So how can you increase the click through rate and conversion from your emails ? In simple terms how can you increase the chances of your recipient taking that next step by clicking on that button or link after reading your email ?
Email as a marketing tool is still very much alive and kicking, in-spite of the exponentially growing clout of social media. The primary reason for this is the fact that the first thing that everyone does in the morning is checking their emails !!
The smartphones and tablets have made emails even more important because now you can access them 24/7. Not everyone checks their Facebook or Twitter pages multiple times in day, but that does not apply to their emails.
Emails are no longer recommended for cold mailing though (also called spamming), but they are highly recommended for engaging customers to take the next steps – whatever is the desired CTA (calls to action).
Emails can be used to achieve goals like more usage/adoption in a SaaS/Subscription business, or more purchase/reduce abandonment in a retail/eCommerce site, or even take your customers through the lead maturing steps. Whatever is the end goal, emails serve as an effective way to help in the conversion of your customer.
It is very effective when the goal involves getting the customer back to your site because with emails you can go to them, to their inbox, to bring them back to you, unlike any other channels. This is also called a drip campaigns or drip marketing, and most email marketing tools have features to setup and manage the emails and the auto-responders.
There are many articles where email marketing experts tell you the 100 things you can do to improve the conversion from your emails! I would definitely recommend you to read all of that because they are all good suggestions 🙂
After you do that, I just have one suggestion for you – embed testimonials in your emails ! Add snippets of your customer testimonials in your emails. When i say testimonials, it includes any of these – logos, customer names, quotes, stories, spotlights, case studies, videos, photos, reviews, etc, etc. A dash or pinch of your customer’s vouch adds the much needed credibility to whatever you are trying to say to extra convince the recipient to take that next step.
I have a couple of good examples from Vocus today.
(disclaimer: i am in no way associated with either Vocus or any of their companies showcased here. Neither am i paid by them for mentioning them as a best practice)
Example 1. PRWeb (a press releases company)
The welcome email from PRWeb. I need to admit that the customer testimonial with the photo and the compelling quote is very engaging, and definitely tempts you to get started in using PRWeb’s press release services.
Example 2: iContact (an email marketing company)
The Download whitepaper email from iContact. The customer testimonial idea is good and makes it interesting.
Bonus Tip: If there is something i would like to change here – there could have been a better choice for the actual customer and quote used because Chris here is talking about how good iContact is as an email marketing tool, and he is not talking about the “10 rules for successful email marketing guide” that this email was about.
See my other posts from our best practices series
Best Practices: Contextual testimonials – examples of features pages that rock
Best Practices : Keep them (testimonials) real – reasons why not to fake it
Best Practices : A-Z testimonials – examples of cool ‘Our Customers’ tab
Best Practices: Hero Image Testimonials – Examples of Cool Home Pages
Summary: Embed customer testimonials in your emails to increase the click through rate and conversion rate from your email marketing campaigns. But make it more relevant by using testimonials that are contextual to the topic of the email.
Please share your experiences and opinions via commenting. If you think this will be valuable to any of your friends, please share.
thanks, anupam
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Anupam Bonanthaya is an experienced Customer Success Marketer and the Founder of CustomerRivet – The Social Proof Marketing Experts
Rivet.ly – Hosted Our-Customers Page
Get More Leads and More Conversions by Optimizing the use of Testimonials, Success Stories, Case Studies, Videos, Reviews, Customer Photos, Tweets, or any other Social Proof, in your Marketing.
Ask for a Demo today to see how it can help “Transform Your Customer Success Marketing”. OR Contact Anupam Bonanthaya via LinkedIn
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See also
1. Email Hacking: Improving Your Conversions With Every Email
2. Testimonials: The Ultimate Social Proof for Email Marketing
Unleash the power of Social Proof in Marketing 