We dug through the mailbag to answer 5 of the most common email marketing questions to help your brand take advantage of this tool.

Email Marketing Basics: 5 Questions Answered | Union

Email Marketing Basics: 5 Questions Answered

Contrary to popular belief, <a href="https://union.co/services/performance-media/marketing-automation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email marketing</a> is still a tremendously effective way to reach your target audience. In fact, customer acquisition through email has increased at a dramatically faster rate than acquisition through social media. This is true despite the recent explosion in social media marketing. Below are answers to the 5 most common email marketing questions we hear. Armed with these answers, you should be able to use email to more effectively reach your customers. 
<h2>How Do I Grow My Email List?</h2>
We should start by identifying what you should absolutely not do: purchase email addresses. Most email service providers frown upon this practice, some even go as far as to restrict your ability to add purchased lists. More importantly, you should expect the quality of the purchased leads to be poor. These aren’t people who have previously shown interest in your products or services, so the likelihood of converting them is extremely low. The more effective approach is to earn those new email addresses. You can do this by providing valuable content. Here’s a few tips to help you grow your email list this way:
<ul>
<li>Create Gated Content - Create some high quality content and require email addresses in exchange for downloading it.</li>
<li>Use Simple Forms - Avoid using any more fields than are absolutely necessary. The idea is to remove as many hurdles as possible and make sure it’s convenient for the user to take the desired action.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What Is the Ideal Length for the Subject Line?</h2>
As a general rule, try to limit your email subject lines to less than 50 characters. To ensure that it’s visible on both mobile and desktop, shoot for between 28-39 characters.
<h2>When Should I Send My Emails?</h2>
 Unfortunately, there is no universal rule for this. The best time to send out your emails will be unique to your list. Your best guide is going to be the data from your previous email campaigns. If you do not have that data, here are a few general suggestions based on research from the social media scientist himself, <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/9179/New-Data-Emails-Sent-on-Saturdays-Have-Higher-CTRs-and-Lower-Unsub-Rates.aspx?__hstc=69631439.14c7982e5205ada72d789dab0df8844e.1547916242187.1547916242187.1547916242187.1&amp;__hssc=69631439.8.1547916242188&amp;__hsfp=3784026306" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dan Zarrella</a>:
<ul>
<li>Time of Day - Emails sent at 6:00 AM and later in the evening have the highest click-through rates.</li>
<li>Days of the Week - Wednesday and Friday typically have the highest click-through rates.</li>
<li>Number of Emails Per Week - Always try to space your emails out so that your recipients do not feel bombarded.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What Metrics Should I Track?</h2>
 The metrics you track will vary depending on your goals. However, these two metrics are usually included:
<ul>
<li>Open Rate - number of recipients who opened your email</li>
<li>Click-Through Rate - percentage of recipients who clicked at least one link in your email</li>
</ul>
<h2>How Do I Comply With the CAN-SPAM Act?</h2>
The <a href="http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CAN-SPAM Act</a> establishes the rules for commercial emails, gives recipients the right to have a business stop emailing them and outlines the penalties incurred for those who violate the law. To remain compliant, email marketers must do the following:
<ul>
<li>Include an unsubscribe link</li>
<li>Provide the company’s physical location</li>
<li>Honor someone’s unsubscribe request by never emailing them again</li>
</ul>
It’s clear that <a href="https://union.co/services/performance-media/marketing-automation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email marketing</a> continues to be an effective option in today’s environment. Hopefully, these have answered all of your email marketing questions. If not, <a href="https://union.co/contact" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">contact UNION</a> and we can help you get started.

Email Marketing Basics: 5 Questions Answered

Valtech + Union is a creative &amp; performance marketing agency that creates omni-channel campaigns, unleashing creativity on a data-driven world, helping brands produce memorable, measurable and repeatable results. Obsessed with data-driven performance, we believe every marketing dollar should be viewed as an investment. Our clients expect a meaningful return and we prove the ROI of our work with quantifiable data.