Email marketing plays a substantial role in B2B marketing campaigns. Follow best practices when developing an email marketing strategy, and statistics show that there is a higher probability of converting opens or clicks into actionable leads. There are several factors to consider when executing email campaigns, let’s explore 4 tips to increase click through and open rates:

1. Best days to send campaigns

If you are targeting B2B contacts, most are not in the office during the weekend, so blasting on the weekend would not be the best fit. I ran statistics on 26 of my most recent B2B Email Marketing campaigns to see which days worked best for campaign execution. I found that Tuesdays were the best day for opens; however, Wednesday and Friday were the best days for clicks. Since clicks turn into leads, it’s recommended to execute campaigns on a day where your prospects are most likely to click on a call-to-action so you can convert that lead into a customer

2. Great email subject lines

The subject line needs to be relevant to your email content. If you are promoting a webinar, you should have this clearly stated within the subject line. A/B testing is critical to successful email marketing. Take random samples of your contact lists, try two different subject lines and track their open and click-through rates.

Avoid SPAM filters by choosing the right words for your email subject line. Also, keeping your subject lines brief and avoiding special characters will help keep your emails out of the junk box. Take a look at HubSpot’s blog for the ultimate list of email spam trigger words from which you should steer clear.

3. Email Body

A/B testing for the content within the body is also recommended. You need to ensure that there is an appropriate image to text ratio to avoid SPAM filters. I recommend the 60/40 rule; at least 60% text, up to 40% image, and no more than 3 images as you may discourage a prospect by distracting them with too many offers. Some prefer the look and feel of email pieces that have banners or images when others prefer a plain text email where pictures do not need to be downloaded by the mail server. Take a random sample of your database, send different versions, and evaluate results to see what works best for your audience.

4. Calls-to-Action

These can be in the form of a button (image) or hyperlink. You want to make sure that there is some form of call-to-action above the fold (where you do not have to scroll down) in order to convert a contact that has interest from an open to a click-through. You should have more than one call-to-action available, preferably within each paragraph, to increase your conversion rate.

Just as email marketing plays a vital role in the results of B2B marketing campaigns – A/B testing is of equal or greater importance in understanding the behaviors that are so critical to our success. Testing is the substance behind any email marketing program. It gives you a measurement on the your impact and more importantly the behavior patterns of your customers and prospects. It is a roadmap to email marketing success.