How to get the best results from your email marketing campaigns
Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for small businesses, particularly in ecommerce. When evaluating their campaigns, business owners often focus on three key metrics: contacts, open rates, and click rates. This article explores each metric’s significance and offers actionable tips to boost the two most critical measures—open rates and click rates.
Contact List Numbers
The size of your email marketing list is important, but bigger isn’t always better. A smaller list of highly engaged subscribers will outperform a larger, inactive one. Quality should always take precedence over quantity.
The ideal scenario is a steadily growing list of active, engaged subscribers who interact with your emails and trust your brand.
Open Rates
Encouraging subscribers to open your emails is the first step towards driving sales. Open rates, typically shown as both a percentage and a number, are most valuable when viewed as a percentage. A higher percentage indicates that your initial tactics, like crafting engaging subject lines, are working.
For reference, Mailchimp suggests a good open rate is around 35%, but this varies by industry. Several factors influence open rates:
Subject Line
Think of the subject line as your headline—it’s what convinces recipients to open the email. It should:
- Capture attention while clearly indicating the email’s content.
- Be relevant to the audience. For example, an IT security email won’t appeal to a procurement manager.
- Spark interest, whether by offering a discount or addressing a common problem.
If you’re resending an email campaign (recommended for most campaigns), adjust the subject line. If it didn’t work the first time, it’s unlikely to perform better without changes.
Sender Name
Emails from a named individual outperform those sent from a generic company address like “support@” or “sales@”. Personalisation can boost open rates by as much as 35%.
Brand recognition also plays a role. Consistent marketing activity builds trust, making recipients more likely to open your emails.
Timing
Sending emails at the right time is crucial. Consider when your audience is likely to think about your topic. For example, business-related emails perform better during weekdays, while family-focused content may be better suited to weekends. One ecommerce client selling firewood found their best results came from sending emails during lunchtime on Saturday, Monday, and Thursday.
Frequency
While sending more emails can lower open rates, it often increases total sales. Test different frequencies to find the optimal balance for your business.
Click Rates
For ecommerce businesses, clicks are the ultimate goal. If subscribers aren’t clicking through to your website, they can’t make a purchase. Increasing click rates significantly impacts revenue. Our firewood client found that while increasing open rates added an average of £3.10 per additional open, each additional click generated £19.23!
To improve click rates:
Relevance
If the email content doesn’t resonate with your audience, they won’t click. Avoid sending every campaign to your entire list—this can lead to higher unsubscribe rates. Instead, segment your list and tailor your content to each group. For instance, a craft brewery targeting pub owners saw low click rates (under 0.2%) because their campaigns were consumer-focused, not business-oriented.
Timing
Just like with open rates, consider the habits and schedules of your audience to determine the best time to send your emails.
Content Balance
Image-only emails often perform poorly because many recipients block images for security reasons. Use a mix of text and visuals for better results, whether your emails are HTML-based or plain text.
Link Placement
Don’t rely on a single link or button. Spread links throughout your email, such as in the header image, early in the text, and within the call-to-action (CTA). Multiple opportunities to click increase the chances of engagement. For promotional emails, stick to one destination to keep the message clear.
Testing
Every suggestion here can improve your results, but testing is the only way to find what works best for your audience. Most email platforms offer split (A/B) testing, making it easy to experiment with subject lines, content, timing, and more.
Final Thoughts
Email marketing offers incredible potential for small businesses, but success depends on strategy, relevance, and constant optimisation. If your campaigns aren’t delivering the results you need, we’re here to help. Request a review of your email marketing and discover where improvements can be made.
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