How to Boost Email Conversions

Emails have become one of the most preferred methods of communication. Research reveals that 92% of all Americans use email to stay in touch with friends and colleagues, using it for business and personal communication. It is in light of these that email marketing has become of the most effective marketing tools extensively used by ecommerce businesses.
However, email marketing can be successful only if a big mailing list of a targeted clientele can be put together. This will facilitate the conversion rate and all the marketing initiatives will bear fruit. The mailing list is still easier to compile, but what is more crucial is to use emails to have the maximum impact. The impact sought is to get higher conversion rates and increased sales. Some of the initiatives that will help to achieve this include the following:

Staying relevant, precise and to the point
Emails lose their appeal if they are unnecessarily long. When a consumer agrees to get emails and signs out a form, it is somewhat like signing an agreement that he will receive relevant information that can be helpful to him. The content he expects to receive has to be relevant and significantly rich, in the forms of tips, discounts, some new finds or insider information that will help him make better decisions. In short it must help him improve some area of his activities.
Email marketers have realized that if they fail to provide such content they will lose their subscribers who may opt out if they see irrelevant material. Therefore marketers are always on the lookout for ways to stay relevant, find good content and how to keep their subscribers happily engaged with their emails. This is the only way to boost conversion rates. One solution is to divide subscribers according to interests, location, vocations, class, gender and other parameters and provide content focused on their requirements. Instead of individual mails, they can have different content for different groups.
Surveys and questionnaires are a great way to gauge consumer preferences and needs for content. Feel good news articles, discount vouchers and the latest innovations in the industry are some of the topics that stay relevant in terms of appeal. A recent survey indicated such content had the potential to increase conversion from click rates by as much as 14%.

Specify action for conversion by asking categorically
Emails carrying a definite call to action like asking for a click with buttons like “click here’, ‘buy now’ etc have a positive impact, since it catches the reader when he is considering the offer being made. Asking directly is better and that too after making an offer. This can be placed in the form of buttons at regular intervals throughout the email. Tempting offers make asking easier, and also increase the probability of a positive response in the form of a click.
One method of achieving this click conversion is to start with an outline or summary of a story or a gripping article in an email, and placing the rest of it on the site. Those who start reading will not hesitate to click to the site in order to read the whole article.

Be flexible and open to change
Change brings flexibility and displays dynamism. Change is never good just for the sake of providing something different, it has to have an impact with good ideas, refreshing thoughts and providing things that consumers want. Emails can be dynamic if they solicit reader feedback and incorporate their suggestions to include what they would like to read in an email. The essence is to be a good listener, and open to suggestions, since that holds the key to be dynamic.
Finally, a bit of risk never hurts. While free offers etc were considered risky from the spam point of view, experts have revealed that spammed mails are more due to the reputation of a sender rather than the words in an email. So it may be worthwhile to take a risk, make free offers and tempt readers towards the site and increase conversions.