The BeBold Email Marketing Guide | Part 1: the settings

The BeBold Email Marketing Guide | Part 1: the settings

Drowning in overflowing inboxes and countless irrelevant newsletters? Time is precious, and you’re wondering if email marketing still holds value. Well, here’s the truth: Email marketing remains a vital component of Marketing Automation. When you send the right message, at the right time, through the right channels, amazing things happen! There’s just one condition: Your email needs to stand out.

Fear not! BeBold proudly presents the Email Marketing Guide, guiding you through all the essential steps. Today, we dive into the settings of your email. Let’s make your emails shine!

The sender name

When it comes to the sender name in emails, it’s crucial to follow the unwritten rules based on your target audience, be it B2B or B2C. But no matter the case, three requirements always stand strong: Recognizability, Reliability, and Consistency. Let’s delve into each of these requirements and uncover their importance.

1. Recognition

Picture this: You receive an email from a sender you’ve never heard of before. What are the chances you toss it straight into the bin? Bingo! Pretty high, right? That’s why we strongly recommend avoiding emails sent directly from unknown employees. Your recipient might have no clue who they are.

Instead, opt for a more personal approach, especially when aiming to build one-to-one relationships like in customer service. The key is to ensure your receiver knows who you are. Double-check this vital detail every time. Stay recognizable and make meaningful connections!

2. Reliability

In today’s world of phishing and cybercrime, we’re extra cautious when it comes to unfamiliar emails. Instantly, we decide if someone is trustworthy or not. That’s why it’s absolutely crucial to make your sender name appear professional and genuine.

And guess what? The same applies to your sender address. A branded email address exudes confidence and makes you that shining ray all email providers adore. Let’s radiate trustworthiness and stand out from the crowd!

3. Consistency

And finally, the golden rule: Be consistent! This applies to both your sender name and sender address. If you frequently change names or email addresses, or resort to freemail providers like Gmail or Outlook, you risk losing recognition and reliability. By maintaining consistency, your recipient’s confidence and recognition steadily grow.

Still not sure? Give A/B testing a shot. It allows you to quickly identify what works best, enabling you to stick with it. And one more thing – please, avoid using a noreply@ email address. It sends a message that questions or feedback aren’t important enough for a real inbox. Let’s not lose any points here. Bid farewell to noreply@ and start fostering genuine customer relationships. Here’s what not to do: an email from Karen D. – karen-dieleman-123@gmail.com. Or, equally unfavorable, the noreply@company-name.be. Instead, opt for this: an email from Karen at BeBold – karen@bebold.digital. Stay consistent, stay bold!

The subject of your email

Summarise your email as concisely as humanly possible in the subject line of your email. We’ve listed 7 best practices to help you write a smashing subject line for a successful email marketing:

Number 1

The amount of characters in your subject line is sadly not unlimited. Depending on the email client, you’ll get 50 to 60 characters that are fully visible. So, keep it brief!

Number 2

Stand out from the crowd by using personalization and addressing your contact by his first name. If your industry allows it, experiment with emojis and bright colors to catch the eye even more.

Number 3

Does your newsletter or company provide a solution to a specific problem? Then make sure to address that problem in your subject line. Ask a question that your ideal customer will enthusiastically answer with a resounding “Yes, I do!” Just be cautious not to give off any “Tel Sell” vibes in your subject line. Let’s be real, who actually believes that stuff? Stay authentic and captivating!

Number 4

“DON’T MISS OUT!! SAVE €€€ on OUR NEW COLLECTION!!!” You’d think this captivating subject line deserves all the success, right? Well, this spammy approach does more harm than good, landing your emails straight in the spam folder. Let’s steer clear of that and focus on building genuine engagement instead.

Number 5

Another strategy is shock or confusion. This piques your contact’s curiosity and will make them open your email asap. However, don’t take it too far, you don’t want your words to be empty promises. Always make sure you offer at least some value.

Number 6

When you want to send someone the exact same email as a reminder, always adjust your subject line. Not only because the first one obviously didn’t work, but also because the same emails are grouped into one conversation and are linked to the previous email.

Number 7

There is no such thing as one perfect subject line. Experiment with different possibilities through A/B testing and see what works best for your company.

The preview text of your email

The preview, located just below the subject line, offers a sneak peek of your email to potential readers. Its length ranges from 35 to 120 characters, depending on the subject line, email provider, and device. On certain mobile devices, you might get a little extra space. It’s not much, but it’s valuable real estate. So, seize the opportunity to showcase your email’s essence and entice readers to open it!

Here’s what not to do: avoid using auto-generated preview text, which often defaults to “View this email in your browser.” Not very convincing, right? Also, refrain from simply copying your subject line as the preview. It’s quick but far less effective. Instead, sit down, take a breath, and craft a few enticing words specifically for the preview. Here’s what to do: kick off your preview with a compelling call-to-action and set clear expectations. And don’t forget to personalize the preview text using field merges and dynamic content.

The unsubscribe link in your email

Just like real-life relationships, email subscribers may want to part ways at times. As counterintuitive as it may seem, make unsubscribing a breeze. Otherwise, your newsletter risks being flagged as spam, which negatively impacts your reliability with email providers. And let’s be honest, being seen as unreliable is not what we’re aiming for.

Here’s what not to do: don’t hide or delete your unsubscribe link in some sneaky corner. Instead, do this: give your unsubscribe link a prominent, predictable spot in your newsletter, like the header or footer. Let’s foster transparency and respect subscriber choices.

Tracking your email

Tired of putting in all that effort without seeing results? Well, those days are over! It’s time to supercharge your newsletter by tagging each link with UTM parameters. These little tags provide Google Analytics with valuable information and insights about every link. This means you can track clicks, conduct in-depth analyses, and make informed decisions to take your newsletter to new heights.

Now, what exactly are UTM parameters, you ask? They’re tags that you add to your campaign links. Here are the most common ones for emails:

• UTM_source: this is the platform your clicks originate from. For email, this could be for example “marketo”, “eloqua” or “active campaign”.
• UTM_medium: this is the medium or carrier your website traffic originates from. For emails, this is simply “email”.
• UTM_campaign: this tag provides additional information about the campaign to which the link belongs. So, let’s say in January you’ll send out a newsletter including a presentation of your services. UTM_campaign could be “2021_january_introduction”.

When you use these, your link would look like this: https://bebold.digital/en/approach/?utm_source=eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021_january_introduction

GDPR

Ah, GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation. Those four letters have been sending shivers down marketers’ spines since May 2018. Why? Because now, you can only send marketing emails to people who have explicitly given you their consent.

Here’s what not to do: avoid sending mailings to every email address in your database. Instead, do this: ask for explicit consent through an opt-in. Yes, they need to tick that checkbox themselves for it to be explicit.

It may take some effort to get your email marketing settings all sorted, but trust us, it’s worth it. Your hard work will pay off!

In our next blog, we’re diving deep into the captivating realm of email design. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!