The idea of email marketing might appear out-dated to some of our younger audiences who spend their days almost entirely on social media. And don’t get me wrong. Social media marketing is highly effective in increasing sales and boosting your brand’s image. But no other channel will give you a better return on investment than email marketing.

In fact, according to Adobe, for every $1 spent on email marketing, you’ll average an ROI of $40. Almost double the ROI of the second-highest channel, SEO.

But having a large email list isn’t going to do you much good if all your emails are going unread or sent directly to the spam folder. Here are Marmalade’s top tips for sending emails that connect with your audience and doesn’t get lost in the inbox.

Spamming Doesn’t Work

This sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people forget this very simple rule.

A good rule of thumb to follow when it comes to recognizing spam is this—if your email isn’t immediately delivering value to your audience, then it’s spam.

No one likes getting hit with dozens of emails about a product launch they don’t care about. That’s something a surprising number of internet marketers tend to forget about.

In order to make sure your emails always stand out in a cluttered inbox, you must always be giving your audience a reason to read your emails. I don’t mean writing a catchy email subject line, although that does help, but instead, constantly delivering something your audience will find valuable.

You must put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Every time someone opens one of your emails, regardless of whether it’s automated or not, you should be rewarding them.

Instead of constantly sending promotional material, they regularly send emails out where they teach their audience helpful skills like how to hang a painting. It sounds simple, but it’s also ridiculously effective.

Keep it Personal

One of the main advantages email has over other channels is that it gives you the chance to get as personal as you want to be, unlike social media or traditional advertisements where you craft a message that’s as universal as possible and hope for the best.

Building an email list is crucial because it’s the best way to build a relationship with potential customers in an intimate way. You’re not just a status update that’s there and gone, you’re right in someone’s inbox. where they receive other important communications from their work, family, and friends.

Show That You’re Human

Have you ever been on a terrible customer service call with a robot? I don’t mean someone that sounds like a robot, but a literal robot. Those incredibly annoying automated menus that are worse at pronouncing your name than Starbucks baristas.

30 minutes into your call with, CompanyX, you find yourself mockingly singing the waiting music every time it loops around. You’re just wishing that you could talk to a human, someone with at least some capacity of understanding you.

If you’ve ever felt that type of frustration, why would you want to subject your audience to the email equivalent?

Now think about your branding for a second. With the emails you send, are you coming off as a robot, or as an actual person, people would want to respond to?

An easy way to start doing that is to stop using the standard company email whenever you’re sending a message. If the first thing people see is an email coming from “noreply@company.com” they immediately know that it’s an automated email.

Set Up Trigger Emails

The most effective method of ensuring customer loyalty is to simply check in on every once in a while. It adds that little bit of a personal touch and shows that you care.

Whether it’s an email simply saying “thank you” when someone downloads an e-book, or a gentle reminder that their subscription is expiring, emails like these go a long way to making sure that you and your brand are never too far from your customer’s mind.

The best thing about this approach is that the entire process can be automated incredibly easily. Thanks to the power of email automation software, you can send emails that are triggered by the actions your customers take.

For example, many SaaS companies like Dropbox will send an email if their customer hasn’t used their service in a while. It’s a simple reminder to the recipient that they still exist and why they’re helpful.

According to Smart Insights, triggered emails have a 152% higher open rate in comparison to traditional emails. As long as the email itself is always timely, relevant, and valuable, it could be all you need to nudge someone from being a casual viewer to a lifelong customer.

Rent the Runway does a fantastic job with trigger emails in their email marketing strategy. On the anniversary of a customer’s first purchase, Rent the Runway will send an email celebrating the event.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve only used their service once or multiple times, you’ll still receive that email. It even adds an incentive and offers a $20 discount off the subscriber’s next purchase. Not only does this simple email encourage recipients to continue to use Rent the Runway’s service, but it adds a nice personal touch that makes the customer feel special.

In Conclusion…

One of the fastest ways to alienate a potential customer is to sound like you’re a robot and that you don’t actually care about your customer. Simple tactics like we’ve outlined in this article can be the difference you need to make someone feel like they’re actually connecting with your brand.

In today’s world where we’re inundated with marketing messages from every corner, the thing that’s going to make sure you stand out in a crowded inbox is by being personal and authentic when it counts. Don’t do your brand disservice by being generic and getting sent straight to the trash folder.

Do you have any other tips for making your email marketing more personal? How do you feel about businesses using email marketing automation? Join the conversation in the comments below!