart) to call them or offer special promotions.

Step-by-Step Guide to Segmentation:

• Identify Your Goals: Starting with email marketing goals involves identifying what needs to be achieved through the marketing emails. This will assist you in understanding which criteria are most helpful when it comes to segmentation.
• Gather Customer Data: Use your information about your customer, such as demographic information, purchase patterns, and website usage.
• Choose Your Segmentation Method: Choose the method closest to your goals and your data.
• Segment Your List: For the segmentation part, you should employ the features of your email marketing platform or service and create separate sub-lists using the criteria specified.
• Create Targeted Emails: Build a corporate email strategy that corresponds to each segment, meets their needs, and engages their interests.

Hack 3: Magnetic Headlines

Thus, the subject line is the first and possibly the sole source of the first impression in the customer’s mailbox, as I have given below. It’s the element that draws prospects into the email since they are attracted to the title. A poor subject line sends users to the bin, while a good one directs them to your message, offers, or sales.

Why a Strong Subject Line Matters:

• The Attention Grabber: As more frozen messages reach their destinations, the subject line’s urgency to get the client’s attention is high.
• Sets the Tone: The subject line of your email is the first thing the recipient notices, so it plays an important role in the overall outlook of your message. It could generate curiosity, foster timely expectations, or even notify/ remind the reader of the content.
• Impacts Open Rates: The research demonstrates that high-quality subject lines also increase open rates more than traditional approaches. Even one or two sparklers can make readers open your email and read further deeper into it.

Tips for Writing Engaging Subject Lines:

• Keep it Short and Sweet: Ideally, the subject line should not extend beyond 50 characters because, on some devices, the entire line shows.
• Use Power Words: Use words that create passion, curiosity, or a sense of the timely (e.g… “Hurry up, limited offer,” “You don’t wanna’ miss this,” “The ultimate key to. .”).
• Personalize When Possible: Make the subject line specific to attract the recipient’s attention (for example, use the product title: “Your new hiking boots are here”) and, if possible, add a personal touch by using the recipient’s name or previous purchase history.
• Ask a Question: An appealing question in an email’s opening line can make the users want to open the email and get an answer.
• Create a Sense of Urgency: Feature countdown timers, product stock-outs, or next-hour/next-day special sales to give buyers an impression that the deals are temporary and should be taken advantage of promptly.
• Test and Analyze: You can occasionally try out new subject headings and then compare your open rates with those of prior messages.

Examples of Successful Subject Lines:

• Urgency: “Last Chance! 50% off ends tonight!“
• Curiosity: The question may sound trivial, but more often than not, it’s relatively straightforward. We have the answer!“
• Personalization: “[Name], maybe you will enjoy this given your browsing history, though I did come across some articles that I thought you might find interesting. ”“
• Benefit-Driven: Use fitness trackers 20% off to upgrade your workout routine with perfect health tips!“
• Question: If you’ve ever felt like, ‘Oh my God, I am just so bored with myself, and everything is just the same,’ it likely means that you’re in a style rut. We can help!“

Hack 4: Optimize for Mobile – Reach Your Audience Wherever They Are

It has hardly been some time since the focus was only on viewing emails on desktop devices. Smartphones dominate the contemporary world, and it is evident that most emails are being received and opened using smartphones. Here’s why optimizing your emails for mobile is important:

Mobile Email Landscape:

• Overwhelming Mobile Usage: Research done in this area reveals that approximately 60% of such emails are read using a mobile device. This implies that most of your audience is probably open and prefers reading your emails on their smartphones.
• Focus on the First Impression: This social media point also explains why small screens require little text and a single, obvious call to action. Among the main reasons why a user will delete your mail without even opening it is because the message is not properly aligned with the mobile platform.

Best Practices for Mobile-Friendly Email Design:

• Responsive Design is Key: Select email marketing services with designs that can adapt to small screens. This makes your email column format friendly for viewing on different devices, including big-screen computers, tablets, and mobile phones.
• Keep it Concise: It is worth remembering that mobile users are not nearly as patient as computer-bound individuals. Now, copy and paste your message onto the Facebook input bar and immediately re-examine your content: Avoid long paragraphs and complex sentences, and use bullet points if possible.
• Large, Clear Call to Action (CTA): Ensure that the navigational buttons such as ‘Shop Now,’ ‘Learn More,’ or ‘Sign Up Today’ are large and touch-friendly on touch devices.
• Single-Column Layout: Choose the ‘one column’ rendering option and place the content on the page above another to make it easily accessible on handheld devices.
• Preheader Text Matters: The preheader text is the short text that appears right below the message’s subject line in personal inboxes. Employ it wisely so people will want to read the content and understand your email.

Tools for Testing Email Responsiveness:

virtually all the email marketing solution providers provide you with test modes of e-mail on various devices, including mobile.

Here are some additional options:

• Litmus: The tool, used by millions of users, can help to test email messages for their delivery and behavior on different devices and clients.
• Email on Acid is another strong tool for checking the email design and its adequacy for all platforms on which it will be displayed.
• Google Inbox Tester: This tool, part of Google, helps users evaluate how their email looks when opened in Gmail on a desktop and a mobile device.

Hack 5: Utilize A/B Testing – Continuously Refine Your Strategy

It is important to remember that the fast-growing sphere of email marketing exists in a state of flux. Gone are the days when ‘think different’ was effective today and ineffective tomorrow.

That is where this email marketing hack, A/B testing, comes in. It is an efficient feature that enables a user to contrast between two different versions of a given email element and identify which receives higher engagement from the audience.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing is one of the most common methods of comparing the results of two campaigns. This method sends the tested email campaign to a small subsample of a regular email list. It enables you to try out different aspects of your campaigns, such as subject lines, CTA buttons, colorful email content, or even your sender identity.

Comparing the results of the two email versions with regard to the open rates, click-through rates, and actual conversion rates, you can determine which of the two gets a warmer welcome from the recipients.

Here’s how A/B testing benefits your email marketing strategy:

• Data-Driven Decisions: A/B testing takes the guesswork out of the equation regarding which experience consumers should have. It offers information on which components are most appreciated by your audience to help you refine the content of your emails and maximize positive outcomes.
• Continuous Improvement: The beauty of A/B testing is that it is a dynamic process that can be run constantly. It reminds you of the various parts of an email and allows you to alter parts of the email campaign to achieve optimum engagement and conversion rates whenever necessary.
• Increased ROI: Thus, the increase of ROI from your amusing email is achievable by improving the performance of the emails sent out to your target clients.

Elements to Test in Your Emails:

• Subject Lines: Experiment with different headlines to discover which ones generate interest in your target audience and increase opening frequency.
• Call to Action (CTA): Customize the CTA button’s location, text, and color and check which position increases the chances of people clicking on it.
• Email Content: Experiment with message lengths and layouts, as well as the email content’s humorous or highly professional demeanor.
• Sender Name: It may be important to test varying sender names to see whether the participation of a familiar first name (e.g., Your Company’s CEO) or a universally recognized brand name will work much better.
• Images & Design: Experiment with various image formats, image locations, and the overall look and feel of the email to determine what types of images your audience will find most engaging and, therefore, optimize your chances of getting more engagement.

How to Analyze A/B Test Results and Implement Findings:

When your A/B test is done, review the differential to determine which version was more effective. Awards can be given based on figures such as overall open rate, click-through rates, and conversion rates to determine the undisputed champ.

Here’s how to implement your findings:

• Roll out the Winning Version: After finding out which version generates the most excellent results, submit the outstanding email to the remaining list of subscribers.
• Test Continuously: Multiple witnesses also showed how weak it is not to have extra tests other than one. I have learned that A/B testing is an ongoing process. Choose one of the elements and then try to alter it slowly to see better results in your email marketing campaign.
• Track Long-Term Results: Make it a practice of checking how your campaign’s general email marketing KPIs are changing due to A/B testing over the weeks and months.

Hack 6: Leverage Automation for Drip Campaigns

Think about cultivating a category of potential customers to whom you could gradually send emails to bring them to the intended sales stage. That is how drip campaigns work hand in hand and produce the intended results.

These follow-up e-mails are characterized by their ability to convey specific messages upon notification of particular actions or events by the users and are instrumental in building relationships and nurturing leads into premium customers.

Drip campaigns are what? Why is it effective?

Drip campaigns are a series of marketing emails sent to consumers at set intervals with the intention of distributing content over a specific amount of time. Unlike single one-shot emails, like holiday or back-to-school offers, that only inform customers about a given offer, drip campaigns engage leads by providing value-added information, answering questions, and addressing the concerns of customers at certain stages of the buying process.

Here’s how drip campaigns benefit your e-commerce business:

• Automated Nurturing: Drip campaigns take care of the nurturing process of leads, meaning they will not require your time and attention.
• Personalized Communication: It is also possible to target specifically tailored drip campaigns depending on the usage/buying pattern or even the preferences of the end users, thus guaranteeing that the content will be highly relevant.
• Improved Customer Journey: Drip campaigns help potential buyers and customers make essential purchases throughout the buyer’s journey.
• Increased Sales and Engagement: Drip campaigns are particularly beneficial in increasing sales, given their value in establishing and maintaining contacts.

Examples of Effective Drip Campaigns:

• Welcome Series: A sequence of mass emails sent to new subscribers designed to welcome the recipient to your brand, advertise your product or service and offer a rebate or a choice of a special offer for their first order.
• Cart Abandonment: Customers receive and read Floated emails when they abandon their shopping cart. Sometimes, these emails only bring their attention to the things they left on the website; sometimes, they offer them a discount or directly pressure them to complete the purchase; other times, they try to help them if they face any issues.
• Post-Purchase: Mailers sent after a customer purchases a certain good or service. The emails can express gratitude for their patronage, suggest future purchases related to an item already bought, or give general guidance on how to use the purchased item.
• Win-back Campaigns: Communications forwarded to users who have not responded for a long time to remind them to use your products or services. These emails may be in the form of special promo offers, new products they might introduce to their list of products they sell, or even a reminder of the kind of value you bring to their table.

Hack 7: Integrate Social Proof – Build Trust and Boost Conversions

Various people within a community, such as friends, relatives, or colleagues, have significant impacts on influencing the behavior of others in making their purchases. This technique involves using reviews from other people to sell your products and gain the trust of clients. Customers tend to be more loyal and receptive when the company is well-known and has given satisfactory results to its consumers.

Power of Social Proof:

• Reduced Risk Perception: Social proof also plays a useful role in reducing the perceived risk associated with the use/consumption of a new product or a service. Such feedback and endorsements build confidence in new customers’ purchasing decisions since they demonstrate that the products offered are genuine and valuable.
• Increased Credibility: Word of mouth is a more powerful tool than an advertisement since it gives the brand credibility when people like the one seen in an advertisement recommend it. Social proof positively displays the relatability of your brand while reassuring undecided consumers.
• Influences Decision Making: More so, social proof can be broadly said to fall under social influence. When people see others having the experience they want themselves or imagine themselves, it can also help them make a purchase decision unconsciously.

Ways to Incorporate Social Proof in Emails:

• Customer Reviews and Testimonials: To enhance the chances of succumbing to your emails, include positive customer experiences in your emails. Point out quotes that touch on some of the problems your product or service will solve for the customer or that signify their general happiness with your offering.
• User-Generated Content: Use photos or videos from your real customers captured through a hashtag or a contest while using the product. It appears less like a marketing message and more like real-life interactions compared to most conventional corporate communications.
• Social Proof Statistics: A section that presents statistical or numerical performance indicators is appropriate for a brand’s success. These indicators could include the number of satisfied customers, articles published in the media, or awards offered to the company.
• Case Studies: Explore and present other examples of how your products or services could benefit customers and help them reach their target. Testimonials are practical demonstrations of how your products/services could benefit the potential customers you have in mind.

Examples of Emails with Effective Social Proof:

• Subject Line: “Have you read it?” This subject line should be specific and intriguing to encourage people to open the email. It may include a message that says, “See what others are saying about [Your Product]!” which appeals to social proof.
• Email Body: “It’s gratifying to see the success stories of our customers when they use [Your Product]! This is what Sarah has to say: ‘Once I started using [Your Product], I benefited from [positive outcome]. ’”
• Email Body: “Over 10,000 happy customers trust [Your Brand]!” This example is another direct appeal to reason, where the goal is to convince the client that many people have benefited from your brand and should do the same.

The next step is to use social proof in your emails; you can persuade your clients to purchase from your store by…

Using social proof to reduce perceived risks Hence, by incorporating the five key elements into your business emails, you should be able to increase their trust and reduce perceived risks, hence generating more sales for your store.

Bonus Hack: Grow Your Email List with Popups and Forms

To be more precise, the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign largely depends on the list of prospects that receive your emails. So, now that you know how to work with your old subscribers and turn them into regular buyers, a logical question would be what to do with new subscribers and how to reach new people.

Popups and forms are important functions that may be used to generate successful leads and build an email list effectively.

How Popups and Forms Capture Leads:

• Targeted Calls to Action: Popups and forms offer direct call-to-action (CTA) options, such as signing up for your email list.
• Value Proposition: Provide a freebie relevant to their business, and in return, users give their email addresses; this may include coupons, samples, free download links, early access to new products, or even news about similar products.
• Engagement Opportunities: Leads are people who have an interest in a brand and are at one of the stages of the buyer journey; popups and forms can be used to engage them.