 Knowing how to measure conversion can be one of the most effective ways to increase marketing success and profitability, but in most cases organizations spend more time and money on email marketing than they do optimizing existing conversion rates. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the art and science of persuading your site visitors to take actions that benefit you.
By identifying areas to improve how you engage your prospects with relevant, compelling content you can create lasting value for your email marketing programs.
Develop a "Conversion Formula"
By definition, conversion is the performance of a specific [desired] action by a target user - it is not unique to email marketing where opens and clicks rule. The fundamental measurement of conversion is the conversion rate, determined by dividing the number of completed actions by the number of attempts or opportunities. Examples include:
-
Conversion to email capture (addresses captured/visitors to form)
-
Cart conversion (sales/carts started)
-
Ad click through (clicks/unique impressions of the ad)
While it is both valuable and advised to consider a conversion formula specific to your email marketing goals, one generalized approach to tracking and managing conversion is to develop a formula that atomizes the elements which contribute most saliently to overall conversion. MarketingExperiments offers the following conversion formula which they apply to landing page optimization:
C = 4m + 3v + 2(i-f) - 2a
“C” = Probability of conversion
“m” = Motivation of user (when)
“v” = Clarity of the value proposition (why)
“i” = Incentive to take action
“f” = Friction elements of process
“a” = Anxiety about entering information
Content is King
When applying a conversion formula to email marketing it is critical to identify and separate the most influential drivers of conversion success or failure. One of these considerations should always include the content and design of your email campaigns. While there are many ways content contributes to greater conversion, here are a few key areas on which to focus your initial efforts or investigation:
Calls to Action
If you don’t ask someone to do something, the odds are they won’t do it. It is essential that your email messages present recipients with visible and enticing calls to action. Calls to action must tell the visitor what to do and why to do it. Overused link text like “learn more,” and “submit” buttons perform less well than unique and persuasive calls to action.
Engagement through Images
Images are a major factor in con¬version. Having better-looking images than other email senders will win every time. Many email marketers skimp on the selection or design of their images and HTML content. Take the extra time needed to ensure that your email contains thoughtfully selected and positioned images in order to provide an engaging email experience. Just remember to include alternative text describing the images used, in the event that they don't render properly.
Headlines that Stick
The headline of your email is the one element that ~80% of your recipients will read. Make sure that everyone understands what your headline is about, even if they have no reference to understand it. The headline should set expectations about the content it is referring to. When sitting down to create headlines ensure they are clear, enticing, and relevant.
Don’t Just “Set It and Forget It”
Conversion rate optimization requires care and feeding. Best results come not only from the development of a strategy to apply, but from periodic review of conversion activities and their results. By committing to an empirical process, you will be able to know what to change, what to drop and where to double down on your efforts. And of course, in order to learn what works for email marketing, you should invest as much time as possible targeting your content and testing your email's abilities to attract attention and entice readers.
###
About the Author
Brennan Carlson is director of user experience at Lyris, driving user-centered design of Lyris HQ to support customers' needs for an online and email marketing solution that combines utility, ease-of-use and efficiency.
Related Resources:
|
