Posted on

Top 35 Email Marketing Statistics (and What They Mean for You)

Finding success with email marketing often requires testing, analyzing data, and gathering feedback from your customers. All of those things are great and can help you improve your campaigns. 

But, wouldn’t it be nice to know what’s working for marketers and how your results compare to other companies? We’ve put together a list of 35 email marketing statistics and what they mean for you—starting with why email campaigns are vital to success.

Power of email marketing

Email marketing continues to be an important tool in a marketer’s toolbox, as these stats show. 

  • $8.5 billion in email marketing revenue
  • 4.1 billion email users
  • 80 percent of adults say they like receiving promotional emails at least monthly
  • 60 percent say they would like to receive the emails at least weekly
  • 99 percent of email users check their email daily
  • 320 percent more revenue is driven through automated emails than non-automated ones
  • 59 percent of consumers say marketing emails influenced their purchasing decisions

Implementing solid email marketing techniques is crucial for success. To help with that, we’ll dive even deeper into what the professionals who rely on email marketing think about it.

What marketers are saying

Across industries, here’s what marketers have to say about how they’re using email marketing.

  • 89 percent say email is the primary channel for lead generation
  • 47 percent use it for multi-step welcome emails for new contacts
  • 46 percent use email for promotional campaigns
  • 28 percent use it for transactional emails
  • 54 percent say email is the most effective type of digital marketing and the least difficult to use
  • 47 percent use videos in their emails
  • 65 percent use automated email marketing
  • 66 percent say artificial intelligence optimizes email send times
  • 40 percent saw budget cuts since the pandemic

The main takeaways here are that email marketing is far from dead and is often the easiest, most cost efficient marketing option. That’s especially important during and after the pandemic since companies are looking to make more with less.

Types of emails that work

The main goal of email marketing should be to engage your subscribers, whether that’s driving them to a landing page, back to their cart, or further down the sales funnel.

  • Non-profit emails earn an open rate of 36 percent, which is the highest across industries.
  • Agencies receive the lowest open rate at 16 percent.
  • Publishing has the highest click-through rate (CTR) at 6.5 percent.
  • Personalized emails increase open rates by 29 percent and the unique CTR by 41 percent.
  • Emails with videos boost click rates by 300 percent.
  • More than half of email campaigns are opened on mobile devices—and mobile emails have a 65-percent higher chance of bringing customers to your site.
  • 40 percent of users want to receive emails with informational content, instead of solely product promotions
  • Email subject lines with emojis increase open rates by 56 percent compared to text-only.
  • Sending three abandoned cart emails will result in 69 percent more orders than a single email.

Visitors who leave something in their cart obviously have some level of interest in your products, so reaching out to them more than once with a cart abandonment email helps remind them about what they thought about purchasing.

Personalization and interactive elements that provide targeted value to subscribers will continue to positively affect metrics, as well. All of your campaigns should also be optimized for mobile, as the number of mobile opens is only going up. Your site also needs to be optimized so they can easily find what they’re looking for after clicking through.

How campaigns perform

Email marketing metrics vary depending on your industry, but here’s an overview of how campaigns perform worldwide according to Statista.

  • 18 percent email open rate
  • 2.6 percent CTR
  • 14.1 email click-to-open rate
  • 0.1 percent opt-out rate

You can check out engagement rates for your specific industry on sites like Statista to get a better idea of how your campaigns are stacking up against the competition. Subscribing to emails from other similar companies will also show you what does (and doesn’t) work so you can better position your email marketing campaigns.

Practices to avoid

Not all email marketing stats are positive—like these that show reasons why people unsubscribe from your list.

  • 59 percent if they receive too many emails
  • 43 percent say the information is no longer relevant
  • 43 percent don’t remember signing up or the brand
  • 17 percent say emails are over-promotional or spammy
  • 5 percent say email doesn’t provide the content that was promoted when they signed up
  • 3 percent say the emails contain typos, broken links or other unprofessional elements

Setting realistic expectations for your subscribers is key to lowering your unsubscribe rates. Before they sign up, let them know how often they will receive your emails and what will be included—and then follow through on those promises. 

Take that practice to the next level by letting the user choose how often they want to receive your campaigns and what type of content they want. The more you can personalize their content and experience, the better your engagement metrics will become.

Find an email partner

Become a part of these encouraging statistics by choosing an email service provider that offers easy-to-use tools to design emails, send engaging campaigns, reach your audience, and grow your list. Robly offers our users features that can get you 50 percent more opens and grow your list 10 times faster, so start your free trial or reach out to us today!

Posted on

56 Examples of Engaging CTAs

Click Here. Buy Now. Read More. Those are all examples of calls to action (CTAs) you can use in your email marketing campaigns to drive customers to your site and improve engagement. 

A CTA can be text in the form of a button, image or hyperlink that encourages the user to do something—preferably head to your site. CTAs can even be a mix of those elements, like in this example from Old Navy.

They show your subscribers what they should do next—if the CTAs do their job. We’ll show you why this marketing tool is so important to use and examples of engaging CTAs to get you started.

Why CTAs matter

An email without a clear CTA is a dead end because there’s nothing left for the customer to do after they finish reading it—except maybe delete it from their inbox. Here are just a few benefits of consistently adding CTAs to your campaigns:

  • Create a sense of urgency
  • Push subscribers further down the sales funnel
  • Improve engagement and sales
  • Make brand predictable (in a good way)

Customers have come to expect and want CTAs so they know the next step to take for more information or to make a purchase. Here are more reasons why incorporating CTAs in your campaigns is important:

  • Emails with a single CTA increased clicks by 371 percent and sales by 1,617 percent.
  • More than 90 percent of subscribers who read your headline also read the CTA.
  • The average click-through rate for CTAs across all industries is 4.23 percent—which is better than Google ads click-through rates.

If you’re ready to start experiencing those benefits, try incorporating these engaging CTAs in your next campaign.

56 CTA examples to try

A CTA’s main job is to get your customers to click it. To do that, your CTA needs to catch their attention and clearly state why they should engage. There are several different ways to achieve that goal. With a limited word count to get your message across (in most cases), you want to be mindful of each word in your CTA. Here are a few approaches you can use with your CTAs.

Make it personal

Just like you personalize the email content, the CTA should also feel tailored to the subscriber, like in these examples.

  1. Start My Free Trial
  2. Get Mine
  3. See My Stats
  4. Go To My Account
  5. I’m In!
  6. Book My Demo
  7. Find My Store
  8. View My Rewards
  9. My Rewards (like in this example from Chipotle)

Create urgency

If a customer doesn’t take action when they first open your email, it’s highly unlikely they will come back to the message later. So, make them want to click it—now.

  1. Buy Now
  2. Shop Now
  3. Order Now
  4. Add to Cart Now
  5. Sign Up Now
  6. View Now
  7. Get Started Now
  8. Download Now
  9. Start Now
  10. Book Now
  11. Explore Now
  12. Watch Now
  13. Sign Up Instantly
  14. View Offer (Chick-fil-A)

You can also add an exclamation point—but only use a single one, and don’t use it every time. That could make your email come across as spam.

Offer an incentive

Everyone loves a good deal or discount, so use that approach with your CTA. 

  1. Claim My Discount/Savings
  2. Claim My 15% Off
  3. Claim My Deal
  4. Save 15% Now
  5. Get 15% Off
  6. Start Free Trial
  7. Use Code: FREESHIPPING (to add free shipping to an order)
  8. Reveal My Discount
  9. Sign Up & Save
  10. Join Free for a Month
  11. Find Coupons
  12. Activate Offer
  13. Get the Offer (Target)

You can also add “Now” to the end of these to incorporate a sense of urgency, as well.

Tell them more

Not all CTAs have to be short, using only one to three words. You can be successful with long-form CTAs in some cases.

  1. Sign Up for Our Daily Newsletter
  2. Share Your Story With #Example (to encourage a social engagement around a campaign)
  3. Let’s Start Working Together
  4. Shop [Specific Product Name] (like in this example from Fathead)

Stick with the basics

There are common CTAs you’ll see in email marketing campaigns across the board. That’s because they’re clear and they work. These might not seem as flashy as some of the others on the list, but they are especially good for emails where you need multiple CTAs because of their simplicity.

  1. Click Here
  2. Continue
  3. Learn More
  4. Read More
  5. See How
  6. Check It Out
  7. Subscribe
  8. Download Ebook
  9. Buy Tickets
  10. Get the Guide
  11. Get Access
  12. See/View My Cart
  13. Join Us
  14. Become a Member
  15. See All
  16. Shop Bestsellers (Pink Lily)

Mix and match CTAs

There are endless options for CTAs. Test them out, switch out words and move the CTA around the design to see which format works best for your audience. You can also combine tactics with multiple CTAs, like in this example from Domino’s.

Once you get a clearer picture of what your subscribers want, you can also use this type of CTA approach across your channels—from your website to social media pages. Every email marketing campaign you send needs a CTA, so start engaging your audience with them today!

Posted on

Best and Worst Examples of Religious Email Marketing Campaigns

Whether you’re a church wanting to keep members updated or a religious website sending daily devotionals or content, crafting an engaging email marketing campaign can help you effectively reach your audience. However, not all email campaigns are successful, so it’s important to find what works best for your organization and subscribers.

Luckily, you don’t have to go at it alone. We’ve put together nine of the best and worst examples of religious email marketing campaigns to show you what does (and doesn’t) work.

Best Examples

Some organizations make sending an engaging campaign look easy, and that’s when you know they’ve done a great job with it. Here are some examples of good religious campaigns—and what we love about them.

Aish

Email campaigns should catch the reader’s attention, clearly show who it’s from and provide valuable content—which are all things this email from Aish achieves. They used a cohesive, eye-catching template to showcase their Top 5 stories. Who doesn’t love a good list? They also have images or video previews with each story to break up the text and provide clear CTAs.

Christianity.com

When someone first signs up to be on your email list, they want to know what to expect. This email from Christianity.com thanks them for subscribing and then lists exactly what type of content they send. They follow that up with what they will receive next, along with visuals to keep the email from only including text. Finally, they provide a list of CTAs the reader can check out in the meantime while they wait for the upcoming content.

Crosswalk

Taking a similar approach as the Top 5 email above, this campaign from CrossWalk shows its subscribers what’s trending. Each article has an image and CTA, but what we especially like about this email is the “Trending for Plus Members” marker. That shows readers what they could be enjoying if they were a plus member, which is a great way to drive signup engagement.

Hunter Street

Each Sunday morning, Hunter Street Baptist Church sends out an email to its members that serves a variety of purposes. Members can click the top CTA to register their attendance—or follow a CTA to prepay for the Wednesday meal, view the sermon notes or find more content. The email also provides information on upcoming services and events, and all of their social accounts are linked to at the bottom.

Passion City Church

Email designs with a lot of colors can often be overwhelming—but not in this example from Passion City Church. The text is not only legible amidst the colors, but it stands out for all of the right reasons. They use two main text blocks and CTAs, along with photos of real people, which helps personalize the email. Anytime you can put a face to your organization, you’re doing a good job.

Worst Examples

Not every campaign hits the mark, as you can see with these examples. Check out what didn’t work for these emails and try to avoid the same pitfalls with your next one.

Christianity.com: Daughters of Promise

Ads pay the bills: We get it. But when the first thing someone sees is a banner ad at the top of your email like in this example, they might think they opened the wrong message (we sure did). There’s nothing wrong with the ad—it’s a great ad targeted to the subscriber. We just don’t want that to be the first thing we see and feel confused. An easy fix would be just to move your main content above the first ad so that you know what the email is about before you begin seeing ads.

Passion City Church

Even the best organizations can’t get it right all of the time, as shown in this example from Passion City Church. While the email we liked from them was full of color and photos, this example was the exact opposite. We had to do a double take to confirm it was from the same group. They seem to have been going for a newspaper-type design, but what they ended up with was a lot of black and white text. The pull quotes help break it up some, but that’s still a lot to digest, especially if subscribers are reading on their phones.

Center for Action and Contemplation

While this one from Center for Action and Contemplation does have an opening image, unlike the last example, it has a lot of text with nothing breaking it up. By adding another image, subheads or even shortening the text with a “Read More” CTA, they would have drastically improved this campaign. Remember: More than half of all email campaigns are viewed on phones. When you give subscribers large chunks of text like this, it can be difficult for them to consume on a small device.

YouVersion

Think of emails like a newspaper: You want to catch their attention with what they can see above the fold. In an email, that’s the top part they see before they scroll down. In this email from YouVersion, all subscribers see when they first open it is the large opening image. There’s nothing wrong with the image itself, but it doesn’t tell readers what the email is about. If they had added header text or a one-sentence blurb above it, that would have given subscribers a reason to keep reading.

[Photo: YouVersion1-3]

Find what works (and what doesn’t)

These examples of religious email marketing campaigns can give you an idea of what might work with your subscribers. But remember, the best way to narrow down what your audience wants is to get to know them. Whether that’s with surveys, A/B testing or analyzing engagement metrics, learn what they do and don’t like so you can ensure your campaigns deliver.

Posted on

How the Shift to Remote Work Impacts Marketing

More companies are moving toward remote structures to retain employees—and marketers need to take note to keep customers from quitting their brands, too.

By Lauren H. Dowdle

Conference rooms and business attire have been replaced by Zoom calls and pajamas (at least from the waist down) for many since the start of the pandemic. Even as some companies begin returning to somewhat-normal schedules, many employees are still demanding the option to work remotely—and employers are listening, as shown by these stats:

  • 16 percent of companies in the world are 100 percent remote
  • 77 percent of remote workers say they’re more productive when working from home
  • 85 percent of managers believe having teams with remote workers will become the new norm

So, what does that shift mean for marketers? Check out six ways remote work will impact marketing—and what you can do to adapt.

Catching consumers’ attention just got harder.

People have never had particularly long attention spans, which is why it’s always been important for marketers to captivate their audience right away. But thanks to the pandemic, their audiences are now not only juggling their own at-home workloads—they might also be surrounded by children doing remote learning and a partner who works from home. It’s safe to say they’re busy.

So, your job is to cut through that noise and engage them with a valuable campaign. The best way to do that is by providing targeted content. You can do that by segmenting lists, conducting surveys, and pulling customer data from various sources. Personalizing email campaigns shows the subscriber that you know them and what they want—which gives them a reason to focus on your messaging instead of the often-crazy remote life around them.

The way they talk about work is different.

An email marketing campaign mentioning office life or commuting might make the brand sound outdated and disconnected from what’s going on with their work-from-home customers. But not only should brands avoid using terminology or phrases related to working in-person, they can take that a step further and craft campaigns specifically for remote workers.

Take this Public Rec email as an example.

Subject line: There’s Always a Favorite

The header text reads, “What we’re wearing: Staff picks while staying at home.” They feature comfortable clothing options in this campaign, which is something any remote worker can relate to wearing. 

Find ways to show your subscribers who work remotely how your products, content, or services provide them value—especially in their new work environments. Or, put together content tailored to remote working, like “How to Stay Productive at Home,” or “Things Every Remote Worker Should Know.” There are ways for every brand—no matter its industry—to show it understands and supports its customers.

E-commerce is a must.

When COVID-19 first appeared, many stores closed or limited in-person shopping—and wary consumers also began limiting public interactions. That opened up the floodgate for online shopping, which had already begun growing before the pandemic thanks to sites like Amazon. 

E-commerce sales in the United States are expected to surpass $1 trillion this year—something that, prior to the pandemic, wasn’t forecasted to happen until 2024. And with more people working from home, fewer of them are out and about—leading to even more online sales from both the young and old.

Marketers can take advantage of that shift by showing how their brands cater to online shoppers. That includes letting them know about online shopping policies/returns, free shipping options, online ordering with in-store pickup, or any other options the brand offers. This information can be added to the bottom of your email—or it can even be the whole message of the campaign like in this email from Attention Grace:

Subject line: ✨ Free Shipping Sitewide Ends Sunday ✨

Giving a deadline for when the free shipping will end or setting a minimum order amount are great ways to engage subscribers and let them know about your online shopping options. Then they can make an order between virtual meetings from the comfort of their couch.

Email open times have changed.

As schedules and new habits emerge from working from home, so have the times people check their emails. For example, many once read emails when commuting to and from work. Or, they opened their messages when they first woke up to head to work—and that time has now gotten later since they don’t have to drive to work.

So, the best time to send email campaigns might have changed for your subscribers, as well. The best way to see when you should email them is by conducting A/B tests to see when campaigns earn the best open rates and engagement. You want your message to be there whenever they are.

Employee values are shifting.

More workers are requesting to work from home—or they’re quitting to find a company that allows them to. That’s one cause of the Great Resignation where millions have left their jobs. Marketers need to take this remote mindset to heart so customers don’t quit their brand—instead showing they are willing to evolve with their audience.

Working from home allows employees more flexibility in their lives, providing many with the opportunities to focus on their families, hobbies, and causes they support. That opens the door for marketers to create campaigns highlighting what their brands are doing to give back. For example, they can send emails about how they give back to the community or donate a portion of their proceeds to a cause.

Consumers—especially younger ones—want to know what the brand supports. Many will choose to purchase from companies based on similar values, so be sure your customers know about your brand. Even better: Give them ways to give back and engage with you, like in this email from Patagonia:

Subject line: You donate, we’ll match

[Patagonia]

Mobile-friendly is mandatory—not simply an option.

Having more people working from home means more of them on their phones. (Just make sure it’s on silent before the next video call.) With an estimated 6.6 billion smartphone users worldwide, it’s vital that brands ensure their sites, emails, and other online offerings are mobile-friendly. 

And we don’t simply mean your campaigns and platform work on a mobile device. No, they need to be easy to navigate and interact with on a variety of mobile devices. Check email campaigns and other online content to see how it will appear on a variety of device types.

Position your brand for success.

The pandemic, regulations, work locations, and consumer expectations are constantly evolving—and your marketing strategy must do the same. Marketers who look ahead for trends and are ready to make changes based on their findings will be the ones to have the most success. Show customers your brand understands their new working environments, and provide them with valuable content and resources that will help them navigate these changing times.

Posted on

How to Personalize Emails (Without Being Creepy)

Marketers are tasked with finding the right balance between providing a targeted, valuable piece of content and not scaring the audience away. Here are five best practices to create a personalized email.

It’s easy to learn a lot about someone before ever meeting them thanks to the Internet and social media. Everything from their birthdate and pet’s name to where they live and work is only a few clicks away. And for your email subscribers, you might have even more information thanks to data on their purchasing behaviors, survey responses, and other interactions.

But using all of that information to create a truly personalized email campaign isn’t always the best way to encourage engagement. In fact, it can be downright creepy.

Continue reading “How to Personalize Emails (Without Being Creepy)”
Posted on

How to Encourage Subscribers to Take Your Survey

The more you know about your customers, the better you can engage them. Like with any relationship, one of the best ways to get to know someone is by asking questions. That’s why you should be sending subscribers surveys.

Surveys provide invaluable information to help you better understand and target your audience. There’s no doubt that surveys are a powerful tool for any business or marketer, so the question becomes how to make them worth the subscribers’ time. Here are six ways you can encourage your customers to complete a survey.

Continue reading “How to Encourage Subscribers to Take Your Survey”
Posted on

How to Create an Effective Product Demo Video

Product Demo Video

Every author is familiar with the phrase “show, don’t tell.” It basically means that creative writers should allow their readers to experience their story through the actions, dialogue, and thoughts of their characters rather than through their own exposition.

As it turns out, “show, don’t tell” is a pretty great business philosophy, too. Product demo videos are the perfect way to show potential customers what your products can do, rather than simply telling them and hoping they believe you.

In this article we’ll look at what product demos are and how they differ from explainer videos, why they’re beneficial, and six tips to create them more effectively.

Continue reading “How to Create an Effective Product Demo Video”
Posted on

How to Write a Case Study

Think back to the past few years: Have you made a major purchase without reading a few reviews or checking a company or product’s star rating? Probably not.

Consumers crave to see what others are saying about a brand before they do business with them. They’re going to trust and value a peer’s feedback way more than they will any ad or content you put out on your own.

So how can you harness the power of consumer feedback, while still highlighting your product or service? Enter case studies.

Continue reading “How to Write a Case Study”
Posted on

Fundraising on a Budget: 4 Best Practices to Consider

fundraising strategy

Fundraising for nonprofit organizations is not a simple task. Fundraising successfully is even harder. But fundraising successfully on a budget? Now that seems downright impossible.

However, things are not always as they seem. It is possible to fundraise on a budget and do it effectively. It is possible to soundly call your donors to action without spending a fortune. While it can certainly prove to be challenging at times, minding costs will make your overall fundraising campaign more efficient with respect to both time and resources.

The first step to fundraising on a budget is to create a budget based on reality, not expectation. Start by assessing your organization’s current financial state and priorities.

Once you’ve established your fundraising budget, it’s time to consider which of these best practices you’ll use. Each will magnify the fundraising effect without burning through funds:

  1. Incorporate peer-to-peer fundraising.
  2. Deepen donor relations with online fundraising.
  3. Offer matching gifts.
  4. Invest in software.

In this article, we’ll expand on each best practice that can help prepare your organization to surpass fundraising goals but not the budget. Let’s start saving!

Continue reading “Fundraising on a Budget: 4 Best Practices to Consider”
Posted on

How Email Marketing Experts Get Results

Businessman accountant or financial expert analyze business report graph and finance chart at corporate office.

There’s no secret club or instructional book that’s kept under lock and key. So how do some email marketers seem to have the lowdown on what it takes to become an expert?

Part of it comes with experience, for sure, but much of what helps these experts succeed is working smarter, not harder. Here’s a look at some insider tips that will help improve your email campaigns and results.

Continue reading “How Email Marketing Experts Get Results”
Posted on

How to Create an Ebook for Marketing

ebooks

You want to collect more email addresses and provide valuable content — and your audience wants to solve a problem they have or find the answer to a question. And thus, marketing ebooks were born.

Ebook stands for “electronic book” and is simply a digital version of a publication, like a PDF readers can flip through on their computers or other devices. Ebooks can have text, images, or a combination of both. Marketers put them to good use as lead magnets to collect more email addresses or to engage their current subscribers.

No matter how you plan to use an ebook in your marketing strategy, you need to understand some best practices and how to create one. Check out these tips and steps to craft a must-read ebook.

Continue reading “How to Create an Ebook for Marketing”
Posted on

How to Supercharge Your Email Marketing Campaigns With Video

video

Video has exploded over the past couple of years. Email has been the ultimate marketing tool for the last few decades. So doesn’t it make sense to try and use video to supercharge your email campaigns? We think so!

In this article, we’ll look at the benefits of video for email marketers and how to use the medium in your email campaigns. Let’s get to it.

Continue reading “How to Supercharge Your Email Marketing Campaigns With Video”
Posted on

Make Your Email Campaigns Cut Through the Noise

Stand out from the crowd

Do your emails just blend in or do they stand out in the crowd?

In case any of us wondered which email lists we were subscribed to, we found out as soon as COVID-19 showed up. Every brand on the planet seemingly sent out emails about their changes due to the pandemic — or to simply give encouragement. Because I’m sure we were all waiting on pins and needles to hear from every company we’ve ever interacted with about their thoughts on the virus. But were any of those email campaigns truly memorable?

Continue reading “Make Your Email Campaigns Cut Through the Noise”