50 Best Practices for Email Marketers

CONTENTS

SETTING GOALS AND MEASURES 4

BUILDING TRUST 8

DESIGNING FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT 12

DELIVERING MEANINGFUL CONTENT 16

INTEGRATING WITH THE

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE 20
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 50 Best Practices for Email Marketers
Great email
blends intelligence
with heart.

There’s a reason marketers are still talking (and asking) about email. The first
permission-based digital marketing channel, email remains the highest driver of ROI.*
It’s one of the earliest touchpoints to introduce your brand to customers.

But effective email doesn’t just happen. It takes data-driven decisions as well as a
thoughtful touch: a perfect blend of data and emotion.

To master this balance, we’ve assembled 50 tried-and-true tips to guide you. If you’re
just getting started with email — or if you’re looking to improve what you’ve already
built — this book will help you create email that both resonates with customers and
proves its own value.

salesforce.com |

*
Data and Marketing Association (DMA).

3
Setting GOALS AND MEASURES

Setting Goals
and Measures
Creating an email campaign takes time, energy, and resources — but it
can be tremendously rewarding. Ensure your efforts end with a big ROI
and plenty of high fives. Kick things off with some discovery to align
everyone involved and get set for success.
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 Setting GOALS AND MEASURES
1. Get your mantra ready.
First things first. Your team should develop a statement to rally
around — and share it with your boss. This is your succinct response
anytime someone asks, “So, what are you working on?” For
example: “We’re developing an email program to engage current
customers, inspire new customers, and stand out in the inbox.”

2. Set customer-focused goals.

Once you understand your email program vision, establish goals
focused on the customer. Define clear intentions to improve the
value of your emails for customers. Perhaps you’ll aim to add the
ability to reach customer service in one click within all of your
digital marketing over the next 12 months. It could be anything
designed to benefit that special individual opening your email.

3. Get other teams involved —

and invested.
Share your plan for the year with executive leadership, other
channel marketing teams (like social and advertising), customer
service, and anyone else you’d like to include. It’s easier to address
challenges with a holistic understanding of where your business is
and where it needs to go. Plus, your vision could wind up inspiring
other departments to change their strategies.

$1 $38
FUN FACT
For every $1 spent on email marketing,
the average ROI is $38.*
salesforce.com |

*
Data and Marketing Association (DMA).

5
Setting GOALS AND MEASURES

4. Know what worked before.

Establish a benchmark for success. Gather data on previous email
programs to see what subscribers responded to before — and
where there’s room for improvement. Were there periods of
high engagement? Were there periods of mass unsubscribes?
Understand your history.

5. Align within your

marketing organization.
Conflicting business goals between teams can lead to challenges
as your email program grows. It will be tough to scale without
alignment among merchandise teams, content and creative
departments, leadership, and so on. Early on, establish the
expectation for cross-functional teams to agree on workflows.
Collaboration should be second nature.

6. Determine your KPIs.

Knowing your benchmarks for success upfront will influence how
you build and send email. Established KPIs (for instance, click rate
by link over time) ensure you get the data feedback you need. You
can even dig deeper for hard data on conversions and customer
lifetime value: Set your program up to measure list growth,
for example.
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 Setting GOALS AND MEASURES
7. Understand your objectives.
What targets does your email program need to hit? Is it a 5%
increase in subscriber base over six months? Is it a reduction
in unsubscribes or a boost in clicks to conversions? If you
don’t know, you could wind up over-sending emails just for
the immediate conversions. Sending too many emails without
established goals causes subscriber fatigue and hurts your
customer file.

8. Check up on your progress.

Regularly review how your emails are performing. Look high and
low, at an aggregated top level, at categorical campaigns, and
at individual email sends. See which ones are driving the best
engagement. Add what works to other campaigns. Compare your
findings to the benchmarks from step two. Share your insights
with broader organization partners.

9. Turn data into action.

Regularly translate your data and findings into actionable insights.
An increase in open rate is terrific news: Take a bow. Then identify
the steps to apply this victory to your other sends.

10. Recalibrate.
With the data you uncover, point out where there’s room to
grow. Consider which adjustments you can make to reach
your objectives. Pivot toward the strategies and tactics that
have worked the best. Remove or correct any that haven’t met
expectations. Make a tangible plan for addressing your challenges
and opportunities.
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Setting GOALS AND MEASURES

Building
Trust
Even the world’s greatest email campaign won’t do much
good sitting in a spam folder. Follow these recommended
steps to stay at the top of the inbox — and earn your
subscribers’ confidence to open every message.
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 Building Trust
11. Get their permission.
Be explicit about what subscribers are opting into. Clearly ask
permission to send promotional emails. Keep opt-in boxes
unchecked by default, and explain how the permission will be
used. Whenever you collect addresses, ensure your customers are
informed before agreeing to your terms.

12. Set expectations.

Tell customers the benefits of opting in. Describe what you’ll
provide in exchange for their information. Say why it’s valuable,
explain how often they’ll hear from you — and anything else they
should know. Immediately after a subscriber opts in, send them a
confirmation email reiterating the perks.

13. Champion quality over quantity.

It’s less important to have a lot of subscribers than it is to have
quality subscribers. Do what it takes to know where they’re coming
from. Then confirm that each of them has given their permission
to receive emails. Do not send messages to an email address if
you don’t know its source.

14. Make “goodbye” easy.

Email marketers never want to hear “goodbye” — but for
customers, it should be short and sweet, and easy to accomplish.
Make unsubscribing possible with one click, while also giving
options to control preferences like frequency and types of content.
An unsubscribe is better than a spam complaint.
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Building Trust

15. Get in all the details.

Include contact information, social sharing buttons, and
unsubscribe links somewhere in your email. That way, recipients
can share your content or communicate with you should they have
any questions or needs.

16. Let the unengaged go.

Stop sending unengaged subscribers the same emails as the rest
of your database. If someone hasn’t opened or clicked one of
your emails in over 90 days, move them over to an advertising
audience. Send them one or two win-back emails. Automate this
process to save time and execute at scale.

17. Warm up your IP address.

If you send an email to every prospect in your database right
away, it will raise a red flag for spam monitors. Start off with your
best lists to build a reputation. Keep volume proportionately low
during the first week. That way, you can spot issues with initial
sends before more emails bounce. Next, form a plan for increasing
sending volumes until you reach your goal.

18. Be consistent.
For your overall email marketing program, consistency in volume
and frequency is critical. Once you’ve warmed up IP addresses,
internet service providers look for consistent sending from each IP.
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 Building Trust
FUN FACT

of customers say
they love or like
81% having a spam
filter for email.*

*
Salesforce Second Annual “State of the Connected Customer” Report

19. Set up authentication.

Email authentication verifies that the email your business sends is
actually from you. It protects your reputation from spammers who
could pose as your organization. Your email service provider can
help you set up rules that determine how your emails are sent,
so fraudulent senders can’t imitate you. Most mail servers use
systems called SPF, DomainKeys, or DKIM to do this.

20. Own your sending practices.

Keep an eye on bounce rates. Review them to understand what
they mean. After a while, you’ll start to recognize warning
signs and red flags so you can avoid common mistakes.
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Designing for Maximum Impact

Designing for
Maximum Impact
Readers are busy. They can only give your message so much time,
even when it’s pertinent. It’s best to design your email with
efficiency and readability in mind. Help audiences learn what
you need them to know faster with a look that’s both visually
appealing and proven to be more effective. Here’s how.
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 Designing for Maximum Impact
21. Design a methodology.
The magic behind good design goes beyond the creative
department; it applies to all facets of business and technology.
Collaborate with your team to develop the frameworks, workflows,
and strategies that allow creativity to flow.

22. Plan your template.

After considering which types of messages you’re sending, develop
a design system for those communications. A modular framework
may best turn your vision into reality. Envision a proficient layout
for your content. Determine if one template with different
modules will fit all your needs, or if you’ll have to create templates
for different communication types.

23. Keep the journey in mind.

Each email is a step in the overall customer experience. Design
every message to fit in with all the other communications your
subscribers could receive from your brand. Make the look and
feel consistent. It should be easy to identify any newsletter,
onboarding welcome, or password reset (for example) as
your content.

24. Account for mobile.

Make sure your email looks great on any device and every email
client. Provide an elegant mobile experience, beginning with
your initial welcome email. Include any links and webpages while
you’re at it. The world is increasingly mobile-first, so these
things matter.
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Designing for Maximum Impact

25. Give your imagery purpose.

Add context and interest through photography or illustration.
Use imagery to appeal to the subscriber’s emotions and
communicate functionality. Including visuals in your emails
can break up the monotony of text, too. Note: Beware of stock
photography that doesn’t align directly with the message and
the subscriber.

26. Make the CTA shine.

Distinguish your call to action through color, placement, and
text treatment. Readers will quickly understand the purpose of
your email. More importantly, this will make it easier to act
on it.

27. Break things up.

Consumers have a tendency to scan emails for important
points that pertain specifically to them. Divide your email into
bulleted text and short paragraphs for better readability.

28. Be inclusive.
Build messages for everyone in your audience. Be considerate
of individuals’ limitations. Think about alt tags, readability, black
text on white backgrounds, and other features that make your
emails accessible to all.
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 Designing for Maximum Impact
29. Test it without images.
You’ve got five seconds to get your subscriber’s attention — maybe
less. Make it count. Test with images turned off to see what your
email looks like with a weak connection. Is there still content to
read right away? Is the call to action still apparent?

30. Preview and review.

You likely already previewed every message before hitting send.
Make sure that process considers every different variable. If you
include dynamic content, check the different permutations. If
your message is complex, build a checklist to catch everything as
you review.

FUN FACT

of customers
prefer to use
73% email when
communicating
with companies.*

*
“State of the Connected Customer” report, second edition, Salesforce Research.
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Delivering Meaningful Content

Delivering
Meaningful
Content
The ways to get subscribers to open your message are not kept under
lock and key. They’re proven, and we’ve collected the most effective
ones here. These tried-and-true methods will encourage engagement
and establish your brand as appealing, effective, trustworthy — an
email that subscribers will want to click on.
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 Delivering Meaningful Content
31. Stay relevant.
Consider your audience: Why are they receiving this message?
Does it address what they’re trying to do or what they want?
Focus less on the sell, and think about what the customer actually
needs. Let this steer your content.

32. Find your cadence.

You’re creating a relationship with the subscriber, so set
expectations and be reliable. Use your content to help them get
to know your brand better. Readers should know what to expect
from your messages. Maintain a look, feel, voice, and schedule.

33. Set a content hierarchy.

Can your subscribers answer what, why, and how after just a few
seconds of looking at your email? Order your content so the most
important message is visible before any scrolling. From there,
ensure every piece of content directs the reader where to go next
— and why.

34. Tell a story.

Email can make for a compelling narrative. Think about how
you’d like customers to understand your core values. What is your
brand’s story? When drafting it, consider narratives that peek
behind the scenes, address social activism, or reveal product
origins — for example.
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Delivering Meaningful Content

35. Keep it simple.

Try to focus each email on one message. When you do have
to include multiple viewpoints, think of ways to streamline the
presentation. You may need to send an additional message. Bring
teams together to collaborate, if necessary.

36. Trim it back.

After you write and design your email, reread the copy for
readability. You’ll often find you can trim it down by up to half and
not lose any impact. Customers move from one experience to the
next at a rapid pace, so be sure they can see and understand your
key message and call to action at a glance.

37. Grab their attention.

Short and medium-length subject lines have higher open rates
than long ones, which ultimately affects conversion rates (the
percentage of people who take action on your email). Subject lines
are often truncated depending on device or service provider, so
limit them to 50 characters or fewer.

38. Include a preheader.

The preheader is the text that follows the subject line in an email
preview. It can be as important as the subject line itself. Make it
a call to action or use it as a short summary of the email content.
Just make sure it supports the subject line. Limit this preheader to
about 100 characters.
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 Delivering Meaningful Content
FUN FACT

of consumers will
share relevant
information
88% about themselves
for exclusive
offers and

*
Salesforce Second Annual “State of the Connected Customer” Report

39. Drive results with a strong CTA.

Make your call to action in the email specific and relevant. Maybe
it’s a limited-time offer, entry to a contest, a prompt to visit your
website, or an invitation to an event. Give your customers an
irresistible reason to click through and take action.

40. Test. Test. Test again.

Test variances in the preheader, body, and specific content blocks
of an email. Try out different send days and times. Compare
performance of different subject lines. This A/B testing shows
how subscribers respond to important email elements, including
subject lines of varying length or content personalization. Pick the
winner, but never be afraid to run another test.
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Integrating with the Customer Experience

Integrating
with the

Customer
Experience
More than ever, brands are competing on the basis of experience.
Data is the foundation for personalized customer marketing. Your
email can be a powerful tool to put that data to work and tie the
entire customer journey together.
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 Integrating with the Customer Experience
41. Build a data framework.
Map out your data by what you have today, what you’ll need
tomorrow, and what you want for the future. These categories
show what you can act on in the short term. Breaking your data
needs down this way will begin conversations about working
across departments to share data companywide.

42. Know your audience.

The cardinal rule for marketers is to know your audience
thoroughly: their needs, their wants, their location, language, and
more. Learn their pain points and address them. Use dynamic
content to personalize for these different segments at scale. Show
your reader you’ve taken the time to really get to know them.

43. Map the customer lifecycle.

Chart the most common customer experiences with your
brand. (This has to be only as detailed as you like.) Visualize how
customers engage, when they hear from you, and when they like
to hear from you. Then determine which types of messages are
optimal for these moments.

44. Get more out of

transactional messages.
Transactional emails (like e-receipts and shipping confirmations)
encourage higher engagement than other content. So apply all
design and delivery best practices to your transactional sends.
Use them as an opportunity to introduce services or
complementary products.
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Integrating with the Customer Experience

45. Respond to behavioral triggers.

Be ready to react to the many behaviors of individual customers.
Automate messages to bring back consumers who drop off mid-
purchase. (Abandoned cart messaging is a good example of this.)
Set message frequency and content based on purchase cycles,
customer behavior, and other data about the subscriber.

46. Embrace automation.

Perfect candidates for automated messages are lifecycle series like
onboarding, re-engagement, or friendly messages on birthdays
or anniversaries. These messages may be complementary to your
newsletters and other sends. Use them to make your job easier.

47. Make it personal.

You’ve got the customer data. You know your audience well.
Now you can personalize anything, from simply including first
names to complex messages individualized for each subscriber.
Personalization doesn’t have to be complicated, either way. Start
simple with what you have today and build from there.

48. Make sense with segmentation.

Group subscribers into segments like product preference, position
in the customer lifecycle, and lifetime value. You may establish
segments for message types based on the intersection of your
customer’s needs and your brand’s. Defining your segments in
creative briefs and reporting will help your organization align
around shared objectives.
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 Integrating with the Customer Experience
FUN FACT

Customers are 2.1x

more likely to view
personalized messaging as important.*

*
Salesforce Second Annual “State of the Connected Customer” Report

49. Find your sweet spot.

Your product or service type, plus your campaign tracking data,
help determine what constitutes too many emails and not
enough. Marketing automation tools can help you strike this
balance. You can use them to set actions based on variables like
timing and prospect behavior.

50. Put the customer at the center.

We’re all customers. Think about how you like brands to treat
you, and what makes you passionate about a product. Allow your
favorite experiences to influence your marketing. Don’t be afraid
to put a plan into action. If one initiative isn’t successful, the
lessons learned from it could make the next one a big hit.
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50 Best Practices for Email Marketers

What’s Next?

Now you’ve got 50 tips for creating data-guided, emotionally resonant email. That’s
a lot to think about. Consider choosing only a couple of tips from each chapter to
implement at first.

When implementing any new practice, it’s best to keep a reasonable pace so benefits
can be tracked and changes can stick. Why not kick things off with some goal setting?

Use the conversation starters on these pages to determine your first steps. Work with
your team to determine what happens after you close this book. In this exercise,
you’ll create three goals you can start working on right away.

When working through these exercises with your team, remember to ask yourself:
• Is this specific?
• Can we measure this?
• Is this feasible?
• What’s our timeline?
• Can this be revised later?

Let’s identify your areas of focus: what’s working and what needs work.

Think about email campaigns from the last year or two. Bring in thoughts, numbers,
reports, or feedback. Which performed best? Why? What could be improved?

After you have this discussion, write down the three most important themes and
needs you discovered.

1.

2.

3.

Need a partner to bring together the tactical and the emotional in your email
marketing? Salesforce is your perfect match. Visit sfdc.co/emailmarketing to learn
salesforce.com |

about the #1 email marketing solution, Email Studio.*

*
Direct Marketing News. Email Marketing Company, Winner
*
Litmus “2018 State of Email Workflows”

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 50 Best Practices for Email Marketers
GOAL 1
GOAL ACTION STEP 1
Write the first goal you discovered. What can you start doing today to get closer
to this goal?

ACTION STEP 2
What can you do next to keep things moving?

ACTION STEP 3
What will you need to do to consider this
goal complete?

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

HOW CAN WE MEASURE SUCCESS FOR THIS GOAL?

salesforce.com |

Post a photo or discovery from your goals worksheets with

#emailmarketing and mention @marketingcloud to join the discussion.

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50 Best Practices for Email Marketers

GOAL 2
GOAL ACTION STEP 1
Write the second goal you discovered. What can you start doing today to get closer
to this goal?

ACTION STEP 2
What can you do next to keep things moving?

ACTION STEP 3
What will you need to do to consider this
goal complete?

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

HOW CAN WE MEASURE SUCCESS FOR THIS GOAL?

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 50 Best Practices for Email Marketers
GOAL 3
GOAL ACTION STEP 1
Write the third goal you discovered. What can you start doing today to get closer
to this goal?

ACTION STEP 2
What can you do next to keep things moving?

ACTION STEP 3
What will you need to do to consider this
goal complete?

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

HOW CAN WE MEASURE SUCCESS FOR THIS GOAL?

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