Introduction

Email Marketing is not only low cost but has been around for 40 years and proven to be on of the most effective digital marketing strategies. According to (Anon, n.d.), Gary Thuerk started out the first email marketing in 1971 and resulted in $13 million in sales. The advisor of Forbes, (Haan, 2024) reported that there are 4.48 billion users worldwide and 83% of customers are happy to provide marketers with their data in exchange for receiving valuable information. As of December 2023, the (Department Statista Research, 2024)
approximately 52% of marketing professionals reported a twofold increase in the return on investment (ROI) from their email marketing campaigns.

3 Email Marketing Best Practices

The aim to of email marketing is to send targeted messages to engage audiences, promote products or services, and build customer relationships. As a result in following these best practices will boosts brand loyalty, sales, and engagement, making it a cost-effective way to nurture leads. To achieve the most from email marketing, below are the few best practices are recommended.

With email segmented campaigns, 90% of marketers reported to have an increase of 33% increase of customer lifetime value (Sabag, 2023). (Holovach, 2024) reported to have an increase of 50% higher click-through rates and 82% increased in open rate. Segmenting email list is key to boosting engagement and conversions. Categorizing recipients by demographics, behaviour, or preferences helps tailor messages to their interests.

Creating a compelling subject line is essential to the email’s first impressions. An attractive subject line will determine if the user opening it or deleting it. Research suggests that subject lines with 6-10 words have the highest open rates, while overly lengthy or vague lines can reduce engagement (Campaign Monitor, 2019). Include words, personalized elements like the recipient’s name, or numbers to signify urgency can increase open rates. However, A/B testing is key to identifying what works best for your audience (Le, 2021).

Some marketers believed that more information is always better, but overloading your audience can overwhelm them and lead to a loss of interest. Marketers should determine the goal for the email, whether to drive traffic, improve customer retention or increase sales. Craft a single-minded message that target specific audience based on using customer data (How to craft email content people care about, n.d.). Personalised email message ensures that content is relevant to the audience that they may not only benefit themselves but could encourage social sharing and engagement (MacDonald, 2024).

3 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

A report by (Sumark, 2024) highlights that poor email list management can reduce deliverability rates by up to 20%, underscoring the importance of ongoing list hygiene practices. Sending emails to inactive, unverified, or unsubscribed recipients can increase bounce rates and hurt your sender reputation. These issues lead to reduced email deliverability and higher chances of being flagged as spam. On the contrary, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is responsible for enforcing the Spam Act 2003, which regulates unsolicited electronic communications in Australia (ACMA, 2024). The law aims to protect individuals and businesses from unwanted spam emails, SMS, and other digital messages. It requires businesses to obtain consent before sending marketing messages, provide clear sender identification, and include an option for recipients to unsubscribe. Ensure successful email campaigns by regularly audit email list, using a double opt-in method to confirm and verify subscribers’ email, and employ re-engagement campaigns to reconnect with inactive users.

According to (Vision6, 2023) astudy, 59% of consumers say they unsubscribe from brands due to receiving too many emails, emphasizing the need for mindful frequency management. Overloading subscribers with frequent emails can lead to frustration, reduced engagement, and increased unsubscribe rates. While regular communication is essential, excessive emails risk alienating even the most loyal customers. To retain subscribers, marketers should establish a balanced email frequency based on audience preferences, providing subscribers option to customize receiving emails, and focusing on delivering value in every email.

Marketers missed out on revenue increase as much as 760% according to (Arsenault, 2023) when email is not personalised. Common mistake marketers make includes lack of unified customer database, inability to maintain segments and email unable to evaluate customer data to personalised content. These obstacles can be solve by maintain a unified database exclusively for email personalization, using a simple email segmentation scheme, and allow email software to handle subscriber segmentations and let it automate the process efficiently.

Conclusion

Email marketing is a powerful tool for building relationships and driving growth. Adopting best practices like audience segmentation, compelling subject lines, valuable content, mobile optimization, and A/B testing enhances engagement and ROI.

Equally, avoiding pitfalls like poor list hygiene, excessive emails, and lack of personalization is vital to maintain effectiveness. Balancing best practices with mistake avoidance ensures relevant, value-driven campaigns that drive results and sustainable growth.

References

ACMA. (2024, November 29). Australian Communications and Media Authority. Retrieved from Dealing with spam: https://www.acma.gov.au/dealing-with-spam#what-we-can-and-can%E2%80%99t-do

Anon. (n.d.). How Email Marketing Started. Retrieved from Campaign Monitor: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/knowledge-base/when-did-email-marketing-start/.

Arsenault, M. (2023, march 6). 7 Email Personalization Examples + Best Practices. Retrieved from Rejoiner: https://www.rejoiner.com/resources/email-personalization

Campaign Monitor. (2019). How to Be an Email Subject Line Superhero. Retrieved from Campaign Monitor: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/email-subject-lines-superhero/

Department Statista Research. (2024, Febuary 20). ROI improve rates in e-mail marketing campaigns worldwide 2023. Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1376015/email-roi-improve-rates/

Haan, K. (2024). 49 Email Marketing Statistics in 2024. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/email-marketing-statistics/

Holovach, H. (2024, November 1). 101+ Email Marketing Statistics You Should Know In 2024. Retrieved from Snov: https://snov.io/blog/email-marketing-statistics/

How to craft email content people care about. (n.d.). Retrieved from Mailerlite: https://www.mailerlite.com/ultimate-guide-to-email-marketing/content

Le, M. (2021, June 14). How to set yourself up for A/B testing success. Retrieved from Litmus: https://www.litmus.com/blog/ab-testing-foundation

MacDonald, S. (2024, March 29). Email marketing: 7 Unique strategies (backed by research). Retrieved from Superoffice: https://www.superoffice.com/blog/email-marketing-strategy/

Sabag, Y. (2023, July 4). The Power of Segmentation for Marketing Campaigns: The Ultimate Customer LTV Booster. Retrieved from Optimove: https://www.optimove.com/blog/understanding-the-power-of-segmentation-for-marketing-campaigns

Sumark, J. (2024, March 23). Email List Hygiene: 5 Tips to Keep Your Lists Squeaky Clean. Retrieved from SendGrid: https://sendgrid.com/en-us/blog/email-list-hygiene-5-tips

Vision6. (2023). Why an Unsubscribe Email Message Matters More Than You Think. Retrieved from Vision6: https://www.vision6.com.au/blog/why-an-unsubscribe-email-message-matters-more-than-you-think

Why an Unsubscribe Email Message Matters More Than You Think. (2023). Retrieved from Vision6: https://www.vision6.com.au/blog/why-an-unsubscribe-email-message-matters-more-than-you-think