Is the Email Blast a Thing of the Past?

The way we use email has changed significantly in the last decade. In fact, email marketing has transformed so much that some have claimed that traditional techniques, like the email blast, are completely dead in the water.

The truth is, as always, more nuanced than that. Today we're going to look at how mass emailing has changed, and what best practices you can employ to ensure your emails are received positively.

Is the Email Blast Dead?

The classic “email blast” - where you send an email to your mailing list - is absolutely alive and kicking. However, if you compared a mass email from today to one from a decade ago, they would be remarkably different. Mass emailing isn't dead. However, the one size fits all approach is.

In years gone by, your marketing department would send the same message to everyone. That just doesn't work anymore. Customer preferences have shifted significantly. They now expect you to deliver useful information that is relevant to their needs. A single email for thousands of people can't do that.

So, is it possible to still send emails out to many people at once while addressing the needs of the individuals in your audience? It absolutely is. All you need is the right mix of data and content to make your next email blast a massive success. What do you need to do? Consider what the best marketing firms are doing to make email better than ever.

How Email Marketing Has Evolved

We've established that simply sending a single email to everyone on your list is an ineffective way to reach out to your clients. It's even more useless if you're trying to nurture leads or new customers. While some occasions may call for a single mass email – sending out an apology for an incorrect link, for example - we generally need to take a more targeted approach. 

Today's email strategies involve dynamic content, personalised messaging, tactful timing, and proper design. Without these principles, your next email campaign is sure to flop. Let's look at how you can optimise your emails using these core concepts.

The Power of Personalisation

We’ve all received emails that feel as though the message was crafted just for us even though we know that can’t be the case. This is the power of personalisation.

In order to properly personalise your emails, you'll need to have more data on your customers. With this data, you can customise emails based on your clients' location, age, or even other interests. You don't need that much to have an effect, however the more you can tailor your emails, the better. A dash of personalisation, like a sprinkle of salt, will make your emails much more appetising.

Don't worry about spooking your clients by using personal details. Studies consistently show that while consumers are more concerned about data privacy, they don't mind when their data is used in ways that make their experience more relevant and useful. As long as you're using their data to deliver relevant content that they care about, your clients will be satisfied.

Dynamic Content to the Rescue

Dynamic content describes any element that changes based on certain variables. It's a form of personalisation that makes your email more engaging.

For example, imagine if you ordered a microphone online and got an email a few days later with a subject line reading: “How do you like your order?” This general copy can be sent to every customer automatically, but its vanilla wording is unlikely to encourage a response.

Now consider how you would feel if, instead of the word “order”, the email specified the exact model of microphone you had ordered. How delighted would you be if on opening the email, you found genuinely useful tips for configuring your new purchase and an invitation to get in touch if you had any questions.

This is how you deliver relevant content to a wide audience quickly. Granted, it involves more thought than a boilerplate template. But this is time well spent when you consider the impact of your unique customer experience.

Timing Emails for Maximum Efficiency

What time do you wake up? Do you check in with email first thing? Or do you have a designated “email time” during the day for checking and sending messages?

Your clients likely have different answers to these questions. If you know their answers, then you can greatly increase your success rates by timing your messages appropriately.

Modern email lets us know when a message has been opened by your reader. Based on that information, we can get an idea of when they prefer to read emails. By targeting their most responsive time, you can increase the odds of them reading your messages. Best of all, you automate the process, so you don't have to manually schedule your emails.

Time might even be able to help you make a few assumptions about what moment they are in while consuming your content. This information can help you decide on the format to deliver to meet your customer where they are. Are they going to be more receptive to a long form essay at 7pm or a snackable video or podcast episode?

Scaled up emails still work. We just need to tailor them as much as possible to your customers' preferences. Nevertheless, even the most personalised email sent at the right time won't leave a good impression if the email itself isn't well designed.

Modern Email Design

When was the last time you took a good look at your own emails? Do you view them on multiple devices? Most people today use their mobile phone to read emails.

Good email design, therefore, follows the principles of modern web design. Your email must look clean and sharp on all kinds of screens. Elements have to scale properly to fit all types of devices. The text should never go offscreen horizontally.

Be mindful of how you use links. Too many buttons or excessively long text links can be easy to press accidentally. Calls to action can be easily ignored if they don’t stand out.

If your emails become even slightly frustrating to read, clients will be quick to ignore anything that you send.

When To Use an Email Blast

We know that mass email can still be an effective tool, and that technology can help us to maximise its effectiveness. So, when should you use it? Since customers are likely to be turned off by a glut of emails, we must be selective. Let's look at some practical use cases and how you can personalise them properly.

Targeted and Special Offers

If you're running a special sale or limited-time offer, you've got a perfect opportunity to put your mass email skills to use. If you're planning on incentivising a purchase by giving 10% off the next order, consider how you could tailor your discount. Perhaps you make it 10% off a service or product related to one that your customer regularly purchases. Alternatively, your could target the discount based on the product pages your lead has been visiting.

You might think that limiting what that discount can do would be less appealing to customers. But remember, the fact that the discount is focused on something the customer actually wants or needs is more likely to turn into action.

Personalised Newsletters

The weekly or monthly newsletter is another one of those emails that rarely get special treatment. One way you can personalise these beyond having your database fill in a first name field is to use dynamic content to create newsletters for specific segments. You create a single email newsletter template, but you could change the introductory paragraphs or images used based on your recipient’s industry, for example.

Special Event Invitations

If you're hosting a webinar or a live streaming event, you might think you want everyone to go. In that case, sending the same email to everyone might be tempting. However, depending on the purpose for your event, you might want to target one specific segment of leads over others.

Using dynamic content, you can still take the opportunity to reach a broad audience while honing your messaging for specific groups. Identify why those individuals would be particularly interested in your event and tailor your offer to speak those interests, you're sure to see a much higher turnout.

Customised Email Marketing at Scale

By now you might be thinking that this approach requires handcrafting dozens or even hundreds of possible emails. It certainly sounds like we're telling you to write unique copy for each and every situation.

Rest assured that it's quite possible to scale up this process. Technology and data enables personalised marketing and individual journeys for your customers. All it takes is a handful of dynamic templates and a clear understanding of your audience. From there, automated workflows will deliver emails in a timely manner and in response to cues from your customer.

Revolutionise Your Email Marketing

If you want your email to impress, contact 1827 Marketing. We will be more than happy to discuss your goals and the type of assistance that might best fit your needs. Our company can provide the creative talent to craft engaging content, as well as resources for campaign planning, automating your marketing efforts and much more.