3 email marketing strategies to revisit in 2022
Written by Ashley Peterson-DeLuca
Forthright Senior Advisor Ashley Peterson-DeLuca dug into the research about how our inbox-reading behavior changed during and after the pandemic. Check out her email marketing tips to make sure you’re following up-to-date practices.
The pandemic disrupted EVERYTHING, from supply chains that left store shelves bare to everyone working virtually from their kitchen table.
How people read and go through their work inbox is no different. In fact, during the heart of the pandemic, email open rates soared — 77 percent of marketers reported increased engagement in 2021 — and so did the number of marketing emails marked as spam.
But, in 2022, open rates have mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels, with a few changes in behavior.
To make sure your email strategy isn’t out of date, we reviewed the research on how the pandemic affected email marketing. Here are three strategies we recommend revisiting:
1. Revisit the Best Time of Day to Send Emails
Pre-pandemic, mornings were the most effective time to send marketing emails. Now the afternoon yields higher placement and engagement.
Marketers traditionally avoided sending emails at the top of the hour, but now we see higher engagement at the top of the hour while people are waiting for their video meetings to start.
Try sending emails in the afternoon, for example, at 3 p.m., to increase your open rates.
Sign up for our email newsletter to receive all of our best ideas, straight to your inbox
2. Revisit How Many Emails You Send
People are getting more emails than ever. Reports estimate that consumers receive 128 emails each day on average. I don’t know about you, but opening up my inbox and seeing 128 unread emails gives me anxiety! The easiest way to get through all of these emails is to automatically delete them, or unsubscribe.
To stabilize unsubscribe and open rates, send no more than one email a week to your list. This way, recipients are less likely to feel overwhelmed by the number of emails they receive from your organization.
3. Revisit Your Email Design and Messaging
Another way to keep your emails out of the trash folder is to make them easier and more attractive to read.
People want more authentic and more human communication. Brands are adapting: 39.6 percent have introduced simpler designs, and 32.5 percent have changed their tone to sound more human.
A few strategies to try:
Shorten your emails. The email platform company Campaign Monitor found that the briefer the email copy, the more effective it is.
Ensure your emails are mobile optimized. Nearly half of emails are opened through mobile. Send yourself a fully designed test email, open it on your phone, and ask:
Is it easy to read? Check headers and spacing, too.
Can you easily click the links? We find that longer links are easier for thumbs on phone screens.
Do you notice design flaws that aren’t present on a traditional computer screen?
Don’t make readers scroll to find your call to action. Put your link in the first third of your email. Making your call to action a button makes it easy to find and click, too!
Email marketing is rich with data and insights about readers’ behavior. Keep an eye on your open rates, click through rates and unsubscribe numbers to see how your recipients are responding to current trends.
