Sip on This: The Power of Email Marketing

Let’s look at one of these emails I received earlier this week: 

In this specific email, Starbucks is promoting a one-day event where rewards members can opt-in for double stars (their point system). Not only is Starbucks trying to entice their consumers to come in and purchase their products, but they’re also engaging with consumers through this email campaign by making customers opt into this promotion by clicking the call-to-action button. 

With email marketing, Starbucks can personalize their ads, which would be more difficult to do through other channels. By adding my name to the email, I personally felt more compelled to act, simply because I felt a sense of exclusivity. Notice how in the fine print, they also use “your Double Star Day.” The ability to have that level of personalization is a huge win for Starbucks. No one wants to feel like they’re part of a mass email chain (even if they are).

Best Practices for Email Marketing:

Building a quality email list. This involves collecting email addresses from customers who have opted to receive email communications. This ensures that the email list is comprised of engaged and interested customers.

Creating compelling email content. Email content should be personalized, relevant, and engaging. Personalization can be achieved by segmenting the email list based on customer demographics and interests. Testing your email content by conducting A/B and copy tests for new campaigns is very important. This will help your business maximize ROI and better strategize future campaigns. 

Optimizing email campaigns for mobile devices. With the rise of technology and the use of smart devices, emails should be designed to be easily readable on small screens. If your content is not compatible with mobile, there’s a high chance your campaign will have high bounce rates, low CTR, and even lower conversions.