Boost Your ROI With These 13 Email Tips

If you’re in the insurance industry, you know that email marketing is a must-have in your digital toolkit. With data showing a $40 ROI for every $1 spent on email marketing in 2022, you can’t afford to overlook the importance of a well-executed email campaign. But to ensure your emails hit the mark, it’s crucial to avoid common errors that can sabotage your efforts. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 13 expert tips to use with a test send and help you eliminate any potential problems.

1. Broken Links: One of the most critical aspects to check for in your test email is broken links. Click on every link in your email to ensure it directs to the intended destination. Broken links can negatively impact your email’s effectiveness and negatively impact your brand, making it essential to detect and fix them before sending your email out.
2. Forgotten Links: Don’t forget to double-check your images and buttons to ensure that everything that’s supposed to be linked is, indeed, linked. It’s common to use an image as a call-to-action (CTA) button, but it’s easy to forget to link it properly. Take a moment to verify that all anchor text, CTAs, social media follow/sharing icons, and images are correctly linked before sending out your email.
3. Malfunctioning Social Media Sharing Buttons: Social media sharing buttons are a great way to expand your email’s reach, but they can be fragile and prone to malfunctioning. Test out all social media sharing buttons to ensure they’re working correctly. If a social sharing button doesn’t work, your recipients will be unable to share your content, leading to missed opportunities for engagement. What’s more, a malfunctioning button can harm your company’s reputation, so be sure to check and fix any issues.
4. Spelling/Grammatical Errors: In the world of marketing, spelling and grammar are crucial factors that can impact the success of your email campaigns. To ensure your email is error-free, consider using applications like Grammarly to catch any slip-ups. Always be sure to spell-check your email before hitting the send button.
5. Image Quality and Alt Text: Images are a critical component of any email, but they can also be a source of frustration if they’re not displaying correctly. To ensure that your images are doing their job effectively, check that they are of good quality and are associated with appropriate alt text. This will provide context to the reader in case an image doesn’t render properly. Additionally, make sure that your images are displaying properly and are not distorted, stretched, squished, or pixelated.
6. Formatting Issues: Formatting problems can make your email appear unprofessional and difficult to read, potentially reducing its effectiveness. Ensure your email’s formatting looks how you intended it to, including proper bullet point display. Test the email by viewing it in various email clients and on different devices to make sure that the formatting is consistent.
7. Design Problems: Your email design should be visually appealing and easy to read. Confirm that your font color is clear and easy to read and that blocks of color don’t make it difficult to read the text layered on top. Check that your brand is easily recognizable, and that your message has a clear focus. Also, ensure that the colors used in the email are visible on all devices. Not all colors suit emails, such as light colors, hues, and shades.
8. Effective Subject Line and Sender Name: The subject line and sender name are crucial in making a strong first impression and enticing recipients to open your email. Use a sender name that sounds like it’s coming from a real person, rather than a generic email address. Keep your subject lines brief, informative, and under 50 characters. A well-crafted subject line and sender name can increase open rates and engagement with your email content.
9. CAN-SPAM Requirements: To avoid legal trouble and protect your brand’s reputation in email marketing, it’s crucial to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act. This involves providing a clear way for recipients to opt out of your emails, including your physical mailing address in each email, and ensuring that your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” subject line, and routing information are not misleading or falsified. It’s important to be aware of and follow all the requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act to avoid potential penalties of up to $16,000 per violation.
10. Option to View in a Browser: Providing a link to the web-based version of your email is a simple yet effective way to ensure that your email appears as intended, even if there are rendering issues on certain devices or email clients. Many email service providers allow you to automatically create a web-based version of your email. Including a link to the web-based version in your email provides recipients with an alternative way to view your content.
11. Optimize for Plain Text: While HTML emails can be visually stunning, it’s essential to ensure that your email is also optimized for plain text. This guarantees that all recipients, regardless of their email client or device, can access your content. To optimize for plain text, make sure to include engaging email copy, shortened links, headers in all caps, and plain text bullet points. Additionally, use your email service provider’s plain text preview to test how your email appears to recipients who have plain text email settings.
12. Ensure Accessibility Across Devices, Browsers, and Email Clients: To guarantee that your email looks and operates as intended, it’s important to test it across a variety of devices, browsers, and email clients. This includes testing on both desktop and mobile devices, as well as on various email clients such as Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail.
13. Value: Finally, ask yourself if the content of the email provides true value to the reader. Have you explained what’s in it for them? The recipient of your email should be able to clearly understand why they should care about what you’re offering. Ensure your email delivers on its promise and provides the reader with a clear benefit or solution to their problem.

In today’s digital age, email marketing is a crucial component of any insurance company’s digital strategy. If you don’t have the time to build the right email marketing campaign for your insurance business, LIGHTSTREAM is here to help. Contact us today to learn how we can increase your efficiency through an expertly designed and executed email marketing strategy.