Is email still a go-to play for today’s small business? Research suggests yes. HubSpot says 80% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last year. If your organization uses email to reach customers and prospects, the million-dollar question becomes how to make your efforts pay off. Here are five tips for doing just that. 

1. Grow your list. Having a clean, up-to-date, well-segmented list is crucial to email success. Build your house data by offering forms that make user sign-ups and opt-ins quick, easy and painless.

2. Craft great content. User email inboxes are inundated. So, you have just seconds to impress readers, if they open your message at all. Best practice: Do sweat the subject line. Make it inviting and irresistible and remember to include a compelling reason to click. Otherwise, it’s a quick trip to the trash can. Emails ranging from 50-125 words enjoy a 50% higher open rate, according to HubSpot, though some experts peg the upper limit at 200 words. 

3. Be responsive. The moment you have a new subscriber, send them a short, sweet and friendly ‘welcome and thank-you’ message. Follow up with timely updates (aka a ‘drip campaign’) to keep your brand top-of-mind.

4. Make it personal. A well-cited Experian study says it all: “not only did personalization lift transaction rates and revenue in promotional mailings tested, personalized pieces had 29% higher click rates.”

5. Watch the time. It may be stating the obvious, but if you’re mailing to a global audience, make sure messages arrive at an appropriate time. This gives them the best chance of being noticed and opened on the other end.