Ready to shake up your email marketing, boost your open rates, and get more conversions?
Email marketing is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. In fact, email is the most popular form of content marketing for businesses [1], ahead of social media, blog posts, videos, and more, offering some of the highest returns on investment.
But email marketing is only effective when done right. It’s not as simple as just firing off an email to your subscribers. In order to get those essential opens and clicks, you need to find out which types of campaigns will give you the highest returns.
Here are seven of the most successful types of email campaigns for businesses, with some tips and tricks on how to create a campaign that blows your old open rates out of the water.
1. Announcement Campaigns
Announcement campaigns share news or updates with your subscribers. This could be anything from a new product launch to a change in your company’s policies, a new team member, or a revamped website. However, the key to the success of an announcement campaign is to keep it relevant. Why is your new product or redesigned website good for your subscribers? Will it save them time or money? Is it more convenient, or easier to use? Make sure that you’re letting your subscribers know not only what your announcement is, but why they should care.
Whatever the announcement, be sure to keep your email concise and clear. Include a call to action so that your subscribers know what to do next, whether it’s visiting your website or calling your business.
2. Contest or Giveaway Campaigns
Who doesn’t love a freebie? Running a contest or giveaway is an excellent way to engage your audience, get some all-important open rates, and boost brand awareness. Contest and giveaway email campaigns are 5% more likely to be opened than other campaigns, and have a 3% higher conversion rate [2].
To run a successful contest or giveaway campaign, be sure to promote it heavily on social media and other channels. Make sure it’s easy to enter, with a clear call to action and a prize that is relevant to your target audience. Don’t skimp on the prize; it needs to be desirable enough to tempt as many people into signing up for your campaign as possible.
The real point of a contest or giveaway campaign is to get more subscribers and sign-ups to your email campaigns, which is why promoting it on cross channels is so important. While people will sign up for the prize, they will stay for your emails, so make sure your next email is a good one.
3. Educational Campaigns
Educational campaigns show your subscribers that you’re an expert in your field, giving you the credibility many would-be customers are looking for before making a purchase.
These types of emails can be anything, so long as it’s educational and useful, from a tips and tricks guide to an instructional video. Whatever the format, be sure to keep your content informative, helpful, and most of all, relevant to your subscribers. Don’t be afraid to give away a few pieces of information you might usually charge for. If your subscribers actually get some value out of your tips or advice, they’re more likely to come back for more. You should also include a call to action so that your subscribers can learn more about your products or services.
4. Discount or Sale Campaigns
Discount and sale campaigns are one of the most effective ways to drive conversions and boost sales, particularly if they’re only available for a limited time. Everyone loves a bargain, so sales campaigns often see relatively high open rates. However, you can boost that open rate even more by emphasizing that subscribers will miss out if they don’t act quickly.
Be sure to offer a compelling discount and use an attention-grabbing subject line drawing attention to it. When it comes to discounts, numbers will get more clicks. Try advertising that your sale is 10% off, or that you’re offering a 25% discount for a limited time. In fact, subject lines with numbers are 57% more likely to be opened [3].
Don’t forget to include a clear call to action so that your subscribers know how to take advantage of the offer.
5. Customer Satisfaction Survey Campaigns
People love to give their opinion, and your subscribers are no different.
Customer satisfaction surveys allow you to collect feedback about your products or services, while also encouraging customer engagement. They can also help you identify areas of improvement for your business.
One simple way to run customer satisfaction survey campaigns is to create an automated trigger in your email software or platform, which will send out a pre-built email after a customer has been in touch with you or made a purchase. By automating the process, you can save yourself time and make sure the email is sent right away, when your customer is more likely to see it.
To run a successful survey campaign, keep your questions concise and relevant. You should also offer an incentive for taking the survey, such as a discount or entry into a contest.
6. Reactivation Campaigns
Reactivation campaigns are a great way to engage subscribers who haven’t interacted with your emails in a while. It can also be a good way to weed out subscribers whose email addresses are out of date, clean up your subscriber list, and make sure you don’t inadvertently trigger any spam filters with your following campaigns.
To run a successful reactivation campaign, segment your list so that you’re only targeting inactive subscribers. You should also include a call to action to encourage your subscribers to update their preferences or unsubscribe from your list.
7. Engagement Campaigns
Engagement campaigns encourage your subscribers to interact with your brand and boost interactions and followers elsewhere. An engagement campaign’s purpose is just that: engagement.
This engagement could be anything, from sharing a post on social media to following your brand’s Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn to leaving a review on your website.
To make sure your engagement campaign is successful, offer an incentive for taking the desired action, like a discount or entry in a prize draw. You should also make it easy for your subscribers to take whatever action you’re asking of them, with a clear call to action and link.
Email marketing is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your business goals. But before you start running campaigns, it’s important to choose the right type of email for your needs. By understanding the different types of email campaigns, you can create a strategy that’s tailored to your business and your audience. With these tips in mind, you can be sure to run successful campaigns that achieve your desired results.
- “11th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends”, 2020, contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/b2b-2021-research-final.pdf
- “20 Life-Changing Giveaway & Contest Statistics”, accessed July 2022, blog.wishpond.com/post/115675438009/contest-statistics
- “Are You Using These 8 Subject Line Formulas to Get Your Emails Opened?”, April 4 2019, campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/subject-line-formulas/
