Want to enhance your open rate and improve conversions on your next email marketing campaign? Add these five elements and find out how much better your email marketing could be. If you’re here, we hope you’re convinced that email campaigns are still effective and are here to set out on a brand new campaign. Great! Here are the 4 essential elements of email marketing you have to implement.

Number 1: Email Personalization and Segmentation

Emails with a name in the subject line have a 26% higher open rate than one without personalization. Getting a subscriber’s name is as easy as adding the field to your email newsletter sign-up or contact form. The process of splitting up your master list of subscribers is called segmentation. Ultimately, the best email list strategy is to make an email group for each version of your customer avatar. You can also segment based on geographical location, age, or status as a customer. Segmentation ensures that you send emails that are relevant to what your subscribers want.

Number 2: Email Campaign Metric Tracking

Trying something new can feel like a shot in the dark. Trust us. We’ve made our fair share of email marketing mistakes. The key is to start tracking metrics as soon as possible. By tracking metrics starting with the very first email blast you send, you can know how many people opened it, figure out how many people clicked on the links and determine whether or not they bought anything.

Number 3: Scheduling Emails

Your email marketing strategy, like your content marketing strategy, should be consistent and well-thought-out. The timing of your email blasts can make a difference in your performance metrics. We recommend emailing from 8 am- 5 pm. Research shows that Thursdays are the most effective days to send emails, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays falling right behind. The weekends and Mondays tend to yield lower open rates. That said, there is not a singular best time to send your emails. Just let your metrics lead the way.

Number 4: Send A Welcome Email

It’s important to buy yourself some inbox real estate while you are fresh on the recipient’s mind. The best thing to do is send a welcome email. The welcome email does a few things for you and your business. First, it builds brand awareness. In it, let subscribers know what to expect from you, the newsletter, your business, etc. Second, it drives traffic to your social media. Some people (yours truly) would rather casually engage on social media than read through a thousand emails. Give your subscribers options for engaging with you. They’ll be better engaged when it comes time to ask for the sale.