Some people think email marketing is outdated. However, today’s trends indicate that it is still one of the most popular and effective digital marketing tools.
About 59% of consumers report that email marketing influences their purchasing choices. Additionally, 50% of buyers make a purchase based on a marketing email each month.
Each day, people send and receive over 361 billion emails. Email marketing trends show this figure will surpass the 400 billion mark by 2026. With that in mind, how do you ensure that your emails stand out from the rest and that your message gets across?
Email marketing involves sending promotional messages to recipients to educate, inform, or convince them to take a specific action. This popular digital marketing strategy uses promotional emails, newsletters, company announcements, and transactional emails.
Below, we discuss why email marketing is still relevant in 2025. You will also learn about the latest email marketing benchmarks and how to use them to create effective campaigns.
Is Email Marketing Still Relevant in 2025?
The best marketers are always interested in knowing where and how they can reach their target audience. Despite today’s email marketing changes, available data suggests email inboxes are still packed with unlimited business opportunities.
Email marketing is the leading digital marketing channel among marketers in 2025.Part of its appeal lies in its outperformance of SEO in enhancing the customer experience and increasing engagement.
Other reasons why you should use email marketing in 2025 include:
Access to a Huge Audience: About 90% of Americans past the age of 15 use email. Close to 90% of these users check their inboxes at least once a day.
Greater ROI: You can expect an average ROI of up to $42 for every $1 directed toward email marketing.
Unrivaled Targeting: Email marketing gives you the best opportunity to own your audience. You can use email marketing to connect and engage with your target audience directly. In contrast, the algorithm determines who sees your content when using social media.
These stats point to the undeniable benefits of email marketing. It allows you to reach a wider audience, develop stronger relationships, and enjoy higher returns on your marketing spend.
Top Email Marketing Best Practices in 2025
Want to boost your chances of creating the most effective digital marketing campaigns in 2025 and beyond? Follow these email marketing best practices.
1. Know Your Audience
To build strong customer relationships, you need in-depth knowledge of your audience. You must understand their pain points, interests, and needs to create email copy that resonates and connects with them. Knowing your target audience will help segment them based on their demographics, email engagement, geography, and past purchases.
Segmenting consumers simplifies the work of crafting relevant and personalized messages for recipients. Personalized emails have a 29% open rate. About 76% of consumers expect to receive personalized communications from brands looking to build a closer relationship with them.
Most business owners have a good idea of the type of people they target with emails. They are likely to be similar to those who interact with the entity. However, this is not enough. You need to get more specific. Businesses with limited resources can develop loyal customers by focusing on a smaller audience.
The subject line is the first thing your readers see when an email hits their inbox. They use it to instantly choose whether to send the email to their spam folder, open, discard, or ignore it. Around 64% of readers use subject lines as the basis to open emails. Email subject lines play an essential role in the success or failure of campaigns.
Create compelling subject lines using the following optimization tips:
Avoid any overused words or those associated with spam, like “guarantee” and “free”
Include a number
If you struggle to find ideas for catchy subject lines, you can use some of the existing AI Text Generators.
Even with the above tips in practice, it can be hard to predict which subject line will produce the best results. Consider using hard data to increase the chances of acing your subject lines. A/B testing can help you identify the types of subject lines that resonate with your subscribers.
The call-to-action (CTA) is the most important element of a promotional email after the subject line. Once the email lands in the recipient’s inbox, you want them to take a specific action. You can use the CTA to direct readers to your site and get them to sign up for a service or make a purchase.
When crafting a call-to-action, consider the main goal of your email. As you compose the email, ask yourself what the reader stands to gain by clicking on the CTA. This helps you craft a CTA that motivates readers to take action.
Follow the tips below to create a compelling CTA:
Keep it brief, simple, and concise – 3 words (like “sign up now”) is enough
Add a touch of personalization
Use a button format, as it is easier to click on
When creating a compelling call-to-action, you want to ensure the reader moves on to the next step of the sales funnel as quickly as possible. Avoid confusing the reader or creating unnecessary questions to ensure a swift transition.
A compelling CTA naturally boosts click-through rates and other vital email metrics.
4. Optimize Your Emails for Mobile
Many people open and read emails on their mobile phones. An estimated 96% of users access the internet using mobile devices. This is greater than the 62% that use a desktop or laptop for internet access. As such, you should always design your emails with mobile users in mind.
Use these tips to optimize your emails for mobile:
Make sure that all critical information is visible on the screen with minimal scrolling
Always use a responsive design compatible with various screen sizes
Choose adequate spacing and sizing for any clickable elements, including links and buttons
Use scannable and concise content
Reduce load times by only using optimized media
Before you send out any emails, be sure to test them on various mobile devices. Various email software services offer mobile emulators to help you see how your emails appear on different devices.
If you want your recipients to open, read, and engage with your emails, you must send them at the right time. You can increase the likelihood of more people engaging with your content by sending emails when recipients are most active. This can be during particular points of the day or week.
According to research findings, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days to send emails. Send your emails at 4 a.m. to boost open rates. But if you want higher click-through rates, you will get better results by sending emails at 6 a.m.
However, it is unlikely that anyone will want to check and engage with your emails this early in the day.
To identify the best day and time to send emails, find out your audience’s time zones, preferences, and behavior patterns. You want to choose a time that best suits your recipients. For the best chances of success, schedule your emails to go out between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
6. Take Advantage of Email Marketing Automation Tools
Automation can supercharge your email marketing efforts.
When starting, you may be able to send and respond to customer emails manually. However, it is impossible to manually send hundreds or thousands of emails as your email list grows.
You can use automation to keep up with email marketing design, copy, and analytics. Send emails based on preset timelines and user behavior with the help of an effective email marketing automation tool. This will free you to focus on content creation and strategy formulation.
You can send two main types of automated emails to your audience:
Broadcasts: These are one-time automated emails sent to specific groups of recipients in your email list.
Autoresponders: Email Autoresponders ensure readers receive emails at the right time in two ways. They can be programmed to send emails after users take specific actions, like making a purchase or signing up, or at predetermined time intervals, like weekly newsletters.
7. Analyze and Improve
Email marketing takes a lot of time and effort. You don’t want to waste precious time doing something that is not working. Tracking performance metrics can ensure that you are always moving forward, boosting efficiency, and improving your tactics at every step.
Some of the important metrics you should keep a close eye on include:
Open Rate: This refers to the percentage of emails your readers open. The open rate can tell you whether your audience likes your topics, subject lines, and email timing. A good open rate can be anywhere between 17% and 28%.
Bounce Rate: This metric shows the proportion of emails that could not be delivered. A high bounce rate can indicate that you are using invalid addresses or your emails are labeled as spam. Track bounce rates and remove invalid addresses from your email list to maintain healthy open rates.
Click-Through Rate: Click-through rate tracks the number of recipients clicking on any links in your emails. It’s a measure of the effectiveness of your CTAs and overall content. This metric tells you the type of content that your subscribers like. It also helps you identify high-engagement recipients.
Conversion Rate: This performance metric records the proportion of subscribers who completed a specific desired action, such as signing up or making a purchase. A reasonable conversion rate is somewhere between 2% and 5%.
Unsubscribe Rate: As the name suggests, this metric tracks the percentage of recipients who unsubscribe from your email list. A healthy unsubscribe rate should be below 0.5%.
Transform Your Email Marketing Campaigns
Email marketing helps you build solid and lasting relationships with your customers and subscribers. To ensure the best outcome, you must create relevant, quality content, compelling subject lines, and CTAs and keep improving by analyzing critical metrics.
Are you looking to transform your email marketing campaigns in 2025? Check out our email marketing copy services to find out how we can help.
When building a brand, nurturing your relationships with those in your target audience is crucial to your success. You need to be able to position yourself as an expert in your field, as well as become a trustworthy resource of information. And you need to ensure you’re doing this consistently by staying in touch with your audience regularly.
But how can you do this effectively? Through email marketing!
Email is a powerful way to connect with your audience and build relationships over time. Instead of fighting with tricky social media algorithms, you can reach people where it matters the most: their inbox.
However, you might find it’s a bit tricky to truly master email marketing when you consider you need to build your list, create a welcome sequence, and develop a newsletter. Luckily, we’re here to help! That’s exactly what we talked about in this #ContentWritingChat.
#ContentWritingChat Recap: Mastering Your Email Marketing
Today, we're chatting all about email marketing so you can craft newsletters your audience will love. 💌
— Express Writers | Your Content Writing Partner (@ExpWriters) November 1, 2022
This month’s #ContentWritingChat was packed with valuable tips that will help you become a true email marketing master. Whether you’re just getting started or email has been part of your strategy for a while, you’re sure to find some great advice here.
Q1: Why is email marketing important to a brand’s overall marketing strategy? What benefits does it provide?
A1. Email marketing is generally recognized as one of the most effective forms of digital marketing. It allows brands to communicate on a more individualized and tailored basis to existing and prospective customers. #contentwritingchat
As Andrew said, email is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing today. It provides an easy way for brands to communicate with their audience while delivering content that’s tailored to their needs and interests.
a1 📩 email marketing allows brands to build a closer connection with the community of subscribers. ✅people give us their email, which means they are interested in what we have to say. #contentwritingchat
Joana feels email is fantastic for creating a strong connection between you and your community of subscribers. And that will go a long way when it comes to your brand’s success!
A1: Email marketing is a great way to connect and build relationships with your audience. It's also an opportunity to stay in touch with them and keep your brand top of mind. #ContentWritingChat
Another great element about email marketing is that it can keep your brand top of mind with your audience if you’re consistent when it comes to sending emails.
Email subscribers are often warmer leads than those who merely follow you on social media. That’s because your subscribers have taken that extra step to provide their name and email in order to receive a freebie and access your newsletter.
Q2: The first step to email marketing is building your list. What’s your advice for getting more subscribers?
A2: Make sure you offer some sort of freebie in exchange for their name and email when they opt in. It could be anything you think your audience would enjoy, whether that's a short ebook, free training, etc. #ContentWritingChat
A freebie is going to be essential to getting people on your email list. Everyone wants to know what’s in it for them, so give them a reason to sign up. This could be a short ebook, free training, or anything else they might enjoy.
A2. Optimize channels to build your audience. Create offers/discounts/specific content that is accessible with a Call-To-Action to sign up for an email list. Prominently feature the option to sign up for your email list on your website. #contentwritingchat
As Carla said, you need to pay attention to what your subscribers are responding to. Give them more of what they’re interested in and they’ll want to stay on your email list.
A3. As a main component of your content marketing strategy, you could share research studies, blog content, promotions, events, helpful tips, industry information and news should be included. Create emails that are providing value and inbound to your brand. #contentwritingchat
Andrew suggests sharing research studies, blog content, promotions, event details, helpful tips and tricks, industry information, and the latest news. Ultimately, it’s about providing value to your audience.
A3: Consider your audience. What information do they want or need to know that is relevant to your brand? Relay statistics, promotional content, updates on industry innovations or advancements. #ContentWritingChat
Nicole recommended sharing interesting statistics, promotional content, and updates on the happenings within your industry.
Q4: Inboxes get crowded! How do you write a subject line that grabs attention and gets people to open your emails?
A4: First, keep subject lines short and sweet. You'll also want to communicate what's inside the email to give them a reason to open and read. #ContentWritingChat
Your subject line will get cut off in an inbox, so you want to keep it short and sweet.
A4. Write titles that are capitulating, interesting and make a statement. Shake it up sometimes by using a call to action, depending on the content. #contentwritingchat
Andrew said to make a statement with your subject line. You can even try incorporating a call to action to entice people to open your emails.
A4: 1- Consult data on what subject lines have performed better (title case, sentence case, etc.) 2- I balance attention grabbing with descriptive. People want to know what they're getting into before clicking. 3- I ask myself, would I want to open this?-Kat #ContentWritingChat
It’s also helpful to pay attention to the latest data on what makes an effective subject line. Then, you can test and see what works best for your audience. And as Kat said, a great test is to ask yourself if you would actually open your own emails.
a4 👀 go for something catchy that leave people curious. I like to use questions and emojis.#contentwritingchat
Joana suggested asking questions or using emojis in your subject lines. Both can be very effective at increasing your open rates.
Q5: Are there optimal times to send your emails? How can you find out what works for you?
A5. There definitely are optimal times to send emails and it depends primarily on the audience that you have on the existing list. You can conduct some initial research and A/B test the times to begin to draw conclusions. #contentwritingchat
As Andrew said, you can do research to find the best times to send emails, but it’s ultimately going to depend on your audience. Run some A/B split tests to determine your ideal da and times to send your newsletter.
Q5: Typically, the best time to send out emails would be in the morning when most people tend to check their inbox. If unsure, you can test a few different times and see what yields the greatest response. #ContentWritingChat
Carla takes her own time zone into consideration when sending emails. She opts for 12 pm and 5 pm and they generate the highest open rates for her.
Q6: How can you keep your subscribers engaged, ensuring they regularly read and interact with your emails?
A6: Use captivating subject lines, be consistent with creating content and use analytics to determine which emails elicit greater responses. In turn, use that information to curate and create content that is most appealing to your audience. #ContentWritingChat
Great subject lines and captivating content are essential if you want to keep your subscribers engaged. Don’t. forget to monitor your analytics to see what performs the best as well.
A6: Bring them quality content that's applicable to their lives. If they can apply what they're reading for a transformation then they'll continue to be subscribed to you. #ContentWritingChathttps://t.co/GwVnxtnIq2
Send content that’s relevant to the lives of your subscribers. This will give them a reason to stick around.
A6: Create a schedule for sending emails and stick to it. You want to make sure you're keeping your list warm by sending content regularly. Subscribers will get accustomed to this and know when to expect your emails. #ContentWritingChat
Make sure you create a schedule and stick to it. This will create consistency for you, as well as your subscribers. They’ll always know when to expect a new email from you.
A6: Nurture email campaigns should be personalized. Use targeted ways to reach unengaged segments of your audience. Make sure you don't send your engaged readers emails with topics that don't apply to them. – Mike #ContentWritingChat
Take it a step further and create a nurture sequence that’s personalized to your subscribers. You can send a welcome sequence to introduce them to your brand and warm them up to potentially make a purchase, for example.
Q7: What’s your favorite email marketing platform? And what are the main features you suggest someone look for when choosing a platform to create and send newsletters?
A7: I've used @ConvertKit for years now. You want a platform that's user-friendly and offers features such as automation so you can trigger emails when people subscribe, make a purchase, etc. #ContentWritingChat
Carla uses ConvertKit as well, but has also used MailChimp in the past.
Want to join the next #ContentWritingChat? Mark your calendar for the first Tuesday of every month at 10 AM Central and follow @ExpWriters on Twitter for all the latest!
How do you write content for email marketing campaigns that people will actually read?
This is majorly important. Maybe more than you’d think.
Why?
Email marketing can change the game for your business if you do it right.
Think invested and engaged subscribers. More conversions. More sales. More trust. It’s all possible with good email. (That explains why email earns a GIANT return on investment. For every $1 spent on email marketing, expect to earn about $55 back.)
Not to mention, it’s one of the most popular types of marketing out there. It’s not only effective — it’s also an easy, accessible, personal way to stay connected to your growing audience.
So, I’d say learning how to write content for email is really, really important, especially if you’re on a tight budget. Wouldn’t you?
Hence: this guide. Keep reading for 10 tips to improve your email content game.
Email Marketing by the Numbers
Email as a technology is nearly 60 years old (!), but it’s still most consumers’ favorite way to get information online:
The average open rate for emails across industries is 22.86%.
45% of email subscribers say they open emails based on who they’re from. 33% say they open emails based on the subject line.
The most popular email clients are Apple iPhone (with 34.2% of market share) followed by Gmail (30.7% market share).
During the 2020 pandemic, the most popular way to read email was on a computer.
Using call-to-action buttons in your emails versus just text links may increase click-throughs by as much as 28%.
How to Write Content for Email Marketing: 10 Timely Tips
Email marketing is different than social media. It’s more personal, more targeted, and, as a result, higher-stakes. With this in mind, consider these practical tips for how to write content for email marketing.
1. Write a Good Subject Line
The subject line is the gatekeeper in the world of email marketing. Write a good one and you’ll see a satisfying open rate. Write a poor one and you’ll suffer the sound of crickets in the background of your campaign.
While there are dozens of great ways to write a compelling subject line, the best ones all have a few things in common: They revolve around grabbing a reader’s interest and keeping it. With this in mind, follow all of the standard rules that come with writing any great email subject line: include action words; address the reader directly; make it unique, succinct, and short; and differentiate it from anything else they’ll see that day.
For an example of an email subject line done right, check out this example from Mark Manson:
2. Personalize Your Emails
Personalized email copy performs better than general email copy. With this in mind, input your customer’s name into your email subject lines and be sure to target the body of your email so that it speaks directly to your audience and nobody else’s.
While it can be easy to worry that your emails will be lost in the fray, the only way to ensure that they won’t be overlooked is to personalize them fully and differentiate them from anything else out there.
3. Make Your Emails Clear First, Catchy Second
Catchy emails are great, but only if they’re also clear enough to make your audience want to click on them. With this in mind, focus on making your emails clear and descriptive first, catchy second.
This ensure that your audience will understand the purpose of your emails, and that you won’t be going out of your way to develop email campaigns that don’t draw real results.
What’s more, emails that are clear boost your authority as a company, since they promise only what they can deliver, and help readers develop realistic their expectations.
4. Ensure Your Subject Line Relates to Your Copy
Even if your subject line is clear and catchy, it’s all for naught if it doesn’t also align with your body copy. Keep in mind that delivering what you promise is critical in the world of email, and only people who can truly do this succeed in the long run.
With this in mind, keep your subject text in-line with your body copy. In addition to providing better value for readers, this will also go a long way toward enhancing your reputation as a company and making sure that customers want to click your material in the days to come.
Need some inspiration for writing email subject lines? Check out our free resource: 20 Proven Email Subject Lines for Your Email Marketing.
5. Keep It Relevant
Relevance is critical for a good email, so be sure to tie the content of your email in with something that will ground it as relevant and in-demand. Current events work well, as does some personal detail about the audience. By showcasing your relevance, you stand a better chance of grabbing the reader’s attention and keeping it.
6. Write Emails in the Second Person
Second person is the best voice for email because it’s personal and unique. When you reach out and speak directly to your customers, it’s easier for them to relate to the voice and content of your email.
This, in turn, also makes it easier for them to connect with your emails and enhances the likelihood that they’ll open your emails in the future – which is a good thing for everyone involved.
7. Showcase Benefits Over Features
If you’re making an offer via email, be sure to showcase the benefits of said offer rather than the features. In addition to being more valuable for readers, this also helps present a realistic picture of your product, which goes a long way toward helping people understand what to expect from it.
While most people focus on the features in an attempt to sell a product, focusing on the benefits can go much further toward helping the reader understand what’s unique and special about the product.
8. Keep It Short but Sweet
Email marketing is not the place to get long-winded and verbose. Instead, keep your emails as short and to-the-point as possible. This enhances the likelihood that you’ll keep your audience’s interest and also serves to keep you on track and on topic throughout the duration of your email campaign.
9. Let Your Personality Shine Through
Your personality should show through in the emails you write, and it will benefit your company and your personal brand if you follow this tip. While you always want to be professional, allowing your personality to shine through your email copy is an effective way to differentiate yourself from the crowd.
10. Don’t Spam
Spamming your readers is the cardinal sin of email marketing. With this in mind, only send out posts when you have things to say, and don’t ever, ever send out an email just to send out an email. Customers are quick to unsubscribe, and you could be landing yourself in hot water as a result.
Email Marketing: The Connection Platform of the Future
If you’ve been looking for a way to connect on a detailed, personal level with your audience, email marketing may be it.
By learning how to write content for email marketing, you’re on your way to seriously improving your content campaigns and building brand engagement.
There’s no denying that email marketing should be an important part of any brand’s strategy in 2020. Email allows you to connect with people long after they’ve left your website, giving you the opportunity to continue building a relationship with them.
And who knows where that relationship may lead? That subscriber just might become your next client or customer! This is why it’s so important to take email marketing seriously and be smart about how you’re growing your list and what you’re sending.
That’s why we had to make it a topic for #ContentWritingChat.
#ContentWritingChat Recap: Mastering Email Marketing in 2020 with Liz Willits
— Express Writers | Your Content Writing Team (@ExpWriters) May 5, 2020
Our guest host for this month’s #ContentWritingChat was Liz Willits. Liz is actually a content strategist on the AWeber team, which is an email marketing platform that you’re probably familiar with. She’s also a keynote speaker and marketing consultant. We were so excited to have her join our chat so she could share some of her expertise. Let’s dive into the recap!
Q1: Why should email marketing continue to be a priority for brands this year and into the future?
If you need a little convincing that email is still worth your time, you’ll want to check out a few of the responses we got during the chat. They’ll prove exactly why email is still valuable today and will be well into the future.
A1: Because it continues to be one of the most effective ways to get people’s attention and convince them to take action. When I want my audience to notice new content or a sale, I rely on email marketing. It works. #ContentWritingChat
A1: Plus, email marketing is very affordable. Social media, on the other hand, is becoming expensive. It’s pay to play. (For example, you need to promote posts on Facebook for your own followers to see them.) #ContentWritingChat
As Liz said, email is an amazing way to get the attention of your audience. And let’s be honest, that’s not always easy to do on social media. With ever-changing algorithms and pay-to-play tactics, it’s often hard to get discovered. Email makes this easier and it’s more affordable than having to pay to “boost” every social media post you publish.
A1): ✅Email Marketing because it gives you direct access to your audience
✅ Email Marketing because we cannot trust our social media platforms ( when they shut down)
✅ Email Marketing because it allows you share detailed content with your audience#contentwritingchat
Another important thing to consider is that we don’t own any of the social media platforms we use. Should they shut down one day, we would lose the community we’ve built on those platforms. That’s why it’s important to get those people onto your email list (which you actually own).
A1: Email is one of the best ways to talk 1 on 1 with your customers! Since people have to opt-in to emails, you know the people who don’t hit “unsubscribe” care about what you’re saying & appreciate your updates. #ContentWritingChat
Plus, email provides a simple and effective way to talk one-on-one with your community. Provide value. Answer questions. And get to know them better!
Q2: Getting people onto your email list is an important first step. How do you do this?
People aren’t going to be inclined to sign up for any old email list because they’re not always quick to hand over their contact information. So, if you want to boost your subscribers, you have to be smart about getting them to sign up!
A2: To boost traffic to your landing pages, partner with other companies who have the same target audience that you do. Offer to share their landing page/lead magnet with your audience in exchange for sharing your landing page/lead magnet with their audience. #ContentWritingChat
Liz’s advice is to offer some sort of free lead magnet via a sign-up form or a landing page. This allows you to deliver something of value in exchange for their name and email address. Once you’ve created a lead magnet, make sure you’re taking action to spread the word about it.
A2: Provide some sort of incentive to get people on your list. Figure out what would be valuable and how you can solve a pain point your target audience struggles with.
It could be a download, a video series, or something else. Get creative! #ContentWritingChat
When creating your lead magnet, think about what your target audience struggles with and how you can help them. That’s going to be irresistible and will surely attract new subscribers.
A2: For eCommerce, I’m a sucker for the first time buyer discount. For bloggers, I want an email that is going to provide value, which you can typically determine based on how well a blog is run. #ContentWritingChat
If you’re running an online shop, take Lexie’s suggestion of offering a first-time buyer discount. Everyone loves to save money and people will happily join your list if they know they’ll be getting a discount code.
You can really get creative with your lead magnets. They can be videos, checklists, printables, and even mini courses. It helps to ask your audience what would be most appealing to them.
A2: It can take a long time to build your list. I always advise starting to build an email list *before* you’ll need it.
And make sure you keep Michelle’s advice in mind. Start your list before you actually need it. Don’t wait until you have something to launch to start building a list. Begin attracting subscribers now and prioritize nurturing those relationships.
Q3: Once you have subscribers, you want to keep the list warm. How can we write emails that actually generate opens, click-throughs, and conversions?
Keeping your list warm is going to require you to stay in touch with your audience on a regular basis. Don’t go ages without emailing them, otherwise they just might forget all about you! Plus, people won’t stick around if you’re sending content they don’t love. Here are some tips:
A3: To discover audience pain points/desires, chat with them, survey them, ask them questions in your emails. When you understand your subscribers, your emails will be SO much stronger.
Liz says to identify your audience’s pain points and send emails that help solve them. Everyone wants a solution to their biggest problems, right? So, make sure you’re providing that to your subscribers! It’s all about adding value.
And if you aren’t sure what your audience is struggling with, it never hurts to ask. Talk to them via email or social media or you can even send out a survey.
A3). ✅ First steps, Knowing what your audience is interested in.
✅ Focus on creating click worthy headlines and subject titles#contentwritingchat
Once you’ve got a great idea for the body of your email, crafting a click-worthy subject line is just as important. Your subject is the first thing they’ll see. And you want to leave them intrigued and wanting more so they’ll actually open the email.
A3 If opens, clicks and conversions are your goal, you have to put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. If I were him/her, what would I open, why would I click, what we compel me to convert?
We’re all bombarded by Sales emails. Be a Service email instead. #contentwritingchat
It also helps to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. As Bill said, think about what kind of email you would feel compelled to open. What would make you click a link or ultimately make a purchase? Keep that in mind as you craft your copy and your call to action.
A3
I’ve seen three options that work well & peek interest:
storytelling (create a storyline, add useful info + links)
keep it short and funny
keep it bi-weekly or monthly and offer like a recap or what’s useful & valuable > I love how @PRisUs does it!#contentwritingchathttps://t.co/QvUnmxOYT7
— Zala Bricelj – #edutech is my jam (@ZalkaB) May 5, 2020
Storytelling is always a powerful tactic when it comes to email marketing, so don’t be afraid to take your subscribers on a journey with you.
A3: Stay current on content that speaks to the collective state. Every email I get now that has no tact or concern reads colder than normal. I don’t need an “in these trying times” monologue, but lack of acknowledgement is just as bad. Make me believe in you. #ContentWritingChat
You’ll also want to consider current trends and what’s going on in the world when you’re sending emails so you can ensure nothing comes off as inappropriate.
Q4: Which stats should we pay close attention to in order to track email marketing success?
To continue improving your email marketing, stats are an important part of the game. They’ll indicate what’s working and what’s not so you can make changes as needed. Here are some things to keep an eye on:
A4: Keep an eye on open rates, click-through rates, sales, unsubscribes, and bounce rate. However, many marketers spend too much time focusing on open rates. Instead, focus more time monitoring and optimizing click-through rates and sales. #ContentWritingChat
Liz suggests watching stats like open rates, click-through rates, sales, unsubscribers, and bounce rate. Especially if you’re selling something, you’ll want to keep an eye on how many people are clicking through to your site and how many are actually converting.
Carla always tracks her open rates and click-through rates. Her open rates allow her to see which email subject lines perform the best, thus shaping the content she creates in the future.
A4: Opens are important, but you look to look well beyond that. What are visitors clicking on? A click usually equals valuable to the subscriber. #ContentWritingChat
As Lexie said, clicks indicate what’s valuable to a subscriber. What seems to be getting the attention of your audience? That’s a good way to see what kind of content appeals to them and addressed their needs.
A4: CTR, unsubscribe rate, time spent on-page are big ones! These all directly show you if people are interested in your content or not.
If you’re giving VALUABLE content, CTR and time spent on-page will be high, and unsubscribe will be low. #ContentWritingChat
Response rate is also great to track. Are your emails generating conversations with your subscribers? And what kind of overall response are you getting? Is it positive or negative? What can you learn from these conversations to create amazing emails moving forward?
A4: I look at open rates and CTRs the first day, make a note, then check CTRs 48 hours later. Your first stats are not always enough to give you strong foundation. Certain audiences will open the email & revisit days later. So I never take day 1 stats as law. #ContentWritingChat
And one last thing to keep in mind… Don’t just check your stats for the first 24 hours after your email was sent. Rachel suggests coming back in 48 hours to review the response your email marketing garnered.
Q5: What if open rates and conversions are low? What can be done to improve this?
When you want people to read your emails, you want to see a high open rate. And when you want to make sales, you want to see skyrocketing conversions. But if this isn’t happening for you, how can you change it? Check out these tips:
A5: Sending a few highly-valuable emails will also help if you have an email deliverability issue. ISPs, like Gmail and Yahoo, take that as a sign that subscribers DO want your emails in their inboxes. #ContentWritingChat
Liz’s advice is to start off by sending a few emails that are going to be very valuable to your target audience. It sets them up for what to expect with your list. And when they see that you consistently deliver high-quality emails, they’ll want to open what you send in the future. She also said this will help if you have any deliverability issues with your emails because providers will see that people do want your content in their inboxes.
A5: Also, A/B test your emails to see what increases open rates/CTR. Test long subject lines vs. short subject lines. Test your copy. Test your offers.#ContentWritingChat
Liz also says it’s smart to A/B test your emails to see what increases your open rates and click-through rates. This will tell you so much about what resonates with your audience.
A5 Content only fails for three reasons.
1. Wrong message.
2. Wrong audience (distribution).
3. Wrong timing. #contentwritingchat
Bill feels that content fails for three reasons: the wrong message, the wrong audience, or the wrong timing. It would be wise to ask yourself if any of these are the case when it comes to an email that didn’t perform as well as you hoped.
A5- Make subject line stand out, write amazing content, right timing, clear call to actions, segment your list. #ContentWritingChat
Another great tactic is to segment your list so you can target your content based on the interests of your subscribers.
A5: Ask your audience and don’t be afraid of their feedback. If they notice changes that they suggested, they are more likely to read and click. #ContentWritingChat
It also never hurts to seek feedback from your audience. They’ll tell you exactly what they like if you simply ask them! What would they like to see more of from you? What makes them open an email? Get some tips from them and tweak your email marketing accordingly to do some testing.
Q6: What are some important types of emails that you should send to your list?
Get ready to write! These are some emails that you should be sending!
A6: A few essential email types:
1. Welcome email
2. Survey email to better understand subs
3. Behavioral email automation — emails you send based on actions your subscribers take, like opening, clicking a link, buying a product, or visiting a webpage.#ContentWritingChat
Liz says you should send a welcome email, a survey to get to know your subscribers better, and send some emails based on actions that subscribers take. This allows you to really tailor your content to their interests and needs.
A6
Announcements (in your business or new developments in your services or products)
New features or new offers
Fun stuff (can be curated from different sources)
News (like a curated newsletter that @theskimm does brilliantly)#contentwritingchathttps://t.co/XGd2qIRUgL
— Zala Bricelj – #edutech is my jam (@ZalkaB) May 5, 2020
It’s also smart to send out any announcements, new features or offers, and some fun stuff here and there!
A6: Here’s my short list!
1. Quarterly or monthly updates. Whichever is best.
2. Product launch
3. Links list – Some can be yours, but 60% should direct to partners or other folks in your network.
4. Pulse check – Best for pivots. Allow replies. #ContentWritingChat
Rachel enjoys sending out quarterly or monthly updates. She also sends emails for product launches, links, and she’ll do a pulse check for pivots.
A6: Welcome email to new subscribers, offers or product launches. Every email should contain something valuable and relevant to your audience.#ContentWritingChat
Just remember to make sure what you send out is actually valuable!
Q7: What are your go-to tools for handling email? And do you have any resources for learning more about mastering email marketing?
The tools you use are really going to make things so much easier for you when it comes to email. Plus, resources help you become a better marketer too! Here are some suggestions to check out:
A7: Here are the tools I use regularly:
1. @AWeber for email automation, newsletters, forms, landing pages + email analytics
2. @reallygoodemails for email inspiration + examples
3. AWeber Smart Designer for creating email templates https://t.co/6Zu02d2BFN#ContentWritingChat
For Liz, she’s all about AWeber. As a Content Strategist for their team, she sees first-hand how it can handle email automation, newsletters, forms, landing pages, and much more.
A7 —
#1 – We use @optinmonster for creating email capturing campaigns
#2 – @Mailchimp for managing our list and anaylizing data
And the best way to learn about new ways is by looking at others email campaigns and testing it on your own.#ContentWritingChat
And of course, Canva really comes in handy for creating amazing email graphics!
A7. I use @Mailchimp and @Wix therefore I use the tools they have built in for handing email marketing. To master the email marketing campaigns I read articles on @hootsuite and @HubSpot#contentwritingchat
And of course, there’s also blog posts from Neil Patel!
Q8: Open Q&A for our guest host, Liz!
Here are a couple responses Liz shared to questions asked during the chat:
Definitely create an email campaign! Invite your social followers to subscribe to your list. With email, you can connect with your audience again and again and on your own terms. No fickle social algorithm to deal with. #ContentWritingChat
Liz knows that social media algorithms can be tricky! That’s why email is so important because it allows you to easily connect with your list.
DO NOT:
1. Buy an email list.
2. Forget to test and review your emails — in multiple ISPs and on multiple devices.
3. Neglect to clean your list. Sending to disengaged subs will cause huge issues with reaching the inbox and email deliverability.#ContentWritingChat
She also said to never buy an email list, always test and review emails, and make sure you clean your list regularly.
Want to join us for the next #ContentWritingChat? It happens on the first Tuesday of every month at 10 AM Central. Just follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat for the latest.
You put lots of hard work into creating that new blog post. It cost you real money, time, and effort. ⏳
Now, how can you get serious return out of your content?
Promote it.
Without a boost from a few smart, strategic promotion strategies, that blog won’t get traction beyond bare-bones SEO and organic shares. (Which could be significant by itself, but why settle?)
If you feel comfortable letting your blog hang out on the internet without any help, be prepared for a surge of activity followed by a quick decline. Your blog will limp along for a while until it’s forgotten entirely.
If, on the other hand, you want to give all your new blogs a fighting chance at getting read by a wider audience – not to mention a longer lifespan online – promotion is essential!
So, how to promote a new blog post in ways that actually get it noticed? Follow along as we share our best tips and techniques.
How to Promote a New Blog Post: Your Comprehensive Guide to Boosting Traffic and Engagement
1. Do These 5 Tactics BEFORE You Promote a New Blog Post
Make Your Blog the Best Version of Itself
Build Your Email List Using Lead Magnets
Optimize Your Blog Posts for Search
Promote a New Blog Post Internally
Build Relationships with Peers, Fans, Followers, and Customers
2. Promote a New Blog Post Using Email
Segment Your Email List and Target by Interests
Did You Mention a Specific Brand/Influencer in a Post? Email Them
Write Your Emails the Right Way
3. Promote a New Blog Post on Social Media
Use Instagram Stories
Cross-Post to Each Platform You’re On
Plug Your New Blog on Relevant Twitter Chats
Add the Link to Your New Blog on Your Profiles
Share Your New Blog Multiple Times on Fast-Moving Feeds
Use Those #Hashtags and DO @ People
Share Your New Blog to Your Social Media Groups and Communities
4. Promote a New Blog Post with Smart Tools
Use Quuu Promote or Zest
Curate Your Blog Posts in a Content Hub
Add Social Sharing Buttons to Your Posts
Do These 5 Tactics BEFORE You Promote a New Blog Post
So, you’re all ready to start learning how to promote a new blog post.
Hold on one second. There are a few foundations we need to cover first. Don’t skip these steps – they’ll help make blog promotion much, much easier.
1. Make Your Blog the Best Version of Itself
Content promotion will mean absolutely nothing if all you do is lead visitors to a subpar blog.
All the promotional tactics in the world can’t save mediocre content.
Why?
Quite simply, people don’t want to read, share, or engage with content that’s “eh.”
They may be lured to a blog that sucks because they won’t know it sucks until they land there. Once they find out, they’ll bounce away from the crappy blog as fast as they can. You’ll be no better off than you were before.
That’s why you MUST commit to creating the best blog this side of the internet. An amazing blog makes people want to stay, read, engage, and share. Plus:
Amazing content promotes itself!
A case study from Ahrefs nicely demonstrates this point. They regularly receive organic promotion from outside sources without any effort, like this Reddit post:
As they explain in the post, Ahrefs did absolutely nothing marketing-wise to get this kind of great P.R. – their readers love their content, and that love makes them WANT to share Ahref posts.
Simple logic, but something that a lot of people forget about when considering how to promote a new blog post.
Make sure your blog is amazing at the start, and organic promotion will follow.
2. Build Your Email List Using Lead Magnets
I can’t emphasize the importance of this next point enough:
Build your email list to create a built-in audience for your blog promotion.
According to the latest report from The Radicati Group, today there are over 3.9 billion people using email worldwide. That’s over half the population of the entire globe.
Not only is email widely used – it generates the most ROI per dollar spent out of any other marketing activity. (A Litmus study estimated that email is worth an average of $38 for every $1 spent.)
Your list, when you build it, is worth a TON. It’s a direct link to people who are interested in you/your brand, and thus the perfect channel for blog post promotion.
Lead magnets are golden nuggets of content that are high-value. You offer these as exclusive downloads for your audience in exchange for their name and email address. A truly high-quality lead magnet is well-written and packs in tons of helpful/valuable information.
Create lead magnets offering high-value information, then offer them to readers in exchange for their email address. Once you get their email – boom! – your list building has begun.
Once you have an email list, send out messages to it with links to your new blog posts. Done and done.
3. Optimize Your Blog Posts for Search
Besides blog promotion, don’t forget about SEO. It’s a major way to scoop up organic traffic to your blog posts from search engines like Google.
That said, a LOT more goes into proper SEO besides just inserting keywords in the right places. You need to think about factors like:
Content quality
Whether your content fulfills user search intent for your focus keyword
Whether your blog showcases relevant expertise for the topics you’re covering
Your site design and page-load speed
Your use of links and sources in your blog
And more
It’s important to get your SEO down before you think about how to promote a new blog post with other tactics. That’s because SEO is a passive way to draw more traffic and leads to your blog. Cover this base, draw in readers organically, and then hustle for more traffic actively using the other tactics we’ll cover in this post.
Linking internally is one of the best ways to promote your content to people who already read your blog.
What do I mean by “linking internally”?
Basically, just that you include links to your other blogs inside your new blogs. This is what that looks like:
Inside this EW blog, the internal link takes you straight to a related post that further explains the concept of CDF.
As you can see, internal links in your blog posts are there to help your readers, first and foremost. Your links should be there to provide more information or further reading.
Secondly, and most importantly for blog promotion, those links also lead your readers on a journey through your website and content. It’s a great, free, easy way to promote your other blogs – old AND new.
5. Build Relationships with Peers, Fans, Followers, and Customers
What’s another foundational tactic to do before you learn how to promote a new blog post? Start building relationships online.
Connect with peers in your industry. Talk to your followers, fans, and customers on social media. Most of all, do it genuinely.
This, itself, is not about promoting your brand. It’s about forging friendships and building your network. If you start anywhere, start here.
Not only will you create a support system for yourself and your business, but you’ll also give yourself a built-in audience who will cheer you on when you start promoting new blogs and content.
Remember: These relationships aren’t one-sided! It’s important to give as much as you receive. Cheer on others in your network and industry, share posts, write comments, and engage. I guarantee you’ll get back every ounce of goodwill you put in.
How to Promote a New Blog Post Using Email
Now that we’ve gone over the basic steps to follow pre-promotion, it’s time to dive in. Get out there and promote your new blog posts, starting with email.
1. Segment Your Email List and Target by Interests
Remember that email list you built? It’s time to put it into action.
First tip: Don’t just send your new blog post emails to your entire list. Segment your list into smaller groups, first. Then, target each group by their interests.
This will make your emails far more personalized, which readers really appreciate, according to research from Dynamic Yield.
Plus, email segmentation is a proven way to increase your email opens and clicks, and decrease your bounces and unsubscribe rate. This MailChimp study compared segmented email campaigns to non-segmented campaigns. The segmented campaigns performed much better:
For example, segmented campaigns got 14.31% more opens and 100.95% more clicks than non-segmented email campaigns.
Some examples of email list segments may include:
Splitting up your list by demographics (where people who live in the same general area are lumped together)
Splitting it up by gender
By age groups
By education level
By job industry
To learn how to split up your email list into smaller segments, read this guide by HubSpot or these tips from Optinmonster. Using email segmentation is how to promote a new blog post strategically.
2. Did You Mention a Specific Brand/Influencer in a Post? Email Them
In most well-crafted blog posts, you will be citing research from other sources or mentioning other brands, influencers, or industry experts.
These links, citations, and mentions are a perfect opportunity for blog promotion. Crack open your email and send your new post over to the person/brand/influencer you gave a nod to.
This is a great promotion technique, especially if:
You furthered the topic discussion in some way that might be useful to them
You promoted the person/brand or gave them an accolade
For best results, make this about being useful, not about being spammy. If you send an annoying email like this, without any context…
“Hey! Check out my awesome new blog post! You won’t regret it!”
…You’ll get ignored, or worse, marked as spam. Instead, make a point to be thoughtful, intentional, and useful. This is as much about relationship-building as it is about blog promotion.
Look at this example written by Brian Dean for inspiration – it’s simple, relevant, to the point, and personal (this is how to promote a new blog post using networking power!):
3. Write Your Emails the Right Way
In keeping with the above point, you should also focus on writing your emails the right way.
Here are a few things you shouldn’t do:
Don’t clutter your email with babbling unrelated to the topic. Get to the point.
Don’t be overly promotional.
Don’t be impersonal. People WANT personalization, remember? (See tip #3).
And here are a few things you should do:
Be friendly, open, and genuine. People can see through a ploy for attention from a mile away. Aim to be helpful and informative, not promotional and spammy.
Social media is a major channel you can use to promote your new blog posts. Follow these tips to get the word out there.
1. Use Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are HUGE! According to data from Statista, over 400 million users are active on Stories daily. Plus, the IG Stories feature is twice as popular as Snapchat.
Its high-use factor means it’s a great channel to promote your blog posts. Here’s how:
If you have 10k followers, you can add a link directly to your story. The best part? It only takes a few seconds to record yourself talking about your new blog and add the link.
Don’t know how to use Instagram Stories? This IG Stories guide from Later covers every aspect for the newbie.
2. Cross-Post to Each Platform You’re On
Don’t just post a link to your new blog on one social media platform. Create unique posts for ALL of your accounts. This is how to promote a new blog post to get it in front of more people.
This is necessary because your entire audience doesn’t live on one social channel. They’re spread out.
Some people use Facebook but not Twitter; some are on Instagram and Twitter but not Facebook; and some people prefer LinkedIn exclusively for networking. Create posts for each channel to get the most traction and hit every type of social media user in your audience.
3. Plug Your New Blog on Relevant Twitter Chats
If you join a Twitter chat, you’re welcome to share a link or two as long as it relates to the topic and adds value. I’ve shared links from our blog relevant to the topic at hand in a Twitter chat and earned a lot of clicks.
A7
I covered 5 critical #SEO trends in my new @ExpWriters Write Blog today
1. Be Mobile-Ready for Mobile-First Indexing
2. Featured Snippets Rankings Will Go Up in Value
3. Create the Highest-Quality Content
Relevancy and usefulness are key, here. If sharing your link in a Twitter chat doesn’t hit either checkbox, don’t share it.
4. Add the Link to Your New Blog on Your Profiles
One often-overlooked place to promote your blog is on the main information panel on your social media profiles.
This is what it looks like on Instagram, using @cmicontent as an example:
On Twitter, too:
And even on Pinterest:
On these platforms, in particular, the featured link is prominent. This is a perfect spot to plug the link to your newest blog post, as anyone visiting your account will no doubt see it immediately.
5. Share Your New Blog Multiple Times, at Optimum Times, on Fast-Moving Feeds
Some social media feeds move fast – so fast, lots of your followers may not even see the link you posted to your new blog post.
For these feeds – think Twitter and Facebook, especially – it’s a good idea to post about your new blog multiple times the day you publish. Here’s a good rule of thumb for how to promote a new blog post:
Post once, right after you publish the blog
Post a few more times, a few hours apart
Keep a few things in mind to make sure more people see your post:
The best times to post on your chosen platform based on research
The best times to post based on your audience’s preferences and habits
For example, SproutSocial analyzed their own customer data to determine the best general times for posting to the biggest social media platforms, like Facebook:
CoSchedule did research on this topic, too, and came up with some benchmarks for each platform:
Don’t consider this type of research your posting Bible, though. Take into account your audience, and try experimenting with post times to see if you can find your personal sweet spot.
6. Use Those #Hashtags and DO @ People
Another factor to remember when composing social media posts promoting your newest blog: Use hashtags and mention relevant people!
It’s surprising how much more engagement your post gets when you include some well-chosen hashtags and mentions.
This is a good example of hashtag usage on Instagram from a candle company, Frostbeard Studio:
And here’s another post they shared that includes a mention of who originally created it:
Not sure which hashtags to use? This post from AdWeek has some excellent tips for finding the right ones for your posts.
7. Share Your New Blog to Your Social Media Groups and Communities
Final tip for how to promote a new blog post on social media:
Share that puppy with your groups and communities!
That includes Facebook groups, group chats, discussions, and forums. Especially if you’ve been engaging in your groups for a while, you’re likely to have a whole team of people ready to spread your post around the web like there’s no tomorrow.
When it counts, lean into your networks and use them to your advantage. Again, relationship-building always pays off.
How to Promote a New Blog Post with Smart Tools
Beyond email and social media, you may be scratching your head for ideas on how to promote a new blog post.
Good news – there are tools out there for that.
1. Use Quuu Promote or Zest
Want your content pushed out to more people? Tools like Quuu Promote or Zest make it ridiculously easy.
You have to apply and pay, but these are high-quality “sources” of content for marketers. That means you’re getting in each tool’s high-quality promotion queue, where they only approve the best of the best for promoting to their audiences. (Check out Quuu’s promotion criteria to see what I mean. It’s strict!)
These useful tools qualify content, which is good in a world of 3+ million published blogs/day. They help separate the wheat from the chaff – and YOUR blog posts could be the wheat that gets promoted to subscribers. (Just make sure your content is the best of the best – scroll back to the top of this post, to “Make Your Blog the Best Version of Itself” to get my drift.)
2. Curate Your Blog Posts in a Content Hub
Content curation is a great way to do a few brand-promoting activities at once.
It builds you up as a thought leader because you’ll be sharing and highlighting the best content that catches your eye (as well as your own high-authority content, which will get the benefit of association).
You’ll build an asset that both supplements and boosts your own content and blog posts. (For instance, you know video does really well with readers, but you don’t produce a lot of it yourself. In this case, you can curate relevant video content from other sources to supplement your own blog posts.)
There are plenty of good tools out there for creating content hubs:
To create one to host on your own website, try Scoop.it. Here’s an example of a content hub they created called “Content marketing resources”:
Or, try Flipboard to create curated boards with your blog posts and related content from around the industry. Look at this Flipboard from Copyblogger
3. Add Social Sharing Buttons to Your Posts
What happens when your readers are on your website, reading your content, and they want to share it?
If you add social sharing buttons to each post, they’ll have an easy way to do just that with a few clicks. (Much, MUCH easier than copying and pasting your link into Facebook or Twitter.)
A good tool for the job is Monarch, a WordPress plugin. It gives you lots of options for button placement and design.
Bonus: These buttons also make your blog posts look snazzy and professional. Win-win!
How to Promote a New Blog Post: Done and Done
This is where our exhaustive answer to “how to promote a new blog post” ends, but…
How far your posts go from here is up to you.
Blog promotion takes a lot of work, but it’s worth it. You’ll help MORE potential leads and customers find your amazing posts, which will lead to more traction for your brand.
Don’t let those promotion opportunities fall by the wayside – dig in and take advantage. They’re not difficult, and they WILL lead to better ROI for your content babies.
One more thing, before you go…
One Final Tip for How to Promote a New Blog Post
Don’t outsource TOO MUCH of your promotion and creation.
Help and delegation are good, but remember that you need to be the idea originator for all your blogs.
I can’t stress this enough! You promoting your own content should be natural and authentic.
You can absolutely hire someone to help schedule and post for you, but make sure you’re in the thought process! In short, don’t outsource the thought in thought leadership – that needs to come from you.
How do you plan to go forth and promote your new blog posts? Let us know your game plan in the comments!
