3 Scientific Principles to Boost Your Email Marketing Success

Email may be one of the oldest digital marketing tools, but it’s also one of the most effective ways to build and maintain a relationship with your audience.

According to a study by the Direct Marketing Association, email provides an average return of $44.25 for every dollar spent — a statistic that proves this medium is still resonating with consumers and driving purchasing decisions.

Why is it so successful? Unlike many forms of marketing, email allows you to segment your audience precisely and address prospects one-to-one. And, because you can track individual open rates and click rates, email also gives you an immediate gauge on what subject lines and content are resonating with consumers.

But a great email campaign doesn’t come without careful planning, experimentation, and execution. By applying some scientific principles to your approach, you can ensure that your emails are being read and acted upon by people you’re seeking to reach.

1. Convey a strong sense of urgency. When scientists stumble upon a good idea, they act with urgency to ensure they’re not beaten to discovery. In the same vein, your emails should spark a strong sense of urgency within the reader. Why should readers care enough about your email to open it? Give them a reason to open your email now. Then, keep them engaged enough to continue reading. The goal of each line in your
email is to get your audience to read the line below it. There will always be a conversion rate of zero for the emails that aren’t read.

2. Respect the power of small details. In scientific research or experimentation, every action can have an effect on the outcome. The same is true for email marketing. Each and every detail of your email marketing campaign — from the subject line to the font — could affect outcome. Determine how these small details relate to your overall campaign, and then optimize for success. Big details matter too: Offering valuable content that speaks to your scientific audience is perhaps the most important thing you can do to ensure success.

3. Keep solid data. Good science relies on good data. Scientists know this, and they go to great lengths to keep their data clean. Email marketers should follow suit. Take the time to collect meaningful data: What types of headlines secured the highest open rates? What word count proved most effective? When was the best time of day to send your email blasts? Be sure your data is collected and kept in a way so you’re able to answer the questions that will shape the success of future campaigns.

Email marketing gives science marketers power that other vehicles do not: The power to speak directly to the audience, the power to have concrete measures of success, and the ability to control when the audience will receive your message. Follow a scientific approach to embrace the power of email marketing to lead to successful email campaigns and keep your message away from the trash folder.

We want to hear from you: What strategies have led to the highest open rates and click-through rates for your email marketing campaigns? Reply in the comments section.