Key takeaways
- Use CRM data to personalize emails, include demographic, loyalty and real‑time signals (location, weather, device) to tailor messages and CTAs.
- Write subject lines that offer value creatively to motivate opens and make CTAs visible in the email.
- Deliver bold, dynamic presentations tailored to onsite behaviour so recipients scan, engage and may reopen emails.
- Use off‑peak periods for systematic testing with automation and control‑group segmentation to measure impact and optimize delivery.
- Optimize for mobile with responsive, device‑targeted emails and include a banner linking recipients to sales, support or fulfilment for direct phone contact.
- Embed live content (inventory/status/timing) and CTAs tied to that live data to avoid frustrating recipients with outdated offers.
Introduction
Email marketing is one of the oldest strategies in the book, and it’s still one of the channels with the biggest potential for returns. With that said, the growth of other marketing techniques – especially those that are based on platforms that are inherently social in nature – have lowered the perceived engagement power of email. It still has a wide reach, of course, but without some sort of engagement strategy designed to attract and maintain readership, your email marketing campaign might not be nearly as successful as it could be. Luckily, there are numerous techniques you can use to improve the engagement potential of your email marketing campaign. Here are five of the very best tips from around the digital marketing world.
Use data
Customer relationship management (CRM) has become an important part of many businesses. It provides its users many advantages, such as insight into consumer behavior via many useful and varied data points. Whether you’re interested in loyalty information, gender preferences, or clothing size, the range of information offered by CRM is huge and offers advantages for nearly every industry out there. Many email marketers still shy away from using this information, however, and many firms run email marketing drives that simply involve plugging their company name and a bit of flat information into their email management software.
To improve engagement, companies must begin to use the data that CRM makes available to them. You should aim at personalization through the use of both general information as well as real time information like location, weather, or even the device type, to better tailor the messages and calls to action to specific groups of consumers. Customers won’t hesitate to trash emails before reading them if they perceive them to be too general or of low value. Start offering something to the customer, creatively, from the subject line. This motivates them to open up the email and give your message a chance to sink in. While we’re at it, don’t forget to ensure that the recipient can see your call to action!
Delivery
Although emails have a wide audience, the truth is that most people do not really take the time to read through them, at least not in the traditional meaning of the word. Instead, most recipients will only scan their emails. They only really get into the content if they find something that interests them. Targeting engagement in email marketing can create the kind of content that interests your audience, but it requires a bold and dynamic delivery. If it can be tailored to fit the consumer’s onsite behavior, it might even be opened and read more than once. A bold presentation is a chance to convert while creating a lasting impression about your brand.
Testing
Most of the time, email marketing calendars are planned with a certain peak period in mind when the campaign will go big. While the rest of the year is equally important, the off-peak periods should be used as an opportunity for testing. The surest way to know what works in getting the attention of the recipient is through this kind of regular testing. Find a system that can automate the process and control group segmentation. This will help in measuring the impact of the messages, improving the efficiency and the delivery to the full audience in every single email sent.
Mobile
It is becoming clear that the shift from desktop to mobile is finally upon us. In much the same way that majority of search engine queries are now conducted on mobile, people today are more likely to open their emails on their phones rather than than on their desktops. With this in mind, it is important to have email messages that are responsive and device targeted. True engagement, however, might require you to go even one a step further and promote directly to phones. This might seem outdated and old fashioned, but the increased use of mobile devices makes it much easier for consumers to simply call the company and ask a specific question rather than rely on the information they read online. Include a banner in the email that connects the recipient to the sales or marketing department, support team, or a fulfillment arm.
Live content
The last thing anyone wants is to open an email advertising a specific product or item only to find it sold out when they try to make a purchase. This is a frustrating situation that will hurt any company, regardless of the industry. Nobody wants to show up for a concert, performance, or game that is already finished, or apply for a loan that is no longer being offered by the bank. Incorporating live content into your emails will ensure the recipient is never met with any outdated inventory messages. Don’t stop there, either. Add a call to action that recognizes this live content, especially when there is a chance of running out of stock or time.
FAQ
You should use a range of CRM data such as loyalty information, gender preferences and clothing size, plus real‑time signals like location, weather and device type to better tailor messages and calls to action.
Begin by offering something of value to the recipient, presented creatively in the subject line so it motivates an open and once opened, ensure the recipient can clearly see the call to action.
Use bold, dynamic presentation and tailor content to the consumer’s onsite behaviour so the email stands out during quick scans and may be opened or read more than once.
Treat off‑peak periods as opportunities for testing: automate the testing process, segment control groups and measure message impact to improve efficiency and delivery for the full audience.
Make emails responsive and device‑targeted and include a banner that connects the recipient to sales, marketing, support or fulfilment so they can call directly if preferred.
Including live content prevents recipients encountering outdated inventory or offers, add a call to action that recognizes the live status (especially when stock or time is limited) to avoid frustration and lost sales.
Measure impact by automating tests during off‑peak times and using control‑group segmentation so you can compare variations and improve message efficiency and delivery.
