Reach the top of the email marketing podium with these 10 tips

The retail and e-commerce industry is the industry that stands to benefit most from the email marketing. It is therefore undeniable that email marketing must adapt to two of the great challenges facing the sector, which, according to the II Study of "Technological Trends in the Retail Sector", are digital transformation and improved interaction with customers.
The study, prepared by more than 700 experts who attended the Retail Forum 2016, highlights that the present and future should be aimed at "achieving a personalised, effective and experiential shopping process", in order not only to achieve a higher return on investment (ROI), but also to create brand image and thus 'lovers' who in turn increase potential consumers through recommendation.
In order to achieve an efficient purchasing process, based on immediacy, usability, personalisation and good experiences, email marketing is the leading communication medium for digital retailers, thanks mainly to the greater segmentation of audiences and the adaptation to new consumer habits and needs.
As a new feature, it is now possible to include in the email thanks to the online platform ViwomThe Internet's king of content, video, enabling the realisation of video email marketing campaigns. Until now it was only possible to enter text and images, but now it is possible to implement audiovisual pieces that are automatically played when the recipient opens the email. This has made it possible to combine the most desired communication format for users, such as video, with the most consulted channel throughout the day, email.
Looking for the perfect combination of email marketing + digital retail + sales + engagement? Here are some useful tips.
1. First things first: segment
It is all very well to publicise a product with its characteristics, benefits, details, etc., but it is even more important to analyse the profile of our consumers or buyers.

Receiving an email with a sample of an infinite variety of products from a brand, without prior sifting, is confusing and a waste of time for users, who are increasingly looking for products tailored to their needs based on the type of product, age, sex, size or location.
If the recipient lives in a warm city, why would he or she want to receive an email with an offer of warm clothing?
Retailers should adopt in their business model the strategy of Customer CentricityWe will invest time in segmenting your databases based on useful parameters to deliver the right content to the user. In this way, we will avoid the user losing interest in the site, not registering or unsubscribing.
2. Always go for 'responsive design'.
If there is one device that is growing by leaps and bounds as a support for online shopping, it is the mobile phone. Everywhere you look there is constant typing and thousands of daily transactions that remind us of the tremendous boom in e-commerce. According to the Blue Hornet study "Consumer of Email Marketing 2016".a 72% of consumers use their mobile phone to check email.

Retailers assume as main business strategies related to the mobility provided by smartphones or tablets, and therefore the importance of adapting to these new supports with the aim of 'Responsive Design' or adaptive design. It is very important to think about the user being able to see the emails from any mobile device, in a clear way, making it easier to read, view images and promotional videos, the registration form or the purchase button. With these actions, user experience is prioritised betting on omnichannel and we will increase the visits to our shop, blog, social networks and their conversion to sales.
It is not a passing fad, it has become an essential basic for any self-respecting marketer, there are no excuses for not adapting emails. For this reason, contacting professionals specialised in email marketing, such as Digital Response, can be a reliable solution, as well as finding the necessary templates and support to create responsive video email campaigns in a simple and effective way.
However, we advise you to carry out a 'Responsive Design Testing' afterwards to test the results. Perform a preview before launching, in order to detect defects and correct them with the most appropriate solutions.
3. Draw attention to your product
A CTA ('Call to action' button or incentive link to attract leads and convert them into sales opportunities) can take various forms and play various roles within an email. Some offer a free download, lead to a web link, a document or a registration form.

Until now, there have generally been three types of 'Call to Action': images, buttons and text linksThe possibility of using the video as a wake-up call about a product... it sounds very interesting, but how to do it?
First of all, it should be planned what product is to be communicated, the message and its substance and form to be adopted by the email. We would opt in second place for the choice, design and placement of one or more CTAsalways in line with the general objective. If this is to build loyalty, you can opt for a free ebookIt is better if it is accompanied by another guide that talks about the benefits of your product. If you want to attract buyers or conversions to sales, opt for a CTA that leads directly to the product of interest. A good idea is to implement a video in the email that links directly not to the site of your online shop but to the specific product of the ad, so that the attention and interest of the buyer is not lost. Thirdly and lastly, we will follow the content editor instructions of the email address we use to insert the CTAs in the template.
In short, key steps to take into account to not only attract attention but also impress your audience: Product, Objective, CTAs, and... Action!
4. Cross-selling through email
Although it is never possible to predict the behaviour of the digital buyer in the face of the ever-increasing Internet offer, what is clear is that before a sale, there can always be another more related sale. We like to rummage and rummage as if it were a flea market, but if this search is done for us and offered to us in a personalised way, so much the better.
When a sale is achieved through the network, a good formula to inform and encourage buyers to continue buying items from the rest of the stock, is what in relationship marketing is called "relationship marketing". "Cross selling' ('Cross selling').
For example, we go online to look for a dress (Yes, I'm just going to look at dresses and buy one! Or so we thought...) on our favourite fashion website. We find one that suits our taste and price, when right next to the shopping cart button we see the possibility to click on other garments and/or complements that complete a magnMagnificent 'look'. Almost before we know it, the trolley is overflowing with clothes and the card is smoking?
This is the "subliminal purpose" of cross-selling pursued by many retailers or ecommerces, which not only apply it on their websites, but the tactic has also been applied to their brand emails.
One formula that often occurs is that after a purchase on the web - for example of that favourite dress - we immediately receive an email with possible matching garments or accessories.
5. Create Buzz...zzzzzz by going viral with your emails.
What does it mean `buzz? Its literal translation is buzz and it is a viral marketing technique that aims to convert your product or brand at a certain touch point into a positive and unique experience.
Who doesn't remember the video "I love Laura" with which MTV announced its arrival in our country? It was a total success and this idea can be perfectly applied to an email marketing campaign, taking advantage of the impact that video pieces have on video channels and social networks. Add added brand value and add buttons to the main social networks where you have a presence and you want the content of the email to be shared and... your `lovers' will take care of the rest.
6. Choose a good headline for the issue
A good news story is engaging because of a good headline that draws attention to the information. The same formula applies to emails, where the subject line should not be wasted to provoke the action of opening the email.

A good subject line should be treated as a good headline, simple and concise, avoiding toxic words for retail mailing such as "Free", "Buy now" - identified by many ESPs as spam - but instead including "magic" words such as "Video". This word is sure to arouse the curiosity of the recipients and they will not overlook the email when checking their inbox. By adding 'video' alone, the open rate can increase by up to 10%.
7. The power of video
According to the "Cisco Visual Networking Index report".the 80% of Internet traffic will be video by 2019Impressive, isn't it? Video email is a powerful medium, which fills emails with its presence alone or complements very well with text. It allows you to show products with a 360 degree view and persuade customers with real product test samples, testimonials...etc.

If you are committed to making the video the protagonist of the email, it is proven that its placement and duration is vital for the buyer not to skip it or not to watch it at all, for lack of scrolling down, with the consequent loss of objectives of the email marketing campaign.
For this reason, it is advisable that when the email is opened, the audiovisual piece appears at first and, importantly, its duration, so that it does not turn into a "short film", but rather into something brief, concise and appealing to the emotions of the spectator.
According to a study by Animotoviewers react best to videos of around 60 seconds or less. In addition, this video model has advantages on smaller screens such as smartphones, where the video occupies the 100%.
Consumer habits have revolutionised the way video is consumed on the Internet and the new generations called 'Millennials' are accustomed to the short, fast format and are more inclined to watch quality content and entertainment than consumers of previous generations.
8. Video and template in sync
Video branding is fine for branding and attracting viewers, but it is not as effective for converting to sales, at least in a more immediate way.
In order to get them to click the coveted buy button in the emails, the product must be the focus of the video content. As we have seen above, the video can be implemented as a CTA, or just below another of the CTA formulas, so that it links directly to the description, details and purchase of the product.
9. Launch time: When and how
In any marketer's email marketing strategy, it is important to previously set the days and times of the launch, as well as its "technical" characteristics. Getting the timing right is crucial for your emails to be more effective.
During working days, some say that the best time is on weekdays. Tuesdays and ThursdayThis is when more people are in front of the computer and there is a better predisposition to open emails.
Mondays are often avoided, when the inbox is probably full of emails sent the previous Friday and there is a risk that your campaign will be left in the queue unread. The same usually happens on Fridays, when we are closing all the tasks and it is usually chaos.
If you opt for a video campaign, it is important that it is set to 'mute' option (without sound), or accompanied by a soft and pleasant tune if it is going to be sent during working hours, otherwise, and most likely, the user will immediately close the email without accessing its content. On the other hand, if it is to be sent outside working hours, it is advisable to use sound to stimulate another meaning that captures the attention and reinforces the message of the video.
10. Choose an 'anti-spam' sender
Choosing a name that inspires confidence and is in line with the potential target segment is important for the recipient of your emails, as anti-spam filters often pay a lot of attention to them in order to assess the security of the email.
A common mistake to avoid is sending info@ noreply@ communication@, as with these senders your emails are likely to end up in the spam folder.
It is also advisable to indicate from which email address the email originates, although it is not visible at first glance in the message, in some email clients you can see it by hovering the mouse over the "Sender's Name". Likewise, if the source code of the message is displayed, this email appears.