It’s no secret you want to improve your email marketing in 2019.

You’d be crazy if you didn’t.

After all, when it comes to email marketing, you’re never done optimizing. And as you ponder plans for next year’s program, we encourage you to dream big.

In fact, we’ve put together a list of the all-time top 10 email marketing strategies we’ve seen crush it with our customers.

Try them yourself to get an even bigger bang for your buck in 2019.

1 – re-engagement campaign

Everyone wants to clean house at the beginning of the year. Purge your junk, get in shape, start eating right… heck, do everything the right way.

The start of the year is a reset button for you AND your email marketing strategies. Use this slow(er) time of year to execute a re-engagement campaign.

It will serve a double purpose: First, it will clean your list and boost your metrics. Fist pump.

And it will also give you a chance to ensure your list and subscriber-gathering methods are squeaky clean when it comes to GDPR compliance.

2 – custom responsive templates

You can have a good-looking email template.

You can even have one — and probably do — that’s responsive and mobile friendly.

But if it doesn’t translate your brand identity into a stunning design that follows best practices and drives higher click-throughs, what’s the point?

Let 2019 be the year you say yes to custom responsive templates.

These babies are your dream come true. We’re talking custom header, footer and three content modules. Your email won’t look like anything else out there. And more importantly, it will be 100% on-brand.

If that’s not a win, what is?

3 – loyalty and frequent purchaser program

There’s no better way to make first-time purchasers stick than with a loyalty and frequent purchaser program.

And you’ll have a ton of those from your recently wrapped up holiday campaigns.

81% of consumers agree loyalty programs make them more likely to continue doing business with a brand. Once they’re signed up for a loyalty programs, half of members keep their eyes peeled for deals coming in the door.

Need we say more?

 

4 – monetize your newsletter

Your email newsletter is your bread and butter. You faithfully curate the best content, images, and design to make it sing every… single… week.

This is the year you make it work for you through newsletter monetization.

There are three main ways you can make money: advertising, affiliate marketing, and premium content.

Consider one — or all three — in your 2019 email marketing strategies.

5 – SMS marketing

SMS marketing is the new kid on the block.

Not many brands have taken advantage of it even though it’s been available for a while. That’s because not a lot of people have taken the time to learn how to do it right.

That’s where you step in.

You’re going to learn what SMS marketing is and what it isn’t. You’re going to learn SMS marketing dos and don’ts.

And then you’re going to prove us right by knocking it out of the park with implementation.

6 – custom preference center

Subscribers come first in successful email marketing strategies.

And that’s why a custom preference center has to make an appearance on your 2019 email marketing plans.

Delight your subscribers by giving them the opportunity to choose when they want to hear from you, how often, and what content they want to receive.

This in turn will increase their engagement and responsiveness to your messages.

It’s a win-win.

7 – post purchase automation

Automation is a no-brainer for your email marketing program.

Post-purchase email marketing automation is a good place to start.

Following up with first time buyers has been proven to create loyal customers who spend again and again with you.

And it’s a well known fact a customer’s value doesn’t come from a one-time purchase but from their customer lifetime value — the net profit associated with all the customer’s future purchases.

Set up this post-purchase automation once… and it will help increase the LTV over and over again.

8 – anniversary campaign automation

People love a reason to celebrate.

Especially when that reason gives them a discount, deal, or dollar bills in their pockets.

That’s why automated anniversary campaigns are a sure win for your email marketing program. You can create them to send to subscribers a year after they’ve joined your list — and then automate them to automatically send your special message with little future effort.

It’s such a simple way to gain brand recognition and show subscribers love.

9 – lapsed/never purchase automation

A less well known automation campaign — but powerful one nonetheless — is an automated lapsed/never purchased campaign.

Whether it’s a subscriber who has never made a purchase, or someone who left items in his or her cart, it’s important to stay front of mind with these people. The focus of this email marketing series is to turn those lapsed-purchasers and non-purchasers into first time and then repeat customers.

It’s never too late to reach a disengaged subscriber. An automation series specifically designed to speak to this unique subset of people is just the trick for enticing them to convert.

10 – branded unsubscribe confirmation page

If your unsubscribe confirmation page is plain, generic and boring… it’s time to step it up a notch.

Why give attention to this seemingly unimportant landing page? After all, people are leaving you so it seems pointless to lay out the red carpet for the back door.

The reason you should add a branded unsubscribe confirmation page to your 2019 email marketing plans is because even though subscribers are leaving your email marketing program, they can still stay engaged with your brand.

Design and code a custom branded unsubscribe confirmation page with links back to your homepage and social sites.

This keeps the entire customer lifecycle on brand from start to finish.

Connect with your lost subscribers, prove your value, re-spark interest, and maybe even get a few extra purchases.

conclusion: add these email marketing strategies to your 2019 plans

There are a lot of items on this email marketing strategies honey-do list.

Every single one is a must-have to make your messaging shine in 2019, though. You won’t regret the hard work your team will put into making them happen.

And if you’re feeling overwhelmed by bandwidth or budget issues, we understand and we can help. Many of our clients are in the same position and we’ve helped quite a few of them with every single item on this list. Take a load off. Let us do the work for you. Schedule a demo.