10 Things All Highly Successful Email Marketers Do

A successful email marketer is both a good house guest and a host. They don’t show up on your doorstep uninvited and they know how to cater to your tastes. In a post that would make Airbnb proud, we’ve drawn up a list of ten things all great email marketers have in common.

#1 : Don’t show up unannounced

For some, the holiday season is the perfect opportunity for gatecrashing. Everyone has that strange distant relative who turns up uninvited, eats all your food, and then leaves (if you don’t, then maybe that person is you). In any case, an awesome email marketer is the one who asks permission.

Growing your contact list organically is cool because it means you’re building real, meaningful relationships with your prospects and customers. Using a double opt-in is even cooler because it shows you’re willing to go the extra mile to make sure your contacts want your content and that you’re thinking about quality over quantity when it comes to growing your list.

#2: Keep things clean and tidy

Stave off the stink of a bad ROI by regularly cleaning your list. Keep an eye on bounces and try to re-engage inactive contacts.

Filter out customers that haven’t opened or clicked your emails in the past 4-6 months and send them a “We Missed You” email with a special promotion. You’ll identify inactive contacts and remind users of the benefits of subscribing to your amazing email.

#3: Listen to your customers

All great email marketers dive deep into their customer profiles or survey existing customers to better segment their lists by historical behavior, interests and more. Have your ears to the ground, whether it’s using social monitoring tools like Mention, Google Adwords tracking or analyzing your email KPIs. There’s no shortage of data out there and the more you tune in, the easier it’ll be to create engaging content.

#4: Follow the house rules

Keeping ISPs happy is the first step towards a high deliverability rate. Stay up to date with their requirements and enjoy the fact that you’re working together to make the user experience a great one.

To make sure you’re covered on all bases, stay on top of global SPAM law. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be dry! The main ideas are to: make sure your sender name is clearly identifiable, send with your recipients’ permission, and provide an easy way for users to opt-out.

#5: Don’t overstay your welcome

As the quote goes, “Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.” Every great marketer knows when to accept defeat and gracefully learns from it.

There are a few different reasons why a user might unsubscribe, but if your awesome re-engagement messages haven’t worked, it’s time to say goodbye. Honor your unsubscribe requests promptly and thank your subscriber for letting you stay. This will leave them with a good lasting impression of your brand, making them more likely to say positive things about you.

A good host quickly fixes any problems (or tries their best to). A sudden increase in bounces or declining open rates? Analyze your metrics so you know what needs to be fixed.

Also, quickly owning up to mistakes or tech issues makes all customers love you. It’s transparent and humanizes your brand.  if there are any temporary mishaps (e.g. website bandwidth overload, a broken link, product out of stock), message your subscribers to apologize and let them know you’re doing all you can to sort it out.

#7: Have a guestbook

Encourage your users to leave feedback, whether it’s a written testimonial or a star system review. Not only will this show you what needs to be improved, but great success stories can be used in a testimonial or case study.

#8: Be friendly

One solid way to invite feedback is by forgoing the no-reply email address. The reply-to address is the digital equivalent of making your guest pancakes, giving them some advice about where to go and, well, just being the opposite of this rabbit.      

#9: Plan for busy periods

Many email marketers ramp up their sending during the lead up to the holidays. Want to fire up your productivity over this period? Simplify and gamify! Make planning easier with a whiteboard and be the winning team by gamifying the process.

Don’t panic – if you’ve got marketer’s block, we’ve some handy tips to make your holiday content and design sparkle.

#10: Don’t make empty promises

Ultimately, trust is what keeps the customer-brand relationship strong. We find that all highly successful email marketers deliver exactly what they promise. It leaves us feeling warm and fuzzy, like a delicious meal cooked up by a great host. Give your subscriber what they signed up for and always keep listening to what they have to say.

Now that you’ve got your inbox etiquette down to a tee – happy sending!

What do you think makes for a successful email marketer? Share your ideas below!