Have you ever wondered if your email marketing tactics are working? Explore the latest best practices based on 6 billion emails sent annually and insights from Jay Schwedelson, president and CEO of Outcome Media. Debunking misconceptions around trigger words, open rates, and tab placements, a data-driven approach that emphasizes engagement metrics over outdated conventions, empowering marketers to optimize their strategies for maximum impact. To learn more about the best email marketing tactics that work, continue reading.
Wondering if your email marketing needs an upgrade? Curious what works in 2024?
In this article, we’ll explore the latest email marketing best practices based on 6 billion emails sent annually.
Why Should Marketers Focus on Email Marketing?
Email marketing is far from dead. While one of the oldest digital marketing channels, it continues to evolve and provides unmatched opportunities for marketers to reach their audiences cost-effectively.
Jay Schwedelson, president and CEO of demand generation agency Outcome Media and host of the Do This, NOT That podcast, shares his insights on email marketing best practices in 2024, common myths, and key trends.
Debunking Outdated Email Marketing Myths: Trigger Words, Open Rates, and the Promotions Tab
A major challenge for email marketers is the proliferation of misinformation and outdated “best practices” online. Jay stresses the need to move past blanket rules around spam trigger words, emojis, capitalization, and other elements that supposedly hurt deliverability.
Inbox placement today depends primarily on engagement metrics—how often people open, click, and respond to your email—not specific content elements. Higher open and click-through rates signal to major email providers, like Gmail, that subscribers find value in the emails. Several perceived “spammy” email marketing tactics can actually lift engagement, like using the word “Free,” emojis, exclamation points, and question marks in subject lines.
“The very things that you’re avoiding… are the things, ironically, that generate the highest engagement, ”Jay notes. “You’re avoiding the things that can make you a success.” Rather than worry about arbitrary lists of prohibited words, marketers should test different subject lines and content variations and pay attention to performance data.
Another myth has to do with open rates. Many marketers claim email open rates are meaningless today. They argue factors like Apple’s iOS and bots inflate the rates, so the metrics aren’t reliable. However, while open rates are no longer absolute, they still have value as directional metrics.
For example, suppose you test an email with an emoji in the subject line against one without, and the one with the emoji has a 35% open rate versus only 25% for the plain subject line version. In that case, it suggests the emoji boosted engagement. The rates don’t precisely reflect the percentage of people opening the emails. But the 10 percentage point difference indicates which version performed better.
Open rates are like survey results—not definitive, but valuable to compare the directional impact of different marketing tactics. So, while open rate alone doesn’t equal engagement, combined with other metrics like click-through and conversion rates, it remains one of the most valuable metrics for optimizing your email marketing strategy.
Additionally, many marketers worry that landing their offer emails in Gmail’s Promotions tab hurts results. But Jay says that perception is wrong. The Promotions tab is actually part of the inbox, not the junk folder, and landing there can boost performance.
Only 15–20% of Gmail users even enable tabbed inbox categories; of those who do, around 50% check the Promotions tab daily. When people visit the Promotions tab, they’re at the mall—actively shopping, deliberately looking for deals and offers.
So, getting your email into the Promotions tab puts your message right in front of an engaged audience ready to buy. Open and click-through rates can be 50% higher compared to the primary inbox.
Also, it’s difficult for users to unsubscribe or remove your emails from the Promotions tab. So, landing there helps ensure your messages reach that important segment of deal-seeking subscribers.
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#1: Optimize Your Subject Lines
Subject lines are critical—they decide whether someone opens your email. Yet most marketers spend minimal time crafting them. They obsess over campaign creative and copy, get legal approval, and only then dash off a subject line as an afterthought.
#2: Optimize Cadence and Send Time
With many marketers blasting the same static emails to their lists, Jay stresses the value of changing formats and layouts.
Radically departing from your template for every third email can lift open rates by creating anticipation and curiosity among your readers. For example, it could be a letter format from your CEO saying, “Hey, here’s a new special discount for you,” or it could be as simple as changing out the images you use.
Many marketers might fear mixing it up, trusting their proven methods. Jay advises experimenting with or testing emails when changing formats to see what converts.
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Original article published on socialmediaexaminer.com