Elevating Email Marketing Strategies for Association Executives

Association executives and marketing professionals can glean several key takeaways from Jay Schwedelson’s insights on email marketing.

Email Marketing Insight 1: Crafting compelling subject lines is crucial. Schwedelson suggests using the term “most” strategically in subject lines, such as “most read” or “most popular,” to increase open rates by over 20%. Incorporating numbers, all-caps phrases, and colons can also boost open rates, influencing recipients to engage further.

Email Marketing Insight 2: Personalization goes beyond using recipients’ first names. Schwedelson advises incorporating identifiers like industry, title, or company size in subject lines, resulting in over 25% higher open rates. For webinars, personalized subject lines focusing on specific topics instead of the generic “webinar” led to a 27% increase in open rates.

Email Marketing Insight 3: Timing matters. Avoid sending emails on the hour and opt for slightly unconventional times for better open rates. Sending emails at times like 9:40 am rather than 9:00 am can be more effective. Schwedelson also dispels the notion of over-emailing, emphasizing the significance of sending emails 90 days before an event and on the event day to boost attendance rates.

Email Marketing Insight 4: Crafting persuasive Calls to Action (CTAs) can significantly enhance engagement. Schwedelson advises using Benefit CTAs that highlight recipient benefits instead of Commitment CTAs. This shift can yield a remarkable 24% increase in click-through rates, guiding recipients toward desired actions.

Email Marketing Insight 5: Embracing AI-powered content creation, like ChatGPT, can revolutionize email campaigns. Schwedelson’s endorsement of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, showcases how AI can improve email subjects, make email content more exciting, and streamline the campaign creation process, ultimately elevating the efficacy of email marketing efforts.

Schwedelson’s insights offer unconventional yet impactful strategies for email marketing. These strategies, drawn from his session at ASAE’s 2023 MMCC, act as a compass for association executives and marketing professionals, guiding them toward unlocking the full potential of their email campaigns.