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Have you noticed an unexpected increase in open and click rates that does not correspond to a change in marketing incentives?

Or perhaps you’ve noticed a big number of unsubscribes for no apparent reason?

All of the following are likely symptoms of server-clicks skewing your response data, believe it or not. And if that’s a term you’ve never heard before, don’t worry; we’ll explain everything to you.

What exactly are server-clicks, and why are they used?

When the anti-spam filter of the receiving mail server examines the legitimacy and integrity of a possibly suspicious link in an email, it is known as a server-click, sometimes known as a bot-click, or a non-human interaction.

If Gmail’s anti-spam filters are dubious of your email, for example, they will click the links to make sure they aren’t harmful.

Only some links may be clicked by an anti-spam filter, or all links in an email may be clicked. The anti-spam filter may deliver the email to the inbox or mark it as spam based on these criteria.

While this is a useful service for keeping inboxes secure, it complicates reporting on email usage.

Because email service providers (ESPs) like Campaign Monitor provide open and click data, these server-clicks give the impression that the email was opened and clicked by a recipient when it was actually the anti-spam filter.

You may be hearing about server-clicks for the first time, but they are nothing new. Server-clicks are used by mail servers all around the world to protect against phishing attempts. Attacks that are becoming more common.

When anti-spam software tests the links in an incoming email, mailbox providers use different parameters. Some anti-spam filters use your sender reputation to evaluate whether or not a verification is required. Others, on the other hand, will examine all links included in an email sent from outside their company.

It’s crucial to highlight that this isn’t a problem exclusive to Campaign Monitor or any other email service provider. At some point, any email sender is likely to be affected by server-clicks.

Why am I only now learning about this and noticing an increase in server clicks?

Phishing assaults have become more common in recent years, both in terms of volume and prominence. As a result, worldwide security is being strengthened.

As spammers develop new ways to get through security settings, mailbox providers are under increasing pressure to make their inboxes as secure as possible.

What should I do if the number of opens, clicks, or unsubscribes increases dramatically?

If you feel that server clicks are skewing your email data, you can take a few short steps to assist remedy the problem.

Check to see if you’ve started linking to any new URLs. Files, link shorteners, and free online filter files all have the potential to cause issues.

Check the status of your to-do list. Sending to inactive or unengaged email addresses might tarnish your reputation as a sender. This is a bad practice for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is that anti-spam filters are more likely to flag you as a spam sender. Remove subscribers from your mailing lists if they stop reacting to your material.

What can I do to avoid this happening again in the future?

While there is no magic recipe for avoiding server-clicks, you can follow some best practices. The following are the top three things you can do to assist anti-spam filter servers trust you:

1. Request that your subscribers add your email address to their Safe Senders List.

A simple message in your subscribe form or welcome email reminding your subscribers to identify your email as safe will help a lot.

2. Only link to content housed on your own website.

Receiving mail servers favor links in emails that match the sending address’s domain. Furthermore, when you provide a link to another domain, you’re putting your faith in their reputation rather than your own.

3. Enable confirmed unsubscribe for all of your mailing lists.

This feature is available in Campaign Monitor for just such a scenario. Go here to find out how to activate confirmed unsubscribe.

Finally

Yes, server clicks are an inconvenient component of email marketing. This form of security and privacy precaution, on the other hand, is beneficial to people. And it’s not going away anytime soon.

As mailbox providers become more security-conscious, following sending best practices is crucial if you want to be included in their inbox.

It pays to look at what the pros are doing when it comes to creating effective welcome emails. Some of the greatest welcome emails in the industry have been shown to enhance engagement and establish trust.

These welcome email samples can be used to develop welcome email templates and effectively engage users right away. Continue reading for a list of the top designs and what makes them so special.

With their welcome email, Airbnb has the perfect idea—they go right to the point. Users aren’t only searching for a great-looking mail to impress them. They want to know how the company that created it can assist them. Whether or not they stay subscribed will be determined by this information.

Users can discover possibilities for choosing a house, touring and traveling, or even becoming a host, thanks to the ingeniously organized features. These elements are organized into parts and include actionable CTAs as well as photographs of people having fun. The visuals, text, and style all work together to show who the company is and what services they provide.

Asana recognizes that their software has a learning curve. The welcome email does not spend any time in assisting users in becoming familiar with the product. Take note of the copywriting as well. It’s short and sweet, and it reminds users that they’re part of the Asana family, emphasizing the product’s collaborative nature even more.

The three CTAs serve as basic “practice activities” for customers to familiarize themselves with the product. This also serves as a more focused way of bringing the FAQ or Help section to the user before they have to go searching for it.

In her welcome email, Kate Spade says something that many people wouldn’t expect. Appreciation is usually reserved for purchases, so thanking the subscriber for signing up may seem unusual. The background, which resembles an old-fashioned letter, adds a touch of personalization to the sense of heartfelt gratitude.

To top it off, Kate Spade expresses her gratitude by offering a discount. It’s a nice gesture in general, but for the purposes of this email, it shows the subscriber that the company doesn’t just say thank you; they show it with actions.

MOO, a company known for premium business cards, provides the final example. As soon as you open the email, you’ll notice that it has a nice design and a catchy color scheme.

It immediately provides links to their products, as well as ways to contact them or learn more about the company. This, combined with the strong opening that explains what you can expect, makes this the ideal welcome email in terms of copy and design.

Any of these emails could be used as inspiration or as a possible welcome email template to help your readers engage with your email list from the moment they sign up.

Finally

The process of engaging your audience begins with the signup form and continues with the welcome email and the content you send subscribers throughout their relationship with your company.

By following the tips in this post, you can create an engaging welcome email that hooks your subscribers from the start, and ensures your future emails get opened and acted on.

Want to increase your customer base? Increase your subscriber base first! The following seven tips will assist you in converting a greater percentage of your website visitors into subscribers.

Receiving 100,000 visits to your website can be an incredible feeling.

However, if your conversion rate is low, all that traffic will be in vain.

That is why it is critical to prioritize the conversion of your traffic into subscribers (and ultimately turning those subscribers into paying customers).

Therefore, how do you do it?

The following are seven strategies for converting website visitors to subscribers.

1. Create Quality Content to Match Search Intent

We are aware that Google evaluates the quality of webpages.

However, Google’s true objective is to show searchers the content that most closely matches (or answers) the searcher’s intent.

As a result, always create high-quality content that is relevant to the user’s intent.

This type of content will perform well in search engines and, more importantly, will drive targeted traffic to your website.

2. Use the Right CTA

The right call to action (CTA) can mean the difference between content that your visitors consume (whether it’s a video or a blog post) and content that results in your visitors taking the desired action.

You must establish value for your intended audience. With the right combination of engaging content and the ideal call to action, you can increase the number of visitors who become subscribers.

Then you’ll need to maintain trust and persuade your subscribers that your products or services are the best investment they can make.

3. Focus on Design for Subscriptions

Choosing an appropriate theme for your content is critical to attracting visitors and convincing them to subscribe.

Be inventive. Rather than strewing CTAs throughout, focus on one or two and let the design speak for itself.

Outrank Your Competitors in the SERPs for Your Target Keywords

4. Advertise Your Subscription: Solve Problems

The most effective content is unquestionably both helpful and useful.

Numerous people use Google to look for a solution to a problem or to educate themselves.

If your content successfully assists those individuals while also promoting a service or product you sell, you’ve struck gold with conversions.

Provide readers with a taste of how to solve a problem, but encourage them to subscribe for additional advice.

HubSpot is an expert in this area. They publish headlines that ostensibly solve a problem, giving you a taste of their solution, but then ask you to do something else (sign up for an e-book in their case, or subscribe to a newsletter in SEJ’s case).

5. Analyze Your Content

Once you’ve increased your subscriber base, avoid making a mistake! Ensure that you retain them.

Concentrate on your content.

Specifically, content analysis

Measuring the performance of the content you create will help you determine which methods or topics worked best and which to repeat in the future.

Email Marketing has a positive impact on SEO

Due to the fact that search engines do not rank individual emails, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not directly related with email marketing strategies. As a result of email marketing, though, your SEO results are improved because it drives potential buyers to your content.

Bounce rates can be reduced with email marketing since you have greater control over the quality of your visitors than with other methods. Visitors who have expressed an interest in your brand by subscribing to your email list are more likely to be engaged as a result. If visitors stay on your website for an extended period of time, it is more probable that they will convert, resulting in a higher rating for your website. It is ideal for a call to action that the emails are of a personal nature, and this is exactly what you should do. By putting your material in front of a targeted audience, you enhance the likelihood that each piece of your content will be re-tweeted, commented on, and shared on social media sites. In turn, this enhanced social presence benefits your search engine optimization (SEO).

Emails are one of the stepping stones that must be taken in order to build a positive brand reputation. More users are motivated to return to the website, which improves your site’s search engine optimization (SEO), and you are positioned as a reliable source of information as a result of high-quality content and traffic. According to a survey, one respondent stated that email content should be “especially and explicitly” relevant to them, and it was discovered that 38 percent of respondents choose to subscribe to email subscriptions from certain organizations because of the “relevance” of the content. Email marketing is a technique of directing high-quality visitors to your high-quality content, despite the fact that search engines are becoming increasingly adept at distinguishing great content from the rest of the herd.

Email marketing generates the highest Return on Investment for marketers because of its low cost

For every dollar invested on email marketing, $44 in return on investment is generated. This is due to the fact that email marketing allows businesses to send tailored communications to their subscribers. Customers who have little or no interest in the goods supplied are frequently targeted through mainstream advertising, which includes print, television, and other media, which advertises indiscriminately and frequently and thereby reaches the consumers. Due to the highly tailored and relevant delivery of messages via email, the engagement and, consequently, the conversion rate are both boosted. Status updates are given to followers regardless of their location, interests, or behavior, which is in contrast to social networking sites’ policies.

In terms of customer acquisition, email marketing outperforms both Facebook and Twitter by a factor of 40. Personalization and hyper-targeting enable emails to deliver the appropriate message to the right person at the right time, which is becoming increasingly important as consumers demand brands to know who they are and provide them with relevant material that is tailored to them. The use of email marketing, in conjunction with segmentation, allows you to communicate a compelling and persuasive message to your customers. Because social media is where people spend their time looking at short-form updates, memes, inspiring quotes, and photographs, email marketing has a wider reach and is particularly effective at delivering professional or commercial messaging to a big number of individuals. Because email marketing is more efficient than social media marketing in that it reaches 90 percent of your clients’ inboxes, as opposed to only 2 percent of your Facebook followers who will see your posts in their News Feed. This is due to the fact that by restricting the amount of times your postings display in the News Feed, Facebook is encouraging businesses to invest in sponsored advertising. The likelihood of receiving an email is 45 times greater than the likelihood of receiving an email on Facebook.

Building an email relationship with your target audience is a limited opportunity that is extremely competitive, and there is only so much time available. Because of this, it is critical to get email marketing correctly. For that relationship to come to an end, all it takes is for your consumer to make a single simple click and select “unsubscribe” from your mailing list.

So, how can you ensure that your email contact with your target audience will survive for a long time? Let’s take a look at what’s going on.

1. There is a lack of individualization

Email marketing in the modern era does not necessarily imply the creation of additional content or the distribution of an excessive number of emails. Better results can be achieved by more efficient workflows and sending a reduced volume of email messages just to the appropriate segmented lists of subscribers.

Don’t send from an email address marked as “Do Not Respond” – When you send an email from a No-Reply or DoNotReply email address, you come across as unwelcoming, uninviting, and unfriendly. Instead of choosing the latter option, it is critical to send your emails from a customized address that your subscribers can respond to, rather than a generic one. Incorporating social media profiles, phone numbers, websites, and other relevant information into the email footer can also be beneficial to the end viewer and foster a more open environment for communication.

Create List Segments – Segmenting your list is another crucial factor to keep in mind. One of the most common mistakes made in the early days of email was the failure to split mailing lists properly. These days, individuals are tired with generic one size fits all marketing, and they are more likely to interact with content that is tailored to their specific demographics, purchase habits, and previous activities. Despite the fact that roughly 94 percent of marketers agree that customization is a key component of email marketing strategies, only approximately 5 percent of businesses take advantage of this possibility. List segmentation, to put it bluntly, is something that everyone knows they should be doing, but only a small percentage of people actually carry out this step.

2. A bad reputation as a sender

Email deliverability and sender reputation are critical metrics that must be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure that emails are delivered. You may swiftly build these up and optimize your metrics, but you can also completely demolish them in a single second as a result of a poorly executed email marketing campaign.

When it comes to email analytics and monitoring, things may get difficult, but having clear benchmarks that represent best practices makes it a whole lot easier to make sense of the information. For example, email service providers consider a 95 percent delivery rate to be satisfactory. In general, bounce rates shouldn’t be more than 3 percent, and the recommended “safe-zone” for spam rates is in the range of 0.8-0.10 percent.

When it comes to improving your sender reputation and maintaining good metrics, sending high-value and quality emails is the most effective method of ensuring that your subscribers actually open them. All of the other best practices for email, deliverability, and sender reputation are technical in nature, and they are designed to help you make your campaigns appear authentic to computers, email service providers, and spam filters by making them appear legitimate to them. Nonetheless, your ultimate goal is to appear trustworthy and authentic to your subscribers, and providing relevant and enriching emails is the quickest and most effective approach to retain a positive sender reputation in the industry.

3. Emails that are very complicated

When it comes to email marketing, the key is to keep things as simple as possible. Try to keep your content focused on a single, resounding message that is directly related to your subject line. If you intend to include more offers in the email body, you can do so at a later time; nevertheless, it is vital to remember that the header section and introduction should be the primary focus of the email. Another key consideration is the speed with which pages load and their suitability for mobile devices. Emails that are too long and do not adapt frustrate the recipient, which has a negative impact on return on investment (ROI), open rates, engagement rates, and sales.

Every email should have a call to action that is clear and succinct. There are many different types of calls to actions that are effective for email marketing. Encouraging subscribers to make a purchase or asking them to follow a certain social media account are just a few examples. Avoid sending emails that do not contain a call to action, as this does not provide value to your audience and may be interpreted as spam by recipients.

4. The message has been marked as spam

Any emails that are marked as spam or phishing mail by one of your subscribers are automatically moved from the recipient’s inbox to their spam bin. This rule will be applied to all future emails, resulting in your subscriber no longer engaging with, opening, or reading any of your marketing emails in the future.

Don’t use words or characters that have been banned – Time spent learning about default spam filters and their search criteria (keywords, symbols, and email habits) is essential to any successful email marketing campaign. For example, some commonly used words and symbols that are extensively used but are also known to trigger spam filters are the terms “free” and “exclamation mark (!)”, which are particularly problematic when used in the subject line of an email. When the word “free” is used correctly and appropriately in context, it will not raise suspicion or cause your email to be labelled as spam. Just make sure you’ve done your study on what words or characters would set off these filters, as well as how to utilize them efficiently while avoiding concerns with Bulk or Spam mail.

5. Obtain User Consent

Another common blunder is failing to obtain marketing permissions before sending someone emails, particularly newsletters, which is a common occurrence. Surprisingly, email is the only method of marketing communication that, according to the law, requires the end-user or customer to provide their agreement to receive email messages. (Under the Can-Spam Act.) It’s pretty simple: there is only one correct (and legal) method of obtaining an email address, and that is to just ask for one!

Employing a clear unsubscribe button is important since consumers who subscribe to your emails will occasionally decide to unsubscribe after getting a few of them. This is not a problem as long as they are able to locate the button with ease! It should be as simple and straightforward as possible for your customers to unsubscribe from your marketing correspondence. If someone no longer want to receive your offers and material, hiding the unsubscribe link will not magically make them want to purchase your product or become a member of your ideal audience, as you may believe. In reality, these email behaviors are more likely than not to result in your account being blocked or reported as spam at some point.

The majority of marketers who use landing pages to make direct sales online are focused on conversion: driving as many visitors to the landing page as possible to make purchases.

Other internet marketers focus on not only conversion when writing landing page copy, but also on search engine optimization: keyword selection and meta tag creation, which can increase traffic by improving the site’s search engine rankings.

However, savvy online marketers are also concerned with a third performance metric: email address capture. If your conversion rate is 2%, this means that for every 100 visitors to your landing page, only two will make a purchase. What becomes of the remaining 98 visitors? You will not be able to add their email addresses to your list unless your landing page incorporates a deliberate methodology for capturing them.

Here are five methods for capturing the email addresses of non-converting landing page visitors. At the very least, each landing page you operate should include one.

1. Ezine Sign-Up Box

This is a box that allows visitors to sign up for a free enewsletter simply by entering their name and email address. While the prominent placement of an ezine sign-up box on the first screen is a common method of email capture for websites, it is less common for microsites and landing pages. That’s because if your headline and lead capture the visitor’s attention effectively, they won’t bother signing up—they’ll simply begin reading. Then, if they lose interest or scroll to the bottom but do not order, you have not captured their email address.

2. Squeeze Page

Squeeze pages, also known as preview pages, are brief landing pages that require visitors to register with their name and email address before proceeding to the long-copy landing page.

In some cases, the lengthy landing page is positioned as a “report” that visitors can access following registration. This strategy will only work if your landing page is written in an informative, educational tone. Numerous squeeze pages offer a value-added piece of content, such as a free report, in exchange for submitting your email address. Those looking to collect both snail mail and email addresses make the premium a physical item that must be shipped, such as a complimentary CD.

Squeeze pages are effective when organic and paid search traffic is your primary source of traffic. That is because search visitors to your site are only marginally qualified—they have chosen to visit based on a few words in a search engine description or a paid Google ad. As a result, they may be hesitant to read a large amount of copy from an unfamiliar source. A squeeze page condenses the essence of your proposition into a few succinct paragraphs.

The primary benefit of the squeeze page is that it ensures that you collect an email address from each visitor who reads the entire landing page. Additionally, they have been pre-qualified based on their interest in the subject and are therefore more likely to read the lengthy copy.

3. Email Capture Sidebar

These are forms that are integrated into the main landing page as sidebars, once again presenting a no-cost offer. The email capture sidebar typically appears early in a long-copy landing page, typically on the second or third screen, and may be repeated one or more times throughout the page.

The disadvantage of the email capture sidebar is that it is visible before the prospect has read all the way through the sales letter, and thus before you have finished selling them and requested the order. Thus, if your product teaches visitors how to speak French and the email capture sidebar offers a free French lesson, the visitor may choose the free offer over the paid one.

4. Pop-Under

When you attempt to exit the landing page without making a purchase, a window appears saying something along the lines of “Wait! Do not depart without claiming your complimentary bonus gift.”

The benefit of the pop-under is that it appears only after visitors have read to the point of leaving without ordering, and the free content offer does not compete with or distract visitors from the paid product offer. The drawback is that

Around 25% of internet users in the United States use pop-up blockers, and many of these blockers will prevent your pop-under from appearing.

5. Floater

A floater is similar to a pop-up window in appearance and functionality, but it is integrated into the HTML code of the landing page, and thus will not be blocked by a pop-up blocker. When you click on the site, the floater hides a portion of the landing page. You can enter your email address manually or by clicking the floater. Either action eliminates the floater and reveals the full landing page.

As you can see, each of these email capture methods offers some form of free content in exchange for your email address — typically a downloadable PDF report, an ecourse delivered via auto-responder, or an ezine subscription. However, be aware that the ever-changing Google algorithm penalizes sites with floaters because they prevent users from accessing the homepage until they click out.

Why would you want to maximize visitor email address capture on your websites? To begin, by sending these visitors an online conversion series — a series of emails delivered via auto-responder — you’ll have another opportunity to persuade them to purchase. Second, the best email marketing names are found on your house elist. The more quickly you can build a sizable email list, the more profitable your internet marketing endeavors will become.

The ability to stay connected with your customers is critical regardless of whether you are a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer — with or without a website, though one is increasingly important these days— or a company that specializes in e-commerce. For connecting with others, there’s always social media, but not everyone will see everything you post, leaving a lot of opportunity for customers to miss important details about your store, new product arrivals, and/or sales.

When it comes to reaching your customers, email marketing provides a far more reliable method of communicating with them. You can send newsletters on a regular basis to inform them of important news about your store and what’s going on in your business by sharing home improvement tips, blog posts, and other content that will resonate with your customers and entice them to visit your showroom.

In order to send out newsletters that are opened and connect with your customers, here are seven tasks to concentrate on:

1. Determine the frequency and timing of email communication

A study by moosend.com found that sending two to five campaigns per month is the best frequency (in terms of getting emails opened). This reduces the likelihood of campaigns ending up in subscribers’ trash cans and increases the likelihood of campaigns being delivered. An opt-in subscriber has placed their trust in you by providing you with their email address. Please do not spam their inbox.

The best open rates are achieved on Tuesdays at 10 a.m., according to internet search results. However, because this has been circulating for several years, inboxes are inundated on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. However, according to Moosend, the best time to do so is on Thursday between the hours of 8 and 9 a.m. You must, however, conduct tests and research to determine how your target audience behaves. Using email tracking, gather information and conduct experiments until you find the sweet spot. The importance of consistency cannot be overstated.

2. Establish a sense of trust

Instead of purchasing a list, compile your own list from scratch. This may take longer, but you will be certain of a targeted audience that is interested in engaging with your material. Maintaining good open rates requires adding contacts in a natural way. Lead magnets, such as freebies or discounts, can be used to get subscribers to sign up for your mailing list. Using the double opt-in method, which asks users to confirm their email address, will increase your conversion rate. It will have a favorable impact on the deliverability of emails. Last but not least, make it simple for your subscribers to unsubscribe from your mailing list. Unsubscribes are an important aspect of maintaining a “clean” email list. Unsubscribes should be simple, painless, and immediate in nature.

3. Provide convincing reasons for your recipients to open your email

Provide your subscribers with incentives or calls to action (CTAs) to encourage them to open and read your email message. Invest time in creating subject lines that will attract people’s attention and stand out from the rest of their inboxes. Because people are inundated with promotional emails, you must make yours stand out as “the one.”

4. Create visually appealing information and pictures

Establish your brand’s tone of voice to ensure that all interactions with subscribers are consistent across all touchpoints and channels. Then make certain that your email copy is valuable and precise, while also including actionable terminology that corresponds to your CTAs. Don’t exhaust your subscribers’ attention spans with long paragraphs of text. Make your correspondence as time-sensitive as possible where possible.

Make a strong case for the importance of clicking through to the CTA. By experimenting with different types of content, you can discover what connects the most with your audience. Finally, but certainly not least, make use of relevant, stunning, high-quality photography that is consistent with your brand. Images should be used to illustrate and reinforce your material, as well as to elicit an emotional response. Alt text should be included with your photographs in case any of your subscribers are visually handicapped or if your HTML does not render properly. Subscribers will receive a description of what the image would have looked like if it had been displayed.

5. Clearly state calls to action in your communications

Successful email marketing efforts inspire readers to take action on the information they have received. It’s critical that your subscribers understand what you want them to do when they receive your email. Incorporate a well-designed call-to-action seamlessly. The design and placement of call-to-action buttons are critical. Your call-to-actions (CTAs) should be prominent and easily accessible, particularly for subscribers using mobile devices. Make sure your primary call-to-action is visible above the fold.

6. Make your website mobile-friendly

According to a Campaign Monitor poll, during workdays, 53 percent of emails are opened on mobile devices; on vacations and weekends, 75 percent of emails are opened on mobile devices. Preview your document on a mobile device after using a mobile-friendly template.

7. Use A/B split testing to your advantage

Test your subject lines, preheader text, and the substance of your email — photos and prose, CTA boxes, and the tone and length of your email campaign — to see what resonates with your readers and what doesn’t. To ensure that this is effective, only test one item at a time so that you can identify exactly which items may require some tweaking.

There’s a reason why email marketing is one of the most valuable platforms in a digital marketer’s tool kit. It just works.

In 2019, there were 3.9 billion people using email globally. Experts predict this number will rise to 4.3 billion by 2023, roughly half of the world’s population. That kind of potential reach is pretty tough to beat.

Email audiences are also more engaged than other digital media platforms. The average email open rate is 21 percent , and the average open rate for a welcome email is 82 percent . Last but certainly not least, there’s the ROI. For every dollar you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $42.

In short, if you’re not leveraging email in your digital marketing strategy, you could be missing out on a massive growth opportunity for your business.

Quickly turn contacts into subscribers

Perhaps you send out a survey to gather input on a new product or service you are launching. Alternatively, you might have just conducted a workshop and gathered emails at the event. The process of entering all of those contacts into your email service provider might be a time-consuming chore, but Zaps can help you get things done in less time.

Automatically updating your email list from survey form entries, event attendee lists, or even a simple Google Sheet is made possible by the app connections shown below. Please double-check that your subscribers have given their approval to receive commercial communications from you before you include them on your list in order to comply with anti-spam and privacy laws.

Automate the segmentation of your email list

As you’ve probably observed for yourself, different types of email content will elicit different responses from different types of subscribers. Even though some people may choose to click on your promotional emails or download lead magnets, others may prefer to engage with your educational content instead.

That is why you should use segmentation to categorize your subscribers and organize them into different groups. Using this information, you can create and deliver personalized messages to each segment. Consider the following scenario: you might want to send different content to subscribers who have made a purchase as opposed to those who have just attended a webinar.

Manually dividing up your email list into different segments can be a time-consuming task, but you can automate the process by using Zapier to segment your list based on a variety of different actions. For example, you may build segments for new webinar sign-ups as well as for existing clients. Additionally, you can use a Zap to automatically update contacts in your email service provider based on segments you create in your CRM.

Remove the time-consuming tasks associated with lead nurturing

Once you’ve segmented your list, you’ll want to make sure that you’re following up with them as soon as possible with relevant information to help them make informed decisions. A full-time job in and of itself would be required to send targeted, timely emails to hundreds or even thousands of subscribers without the use of software automation.

Dribble campaigns, which are automated email messages sent out on a schedule or in response to triggers or activities the person has taken, such as signing up for your service or making a purchase, can help you save time and money. By connecting your apps with your email sequences, you can speed up the process even further. Zapier is a tool that can help you do this.

Add or update HubSpot contacts with new unsubscribed Mailchimp users

Want to identify who is and isn’t part of your marketing efforts from within your CRM? Use this Mailchimp-HubSpot integration, and Zapier will keep up with those Mailchimp unsubscriptions for you. Whenever someone unsubscribes from your Mailchimp list, this connection will automatically update the related contact on HubSpot CRM (or create a new one), saving you the trouble of having to do so manually every time.

Email marketing is one of the most successful marketing channels available today. By establishing a direct line of communication with your target customers, you can utilize tools like as segmentation and drip campaigns to give relevant information to the appropriate individuals at the appropriate time. Furthermore, by connecting your email marketing with other tools in your marketing toolbox, you may add even more fuel to the fire.

2020’s upheaval signals the need to re-establish solid foundations with our audiences. Rather than focusing exclusively on a single vanity metric, we recommend taking a holistic view of your audience and marketing strategies in order to end 2021 with a strong, engaged list of brand evangelists.

1. Know where you stand

How can you know what to improve if you are unfamiliar with your own numbers? Rather than relying on external experts to tell you which metrics to prioritize this year, conduct a deep dive into your previous year’s numbers and compare them to industry averages. This will provide you with a clear picture of your current position and where you should focus your growth efforts in 2021.

2. Optimize send time

Improving subject lines will only get you so far if you’re sending emails when the majority of your subscribers aren’t online. By sending your newsletter on the incorrect day of the week, you risk it being buried beneath the dozens of other emails people received between the time they received yours and the time they checked their inbox.

That is why, as one of the foundational goals for 2021, one of the primary objectives is to optimize your send time. As always, you should conduct tests to determine the optimal send day for your audience.

However, we discovered that on average, Friday is the best day to send email newsletters and Saturday is the worst.

3. Don’t use tricks

In 2020, ethical marketing tactics will become more prevalent. This demonstrates that consumers are fed up with being duped by less-than-transparent marketing.

It’s time to abandon any tactic that collects email addresses without explicit consent in your email marketing and instead embrace complete transparency.

4. Maintain an orderly list

Cleaning your list entails the elimination of inactive subscribers.

This fundamental practice benefits your email marketing strategy in the long run by ensuring that your metrics are accurate and not skewed by subscribers who never open your emails. This enables you to make informed decisions about how well your campaigns are performing and what needs to be adjusted to improve results.

To maintain a clean list, we recommend beginning with a re-engagement campaign to determine which inactive subscribers may wish to remain on your list. Those who do not re-engage can be removed from your list in bulk via our new bulk-delete feature.

5. Uphold commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion

Numerous businesses committed to renewing or initiating diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments in 2020 in response to systemic racial injustice. This year is an excellent time to ensure that your marketing, including email marketing, adheres to those commitments.

According to a report last year, up to 54% of people do not feel culturally represented in online marketing.

Therefore, please double-check your emails. Are your visuals inclusive of all people (including POC, LGBTQIA, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z)? Are you conscious of your use of presumptive language and stereotypes?

Is email marketing a part of your B2B organization’s strategy for reaching out to prospective clients, leads, or customers? If so, you are not alone: the vast majority of business-to-business firms rely on this time-honored marketing strategy. However, you may be wondering whether email is still as effective as it once was, or if your email messages may be improved in any way.

Let’s begin by studying the success of email marketing for business-to-business (B2B) organizations.

88 percent of B2B marketers, according to a report by Circle Research, use email marketing. While this may come as no surprise, you may be surprised to find that 42% of those marketers cited email as a top lead generation medium.

Additionally, according to a linked survey on B2B email habits and trends, 41% of B2B marketers rate their email marketing ROI as “great” or “good.”

While email marketing’s popularity has waned in favor of more visually appealing types of marketing, notably social media and content marketing, these studies demonstrate that it remains extremely effective for B2B firms. The key to using email’s effectiveness in B2B is simply understanding which email messages will elicit the right responses from your subscribers, converting them from readers to leads.

Email marketing tips for B2B companies

Are you prepared to learn some great email marketing tips? The following are some best practices to follow when setting up your campaigns. These suggestions will assist you in converting more leads and keeping your subscribers pleased regardless of the nature of your business.

Add real value

Email marketing appears to be straightforward for B2C businesses: promote new products, issue coupons, and inform subscribers about promotions and bargains. However, B2B businesses cannot always accomplish this, particularly if their services are intangible and rarely change.

Rather than relying on promotions to attract new leads, use an alternative approach: add value. Send emails to your subscribers that provide them with advice, tips, ideas, or education on a topic that is directly linked to your industry, product, or service.

For instance, if you own a software company that aims to simplify online storage, you may send out organizing suggestions, links to productivity articles, or how-to information on file compression. All of these subjects are pertinent and will provide value to your potential leads rather than annoy them. This increased appreciation will raise their likelihood to choose you when they are in need of your services.

Test everything

Numerous studies are available online that discuss the optimal days and times to send email, the optimal subject line length, and the most visually appealing email styles. However, you should not necessarily take this advise to heart, as each set of email subscribers is unique.

Rather of sending all emails on Tuesday mornings with brief subject lines, you should experiment with other days of the week, hours, subject line lengths and styles, and so on. Your audience may actually prefer Wednesday emails due to their reduced workload on that day, or lengthier subject lines due to the fact that only a small percentage of them read email on mobile.

Numerous email services enable you to A/B test various components of your messages and compare the results instantly. Everything you can think of should be tested to determine how your subscribers respond. You may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome!

Personalize and segment your messages

Personalized emails (“Hello, Larry” rather than “Hello”) and segmented emails (emails sent to specific subscriber groups or segments) are incredibly effective. Indeed, one study found that simply customizing emails increased clickthrough rates by an average of 14% and conversion rates by roughly 10%!

While it may take a bit longer to create personalized emails or emails that are targeted to a more specific section of readers, the rewards might be substantial. Recipients love communications that appear to be tailored to their unique interests or stage in the sales funnel, and their actions reflect this.

Another alternative is to set up a drip email campaign, which sends messages on a pre-determined schedule. A drip campaign can help drive a prospective lead down the sales funnel by providing personalized material at the appropriate times and stages, creating the impression that they are receiving personal messages—and thereby increasing their motivation to convert.

Utilize targeted landing pages

What happens when someone clicks on a link in your email? You may choose to avoid sending your email messages to your homepage depending on their topic. Indeed, you may wish to develop a page dedicated just to your email subscribers.

If you’re sending email messages to potential prospects, the links in the emails should direct them to relevant, targeted pages that will help them progress further down the sales funnel. Rather than directing them to your homepage, you may direct them to product benefit pages, service overviews, testimonials, and reviews, among other places.

Optimize for mobile

Finally, if you’ve been ignoring the increasing dependency on mobile devices for email and internet information, now is the moment to change course. All of your email messages should be adapted for smartphones and tablets, so that your subscribers can read your material without having to scroll or pinch-zoom.

Invest in a responsive design template that will automatically adjust each of your emails to meet any screen size. This ensures that individuals who read your email will be able to do so without difficulty on any device.

Similarly, your website (or any destination sites linked in the email) should be mobile-friendly, allowing recipients to easily learn more about you or the material in your emails. If your website is not already responsive, you should seriously consider making the switch as soon as feasible.

Other B2B email marketing best practices

What more pointers should you bear in mind? While B2B email marketing may appear complicated at first, it can be quite simple if you so desire. One option is to send “plain text” email campaigns that appear to be personalized emails from a single person at your organization to a select group of subscribers, directly asking them a question or providing them with a unique offer. This illusion of a one-on-one chat has been shown to significantly increase engagement and generate some excellent leads for you.

However, use caution in not devoting an excessive amount of effort to your email marketing program. Email marketing has a return on investment since it is so straightforward. When you invest an excessive amount of time, effort, or energy in your communications, you may discover that you are not receiving the results you anticipate.

Make an attempt to strike a healthy balance between time and effort that you can handle efficiently. If email is consuming an inordinate amount of your time and you are not generating sufficient leads, consider reducing the frequency of your communications.