6 Effective Email Marketing Tips to Increase Engagement & Conversions
- Stephen Palasciano
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
In this post, we will be discussing:
With over 4.6 billion email users, email marketing remains one of the most powerful tools for engagement and conversions when done right.
Many businesses struggle with low open rates, poor engagement, and high unsubscribe rates.
Simply sending out mass emails isn’t enough, but by implementing the following steps, you can easily increase the effectiveness of your email campaign.
Segment Your Audience
According to a study done by the DMA, targeted segmented emails generated over 2.5 times more revenue than unsegmented emails (36% vs. 14%).
This is because when you segment your campaigns, your emails become more targeted, relevant, and relatable to your audience.
How annoying would it be to get an email about a product that is completely irrelevant to you and your purchase history?
Here are a few examples of segmentation types:
Location
Purchase History
New Subscribers
Age
Product Category
High Spenders
Large companies do this well. For example, Amazon may send you computer accessory emails 1 week after you buy a computer. This works because now that you have a computer, you may benefit from accessories for that computer.
Spotify may send personalized emails with “Discover Weekly” playlists and songs, which will be full of music that is similar to what you have been listening to. This works because the recommended songs will be relevant to what you have been listening to lately.
Personalize Everything
If you receive an email that was tailored to you specifically, you are more likely to open it.
If someone were to call you out by name or use your name in a sentence, it feels more personable, and you may value what they have to say more. The same goes for an email.
For example, email subject lines that include the recipient’s first name can boost open rates by 10-14%.
Costco’s "Member-Only Savings" email is a great example of effective personalization. The retailer sends customized offers based on a member’s purchase history and preferences.
For example, if Sarah frequently buys organic groceries, she might receive an email with a header that looks something like this:
“Sarah, exclusive savings on your favorite organic products!”
Inside, Sarah finds tailored discounts on items she regularly purchases, along with a "Shop Now" button linking to Costco’s website or app.
This behavior-based personalization makes the offers more relevant, increases customer engagement, and drives repeat purchases, all while reinforcing the value of a Costco membership.
Craft Irresistible Subject Lines
Your subject line is the first impression of your email, making it a crucial factor in open rates.
A compelling subject line should be attention-grabbing, relevant, and create curiosity to encourage readers to open the email.
Some key categories to consider when creating subject lines are:
Curiosity-Driven: Pique interest with open-ended or mysterious phrases, such as “You won’t believe what we found for you…”
FOMO & Urgency: Drive immediate action with limited time offers, like “Last chance! 50% off ends tonight”.
Personalized & Relatable: Use the recipient’s name or reference their interests, such as “Sarah, your exclusive deal is inside!”
How To: Offer clear value, like “5 easy ways to save money this week”.
Playful: Stand out with humor, such as “Oops! Did you forget this in your cart?”
A well-crafted subject line not only grabs attention but also sets the tone for the email, making recipients more likely to engage.
Optimize for Mobile First
An estimated 55% of emails are opened on mobile devices.
When you send an email to a subscriber who reads their emails on their mobile device, but the email is not optimized for that device, engagement with that email will be very low, and they will most likely stop opening email from you, and may even unsubscribe.
Make sure text formatting, images and line size are considered when optimizing for a mobile device.
With mobile email consumption rising, optimizing emails for small screens is a must. If your email isn’t easy to read or interact with on a phone, you're missing out on properly connecting with a large percentage of your audience.
Use Automations In Your Campaign
Email automation is a powerful way to improve engagement while saving time.
Instead of manually sending emails, automations allow businesses to deliver the right message at the right time based on user behavior. Automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails.
Some essential automated sequences may include:
Welcome Emails: Introduce new subscribers to your brand with a series of introductory emails.
Abandoned Cart Reminders: Recover lost sales by reminding users to complete their purchase.
Re-Engagement Campaigns: Bring inactive subscribers back with special offers or personalized content.
Without campaign automation, you’re missing out on opportunities to re-engage with leads and drive consistent revenue.
Implement A/B Testing
Continuous testing is essential for improving email performance. Audience preferences change over time, and what worked yesterday might not work tomorrow.
A/B testing helps identify what resonates best by comparing different versions of an email to see which one drives better engagement.
Key elements to A/B test include:
Subject Lines: Test personalization, emojis, and different tones.
Layouts & Design: Experiment with images, GIFs, or minimalistic designs.
Send Times: Find the optimal time when your audience is most active.
Call to Action: Try different wording, colors, and placements.
Testing different elements through A/B testing can help determine what resonates best with your audience. The key is to match your audience’s interests and the email content to build trust and engagement.
By applying these strategies, you'll create more engaging email campaigns that convert higher, drive meaningful customer interactions, and will ultimately increase revenue for your business.
