7 Tech Tips to Organize and Optimize Your Email Marketing

As a professional email copywriter, I see first-hand how getting organized can improve an online business’ email marketing strategy. And I want to make sure you have some solid best practices in place for your email marketing.

Whether you’re new to email marketing or you’ve been rocking & rolling for a while now, implementing the key standards in this post can help you:

• Organize your marketing leads

• Increase opt-in rates

• Keep a clean list of warm subscribers

• Improve deliverability

• Build personal relationships

• Be a human (even if you are online)

• Build trust through transparency

• Automate the “ask”

☝️That’s a dreamy list of benefits, right?

The small changes I’ll cover below do not require much time or energy to put into place.

I encourage you to pick one or two changes you’ll make today, so you can continue optimizing your email marketing.

7 tech tips to organize and optimize your email marketing

01 | Organize your email marketing leads and subscribers

Make sure you’re using an email service platform (also known as an ESP). This might be the most basic of basic best practices, but if you’re using email for MARKETING, you need to use a proper platform to manage (and protect) your readers’ data and preferences.

If you’re just getting started, I recommend using the free, list-building option of ConvertKit. It’s a great software (the one I use!) and will scale with you as you start or grow your email marketing.

Especially if you have complex needs and want greater control over your automations, tagging and segmentation, I highly recommend ConvertKit.

02 | Create an opt-in and display it “above the fold”

Give your site visitors a reason to engage with you. By offering a helpful, easy-to-digest free resource, visitors are more likely to “give up” their email address to get it. Consider what will be both enticing to visitors and help solve a problem they’re struggling with.

It’s one thing to have a solid resource, but if site visitors can’t see it, that’ll keep people from signing up (state the obvious much lately, Allea?).

Ensure your opt-in is easy to access by placing the opt-in “above the fold” on your site, so they can see it before scrolling. If your site has a sidebar, make sure to include it there, as well as within (or below) blog post content.

Related: Free video training to help you connect with leads on autopilot

03 | Keep a clean list of warm email subscribers

Require a double opt-in confirmation for each of your forms. Having people confirm their email before joining your newsletter prevents bots taking up space on your email service platform (and costing you money). It also ensures that only real people, with a real interest in your opt-in, are joining your email list.

In this double opt-in confirmation email, tell people that by confirming they are being added to your email list and are free to unsubscribe at any time. This is both nice to do and a requirement of GDPR (aka European email privacy laws).

In all of your emails, allow people to unsubscribe through a link in your footer. Most ESPs automatically include this; all the more reason to use an ESP (see point 1).

Related: Boost email subscriber engagement and increase conversions by using tags

04 | Improve email send deliverability

Early in your welcome sequence, ask your readers to whitelabel your emails, so they don’t get sent to their spam/junk folders — but make it more appealing, like:

“Have a second? Please move this email into your Primary tab or add my email as a contact, so you don’t miss any updates from Duett. That’d be the worst.”

Related: How does email length affect deliverability?

05 | Be a human (even if you are online) when you write & send emails

Whether you’re operating solo or are part of a larger company, take a minute and look:

• Who is “sending” your emails? Consider adding name to the “from” address, like “Lauren Marie” or “Lauren at Elle & Company” to add a personal touch when it lands in someone’s inbox.

• Add a photo of yourself (or your logo) to associate with the email address you’re using to send emails through your ESP. You can do this through your email host (like Gmail). It’s always nice to see a face next to an email, right?

• Sign emails with a name or on behalf of your company, so people know there’s a real person behind what they’re getting (even if the emails are automatic).

Related: How email marketing connects you with new readers — and why it matters

06 | Build trust through transparency in your email marketing

State clearly if you have affiliate links in your emails, both for affiliate marketing requirements, but also for the sake of transparency and building continued trust with your readers.

07 | Automate the “ask” through ongoing email automations

Once someone is on your email list and you’ve delivered your free content, give them a proper welcome. Introduce yourself through an automated welcome series (even if that’s only one to two emails to start).

Use these emails to explain how you want to help them and direct them to the next step you want them to take — perhaps learning about or purchasing products/services that may benefit them.

Free Training: Simple ways email marketing can help you connect with leads on autopilot

Setup your email marketing for success

As an online business owner, you have a lot on your plate. Setting up tech using these tips can save you time and automate several of your tasks. That way, your new subscribers will get the red-carpet treatment each time.

You’ll increase opt-in rates and build a personal relationship with your readers, one at a time.

Leave a comment and let me know: What’s the ONE change will you make today to improve your email marketing?

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