Engagement with email marketing campaigns naturally decreases over time; content that initially hooked recipients loses its appeal as it’s no longer fresh. Without periodic updates to reinvigorate messages, subscribers will lose interest and open rates are likely to drop.
However, with a few tweaks, you can breathe new life into outdated emails and regain your audience’s attention. Whether it’s revamping copy, updating calls to action, trying new formats, or A/B testing content, the following 10 tips can help to minimize subscriber fatigue and keep your audience engaged for longer.
1. Refresh Copy and Check the Tone
Sometimes your email copy just needs a facelift. Freshen up stale sections with new examples, witty analogies, or unique perspectives that put a novel spin on your messaging. This prevents your emails from feeling like cookie-cutter templates and instead makes them sound like a personalized conversation with each recipient.
Whenever you’re altering content, make sure your tone of voice still aligns with your brand. Something that felt right six months ago might sound forced or off-key today.
2. Update Call-to-Action (CTA) Wording
Remember those punchy CTAs that had subscribers lining up to convert? Don’t let them overstay their welcome, especially if your marketing goals are slightly different. Swap in some new click-worthy CTAs to match your current offers and the motivations of your audience today.
For example, maybe an old promo email pushed a discounted trial. But now you want to drive buyers to a premium plan. Replace the “Start Trial” button with “Upgrade Now” and then monitor the results.
3. Upgrade Subject Lines
A subject line that sounded fresh last year may seem stale now. Brainstorm new phrases that entice subscribers to open your emails again. A new subject line can make an old email feel fresh and exciting.
[list]
[*]Use power words that spark interest like “reveal”, “secrets”, or “alert”.
[*]Ask thought-provoking questions.
[*]Try trending keywords and pop culture references.
[*]Experiment with different formats like brackets or ellipses.
[*]Test emojis and symbols to stand out visually.
[/list]
4. Get Interactive
Have you thought about incorporating things like mini quizzes, customizable calculators, opinion polls, or surveys into your messages? These types of hands-on features engage audiences and transform what could feel like a static, one-way communication into an interactive experience. When you give your subscribers ways to actively participate, you’ll grab their attention. So get them involved as active participants instead of passive readers.
5. Spruce Up Visuals
Even the most brilliant image gets old after being seen for the 100th time. Give your emails a cosmetic boost by swapping in fresh photos, charts, illustrations, or graphics that better align with your current narrative.
Review all the visual elements thoroughly. Could your color scheme be refreshed? Do certain sections need more relevant images? A few tweaks can make designs feel fresh again.
6. Try a New Layout
Sometimes an email needs more than minor updates – it needs a full-blown redesign. Splitting your content into new layouts and columns can dramatically improve email engagement.
Think about website design. Even high-traffic sites get overhauled from time to time to keep things feeling current. Take inspiration from current email design trends to make your email messages feel more modern.
7. Improve Content Flow
To keep readers engaged, it’s important to ensure your content flows logically. Review and revise older copy to ensure ideas connect naturally from one to the next. Sections that once seemed crystal clear may now sound disjointed. Tighten up phrasing to keep readers hooked.
8. Verify Links
Few things frustrate email recipients more than clicking a promising link only to find a broken 404 page. Be sure to check links in older emails for “link rot” where destination pages have been removed. Update or redirect any broken links to keep things running smoothly.
9. Add Videos for Impact
Consider embedding brief video clips or animated GIFs to get attention. However, remember that large files can significantly slow open and load times. To avoid this, use very short videos and optimized GIFs if you can. Alternatively, try using a preview thumbnail linking to the full video on your website – this prevents users from having to download a big file before viewing.
10. Test and Optimize
After refreshing an email, send it to a sample of your subscribers. Contrast key metrics like open, click-through, and conversion rates against the same metrics for the older email.
You should also A/B test different versions of the refreshed email to determine which one engages users the most. With constant optimization, you can maximize engagement for every campaign.
Don’t Let Your Emails Collect Dust
Hopefully, these tips provide a solid starting point for revitalizing outdated emails. With some creativity and effort, you can keep subscribers engaged rather than losing them to tired, formulaic content.
Don’t make the mistake of never revisiting old emails. Make time to periodically revisit and refresh older content in order to maintain subscriber interest and drive conversions. By carefully reviewing past campaigns, you may realize even emails that initially appeared fine could be enhanced to boost engagement.
