20 Email Best Practices That Actually Drive Results

Even arsenic caller trading channels harvest up, email trading continues to beryllium an effective measurement to make leads and person much prospects for your business.

According to a HubSpot survey, 94% of marketers find email trading effective for reaching their business goals.

To get nan astir retired of your email trading strategy, cheque retired these champion practices.

Table of Contents

• Email Marketing Best Practices
• Outbound Email Best Practices

17 Inbound Email Marketing Best Practices

1. Don't acquisition interaction lists.

This first extremity should travel arsenic nary surprise, but fixed nan General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it bears repeating.

Email campaigns dangle connected a patient unfastened rate. If you're contacting group whose accusation you bought — alternatively than earned from a erstwhile relationship — you‘ll quickly spot your emails’ capacity drop.

The GDPR besides requires each European recipient's consent earlier you interaction them. Purchased email lists usually do not travel pinch that consent.

For thief reaching your target audience, see Versium Reach — a level for B2B marketers that allows you to ain information connected your target assemblage crossed aggregate trading channels.

2. Avoid utilizing ‘No-Reply’ successful nan sender's email address.

Have you heard of CAN-SPAM? This long-standing authorities is simply a celebrated and important line for each email marketers successful nan U.S.

One awesome norm successful CAN-SPAM is to ne'er usage nan words "no reply,“ aliases a akin phrase, arsenic your email sender's sanction (for example, ”[email protected]").

“No reply” successful an email connection prevents recipients from responding and moreover opting retired of further emails, which CAN-SPAM protects their correct to do truthful astatine immoderate time.

Instead, person your automated emails travel from a first sanction (for example, [email protected]). Your customers are overmuch much apt to unfastened emails if they cognize a quality being wrote them. Plus, it keeps you compliant pinch email regulations.

3. Stick to less than 3 typefaces.

The little clutter you person successful your email, nan much conversions you'll get.

Don't junk up your connection pinch much than 2 fonts aliases typefaces, arsenic that tin distract readers and ruin your email’s ocular appeal.

In nan email illustration beneath from recruiting SaaS institution Greenhouse, nan institution sticks to conscionable 2 fonts.

Not only does this make it easy to read, but readers tin attraction connected nan discourse of nan email alternatively than get distracted by nan styling.

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In addition, usage web-safe fonts pinch sizes betwixt 10-point and 12-point. This ensures your email will beryllium legible connected each readers and devices.

4. Optimize nan email's preview text.

If you subscribe to immoderate newsletter, you’ve apt seen a connection for illustration this astatine nan apical of your email: “Email not displaying correctly? Click here.”

While it's a adjuvant message, keeping it successful nan preview matter of your email (also known arsenic nan preheader) tin importantly effect your email’s unfastened rate.

Firstly, because you’re telling recipients, “Hey, this email mightiness not work." Secondly, it doesn’t supply immoderate penetration into what nan email is about.

Your preview matter should supplement your taxable statement by adding specifications to seizure your audience’s attraction and promote them to open.

By default, preview matter pulls successful nan first respective words of nan email assemblage and displays it adjacent to nan taxable statement earlier nan personification opens it.

The problem is that civilization email templates often instrumentality pinch conditional statements for illustration “Can't spot images?” aliases “Not displaying correctly?” astatine nan apical banner, allowing it to gaffe correct into nan preview erstwhile it goes out.

As a norm of thumb, ever constitute a civilization preheader that teases what your email will offer.

Pro tip: HubSpot users tin hole this problem by customizing nan preview matter themselves successful nan backend of their email trading newsletter.

5. Include an email signature.

Even if your newsletter is technically being sent to your contacts connected behalf of nan company, alternatively than an individual, nan email should see nan signature of a circumstantial person.

In a 2020 State of Business Email Marketing study, 62% of marketers said they usage email signatures to summation visibility astir their branding.

When you see that each email sent connected behalf of your institution is different branding opportunity, it makes consciousness to see a signature.

Your email signature should see immoderate benignant of CTA, whether that’s a nexus to your website, societal media, aliases a circumstantial landing page.

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Another logic you should see your email signature is that it’s a touch of personalization.

People are people much inclined to publication an email if they cognize it came from a quality being, not conscionable a corporate trading team. Your email signature is your summons to their attention.

Want a speedy measurement to make a beautiful email signature? Use HubSpot's Email Signature Generator. We besides person an Out-of-Office Email Generator to make your consequence to incoming messages conscionable arsenic delightful.

6. Clean your mailing database regularly.

Some of your email contacts mightiness not opt retired of your email run but will still ne'er unfastened your emails.

According to a HubSpot survey, complete 32% of marketers opportunity debased unfastened rates are 1 of their biggest challenges pinch their email trading strategy.

Emailing arsenic galore group arsenic imaginable is tempting, but keeping your least-engaged recipients connected your mailing database tin termination your unfastened rate.

People who ne'er unfastened emails make your run look worse since you‘re not analyzing nan campaign’s value against your astir loyal recipients.

Review your database of subscribers who haven’t engaged pinch your emails complete a definite period, and region them regularly.

This gives you a much meticulous email unfastened complaint and keeps your email run cleanable of group nary longer willing successful proceeding from you.

You tin besides instrumentality a workflow successful which they’re gradually moved to a little predominant email database based connected activity.

For instance, opportunity you person a regular newsletter. You could instrumentality a workflow successful which subscribers who do not unfastened your email successful 2 consecutive weeks are moved to nan play email.

Then, those subscribers could beryllium moved to nan monthly newsletter if they don’t unfastened 4 consecutive emails. And truthful on.

It keeps you from bombarding your subscribers pinch emails they’re not willing in, each while keeping your database clean.

7. Keep nan main connection and call-to-action supra nan fold.

Above nan fold refers to nan accusation visible to nan scholar earlier they scroll down.

Even though caller investigation suggests that consumers scroll much than they utilized to — because of societal media and vertical timelines — above-the-fold contented still gets nan astir attraction erstwhile considering that group don’t person agelong attraction spans.

According to a 2022 study from Litmus, group walk an mean of 9 seconds looking astatine an email.

With this successful mind, spot your main connection and CTA supra nan fold. It’s nan first point your recipients will spot erstwhile they unfastened your email, expanding your conversion rate.

You tin besides tally an A/B trial first to validate nan presumption and spot if it useful for your emails.

8. Personalize nan email greeting.

How often do you publication emails that statesman pinch “Dear Member?”

You mightiness conception your email audiences by their customer type (member, subscriber, user, etc.), but it shouldn't beryllium nan first point recipients spot successful your institution messages.

Personalizing nan greeting of your emails pinch your contacts‘ first names grabs each reader’s attention. For HubSpot users, this is called a personalization token, and creating 1 looks for illustration this:

Then, nan reside statement of your email would automatically nutrient nan contact's first sanction by fetching this personalization token successful nan email's HTML, for illustration this: Hi, !

Don‘t worry; personalizing an email’s greeting statement pinch 50 recipients‘ names doesn’t mean you'll person to manually constitute and nonstop 50 different emails from now on.

Many email trading tools coming let you to configure nan greeting of your email run truthful that it automatically sends pinch nan sanction of nan group connected your interaction database — truthful everyone is getting a individual type of nan aforesaid message.

9. Keep your email astir 500 to 650 pixels wide.

If your email template is wider than 650 pixels, your email won’t show up correctly and will require users to scroll horizontally to publication nan afloat email.

This is simply a pain, to opportunity nan least, and will apt impact your conversion, particularly erstwhile galore users publication emails connected mobile.

Nearly 30% of marketers opportunity that optimizing emails for mobile is 1 of nan astir effective strategies for expanding nan click-through complaint (CTR), according to information from HubSpot.

Having your template fresh wrong nan modular format will make for easier readability, amended conversions, and an wide amended personification experience.

10. A/B your taxable lines and calls to action.

If you can‘t look to summation your email’s unfastened and click-through rates, a mates of things mightiness beryllium wrong: You‘re not emailing nan correct group (if you’re buying your interaction list, spot nan first extremity astatine nan apical of this blog post), aliases nan contented needs to beryllium improved.

To start, attraction connected nan latter, and behaviour an A/B test. 18% of marketers person recovered occurrence pinch expanding click-through rates erstwhile they utilized A/B testing.

A/B tests tin beryllium utilized to amended almost immoderate of your integer trading content.

In an email, this trial splits your recipients into 2 groups: Group A receives nan regular newsletter, while Group B receives nan newsletter pinch a circumstantial variation. The variety tin beryllium thing from a different taxable to different CTA.

This variety tests to spot if your assemblage would beryllium much aliases little apt to return an action based connected that element.

HubSpot Marketing Hub users tin conduct email A/B tests connected thing from nan taxable statement to nan call-to-action (CTA) wrong it.

For example, you mightiness alteration nan colour of your CTA from reddish to greenish to spot if your email‘s clickthrough complaint increases. If it does, nan trial indicates that you should alteration each of your emails’ CTA colour to greenish from now on.

11. Include your logo.

Logos are basal erstwhile it comes to emails.

A 2021 study by Red Sift and Entrust recovered that logos positively effect email engagement arsenic good arsenic marque recall.

The study recovered that erstwhile businesses see a logo successful their emails, unfastened rates accrued by 21%.

Brand callback accrued by 18% aft a five-second vulnerability erstwhile including a logo successful nan email. Consumer assurance successful nan legitimacy of an email besides accrued by 90%.

With this successful mind, adhd your logo to your email design to guarantee that it’s ever included.

12. Name nan connection successful your taxable line.

You tin drastically summation your unfastened rates by including an inducement successful your taxable line.

31% of marketers opportunity that emails pinch typical offers aliases promotions person nan highest unfastened rate, and 30.7% of marketers opportunity these emails besides person nan highest click-through rate.

If you’re moving a promotion, usage incentive-focused taxable lines for illustration “Free shipping erstwhile you walk $25 aliases more” aliases "Receive a free iPad pinch a demo.”

Here's an illustration of an email pinch an enticing taxable statement and warm, welcoming assemblage copy. The taxable statement for this email from Elementor says, “Up to 50% disconnected erstwhile upgrading!”

However, beryllium observant not to overwhelm your readers pinch savings- aliases product-related emails.

Customer loyalty starts pinch casual manufacture insights — only aft nurturing should you commencement introducing offers.

13. Allow recipients to subscribe to your newsletter.

You mightiness beryllium thinking, "Wait, if they received nan email to statesman with, shouldn’t they person already subscribed?"

Usually, yes. Therefore, adding a “Subscribe” fastener to your email doesn’t thief those who’ve already agreed to person your emails.

But awesome contented is shareable content, and if your existent subscribers are forwarding your emails to their friends and colleagues, you’ll want to thief them subscribe, too.

Add a mini but visible CTA that allows nan recipient to subscribe to nan newsletter if they received this email from personification else.

This email newsletter called Contentment is simply a awesome illustration of really to see a sign-up CTA successful your email without distracting from nan remainder of nan content:

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But remember, because your newsletter should already beryllium driving different action, specified arsenic downloading an ebook aliases signing up for a webinar, make judge this “Subscribe” fastener doesn't distract aliases confuse users, weakening your main run extremity successful nan process.

14. Write compelling (but concise) taxable lines.

A bully taxable statement should incorporate betwixt 30 and 50 characters, including spaces. The logic why you do this is that email providers often trim disconnected taxable lines that spell beyond this length.

Your email taxable statement should besides create a consciousness of urgency while giving readers immoderate denotation of what to expect erstwhile they unfastened nan email.

15. Create automated emails for opt-ins.

Be prepared for your readers to hide they opted in.

Set up an automated email travel that reminds group they opted into your email database. The auto-responder should beryllium sent retired 1 day, 5 days, and 10 days aft nan personification subscribes.

Each automated email should besides see further contented aliases prize worldly to reward nan scholar for opting into nan newsletter — aliases your readers mightiness not consciousness they person capable inducement to really enactment connected your list.

16. Closely necktie emails to landing pages.

If you’re promoting a circumstantial landing page successful your email, nan landing page should lucifer nan email successful position of headline, copy, and content.

The look and consciousness of your landing page should besides lucifer nan email to thief create consistency, which goes a agelong measurement toward earning a customer's trust.

Also, make judge you‘re utilizing search devices to spot which emails and landing pages performed nan champion truthful you tin support sending what’s working.

17. Conduct a five-second test.

Send a transcript of nan email to a friend aliases colleague. Can they quickly show what your CTA is? If so, you’re fresh to deed send. If not, fig retired really you tin tweak your taxable line. Or, if there’s a different landing page, you should nexus to it.

3 Outbound Email Best Practices

If you’re sending emails for lead procreation — for example, successful a income position — past location are a fewer much outbound email champion practices to employ.

Following these champion practices ensures you’re efficaciously forming beardown connections that tin lead to imaginable business opportunities.

1. Make it personal.

Sending an outbound email isn’t excessively different from sending a trading email.

You should still beryllium personal, but moreover much truthful erstwhile you cognize your email is only being publication by nan receiver.

Start by letting them cognize really you cognize them. Have you already connected connected Twitter aliases successful a Slack group? Is this a wholly acold email? Figure retired wherever you guidelines truthful you cognize really champion to personalize nan greeting and message.

2. Include a clear CTA.

What do you want nan receiver to do next? Set up a call? Book a demo? Make your CTA clear from nan opening truthful location isn’t immoderate mobility astir what nan intent of your email is.

Also, don’t adjacent pinch a vague, open-ended connection like, “Let maine cognize what you think!” Instead, connection a clear connection aliases question, specified as, “When is simply a bully clip to group up a call?” Being nonstop and clear helps limit nan clip nan receiver spends figuring retired what you want.

3. Follow up.

Follow up erstwhile necessary, but don’t bombard nan receiver pinch a cardinal follow-up emails.

Be alert of nan emblematic consequence clip from group successful your manufacture aliases group you scope retired to. Anywhere from 2 days to 1 week is simply a reasonable magnitude of clip betwixt sending your first email and sending a follow-up.

Getting Started

There are a batch of caller devices astatine a marketer's disposal that are getting attraction these days. But email trading has stood nan trial of clip regarding its power connected your users.

This old, reliable, and religious instrumentality tin guarantee you get nan astir retired of your trading initiatives if you travel these effective email champion practices.

Editor's Note: This station was primitively published successful June 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.