Screw Open Rates: Jimmy Kim’s SECRET to Getting More Clicks
Aug 1, 2024
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In this conversation, Jimmy Kim, co-founder of Sendlane and email marketing guru, tackles the evolution of email marketing and the pitfalls of traditional metrics like open rates. He reveals why bots have made open rates obsolete and stresses the value of click-through data to uncover customer intent. Jimmy advocates for immediate retargeting based on clicks, emphasizes the necessity of hyper-segmentation, and encourages brands to increase email frequency for better engagement. His insights could transform how businesses connect with their audiences.
Traditional email metrics like open rates are now unreliable due to bot interference, making click-through data essential for understanding customer engagement.
Marketers must adapt to recent changes in email service provider policies to maintain low complaint rates and avoid being marked as spam.
Building effective retention strategies through nuanced audience segmentation and consistent engagement is crucial for enhancing customer loyalty and improving campaign performance.
Deep dives
Maximizing Email Engagement Beyond Opens and Clicks
Email strategies often overly rely on basic metrics like open and click rates, missing out on deeper engagement insights. It’s crucial to not only assess if users clicked a link but to consider why they clicked, what they clicked on, and how often those interactions occur. For instance, if a user clicks a product multiple times, it indicates significant interest and potential intent to purchase. Brands should adopt a comprehensive approach to analytic metrics to better understand their audience's behavior and preferences.
Navigating Changes in Email Privacy and Deliverability
Recent changes in email service provider policies, particularly regarding spam and user engagement, have introduced new challenges for marketers. Companies like Google and Microsoft are refining their algorithms to prioritize user experience by reducing unwanted or irrelevant emails. This shift means that marketers must maintain a low complaint rate, ideally below 0.3%, to avoid their emails being relegated to spam. Building a strong email reputation by engaging users meaningfully and ensuring compliance with these new standards is essential.
Reassessing Email Marketing Strategies
The evolution of email marketing strategies indicates a need for businesses to move from broad email blasts to more nuanced audience segmentation. Marketers should focus on understanding the customer journey, particularly when users opted in and their subsequent behaviors, to tailor communications effectively. For example, targeting recent purchasers with tailored follow-ups can significantly enhance engagement and retention. A deeper understanding of audiences allows brands to develop more effective retention strategies while maximizing ROI.
Emphasizing Consistency Over Volume in Email Campaigns
Brands often mistakenly believe that increasing the volume of emails sent will yield better results, but consistency is the key aspect to drive results. Regular engagement, ideally several times a week, can keep the brand top-of-mind for consumers without overwhelming them. Marketers are encouraged to maintain a steady cadence while delivering relevant content that resonates with recipients. This approach not only helps build customer loyalty but can reduce unsubscribe rates and improve overall campaign performance.
Integrating SMS into a Holistic Marketing Strategy
While SMS marketing saw a significant surge, it is becoming increasingly noise-prone due to saturation across various sectors. Effective use of SMS requires a clear understanding of audience segmentation and intent, rather than relying on mass messaging tactics. Brands should treat SMS as a complementary channel to email, focusing on personalized, timely messages that cater to the user's specific interests. A well-structured approach combining both email and SMS can enhance engagement and improve conversion rates, allowing for a more robust customer relationship management strategy.
In this episode of Chew on This, Ron and Ash are joined again by the GOAT himself, Jimmy Kim of Sendlane, to discuss the changes in email privacy, deliverability, and SMS marketing in recent months. Jimmy explains why traditional metrics like open rates are no longer reliable due to the presence of bots and emphasizes the importance of deeper data analysis, segmentation, and focusing on customer intent. He also shares tactics for optimizing click-through rates, retargeting, and building unique customer funnels.
📧 Open rates are dead. The presence of bots and other factors have made open rates unreliable, making it crucial to analyze click-through data to understand customer intent.
📈 Click-through data is gold. Focus on the reasons behind clicks and use this data to create targeted follow-up messages and personalized funnels.
⏳ Don’t wait to retarget. Instead of relying on browse abandonments, send targeted messages based on click-through data within hours to capitalize on immediate interest.
🎯 Segment, segment, segment. Treat your audience as individual segments with unique needs and interests, rather than sending broad, generic emails.
📨 Send more emails. Increase email frequency to drive engagement and encourage purchases, especially for prospects who haven’t yet made a purchase.
0:00 - Intro.
2:18 - Changes in email marketing strategies due to Microsoft's involvement.
4:33 - GPMT for domain reputation ranking.
5:13 - Impact of unsubscribe buttons on email deliverability.
9:08 - Audience segmentation for email marketing success.
10:17 - Tracking email opens using invisible images.
13:47 - Utilizing data to identify potential customers ready for a second purchase.
18:11 - Treating different customer segments differently in email marketing.
20:52 - Shifting focus from open rates to engagement and context in email marketing.
23:19 - Recording and analyzing data for effective email marketing strategies.
25:51 - Sending newest updates to engage customers for retention.
27:10 - Understanding customer behavior for effective strategies.
28:02 - Analyzing customer behavior for insights.
29:02 - Treating different customer segments uniquely based on their interactions.
31:08 - Email marketing remains crucial despite the rise of SMS
33:15 - SMS vs email for acquisition.
35:01 - SMS challenges due to saturation.
37:11 - Providing value through email to build brand loyalty and engagement.
41:01 - Email marketing for acquisition and retention.
45:00 - Diversifying marketing channels to reach customers effectively.
48:56 - Final chew.
Sponsored by:
📨 Sendlane - Tired of paying for hosting unnecessary contacts on your email list? Thats why we switched to Sendlane where we are only charged for the number of contacts we send to. You will unlock huge savings by signing up with them.
🔗 https://sendlane.com/chewonthis
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Ron Shah - https://twitter.com/obviceo
Ash Melwani - https://twitter.com/ashvinmelwani
Chew On This - https://twitter.com/chewonthisdtc
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