Running a successful HTML campaign

HTML or email campaigns are a widely known and used marketing tactic.

Sending out emails en masse to drop directly into a subscriber’s inbox is a great way of delivering targeted information directly to your audience, be it updates, news, or special offers.

Yet running a campaign that engages an audience and encourages them to open, read and interact with the email is a much more challenging task.

We’re all familiar with the exhausting amounts of spam email that hit our inboxes every day, so how can you avoid falling into the spam filter and attracting and maintaining your audience?

Why choose a HTML campaign?

HTMLs are fantastic tools for dispersing information to a large audience. Content gets sent automatically to your database, and most sites that offer these functions (MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, or Spark Post, to name a few) enable you to access data reports to track your open and click rates, ideal for reporting back to clients.

You can customise them with images, embed videos and add text to make them engaging digital marketing tools delivered straight to the convenience of your audience’s inbox.

The downsides are many people are often inundated with HTML emails like this every day, and after a point, they block them out. Languishing in an inbox or even shunted over the spam filter, HTMLs can often be considered the email equivalent of junk mail – if they aren’t done right, that is.

Key points for success

The team at Formation are digital marketing experts, and we’ve handled HTML campaigns for various clients. Below, we’ve listed our top tips for a successful HTML campaign:

• Have an engaging subject line. Your email subject line is your first chance to get someone to open the HTML, so make it count! Make your subject line stand out; think about what would make you open an email.
• Content is king. It may be said a lot, but content marketing really is the backbone of a good campaign. Make sure your content is engaging and relevant. You may be delighted with your company figures for this quarter, but will your audience care? Think about articles, videos, and featured guest blogs to help get people reading.
• Make it visual. Photography and imagery are essential to laying out a good HTML. You need to break up the text with exciting visuals, and in-house photography of events or eye-catching graphic designs is an excellent way of doing so.
• Time management. Don’t send HTML emails every single day; it’s a sure way to annoy people and have them block you or unsubscribe. Give people breathing room and only send HTMLs after a set period. Look to send out on a monthly or fortnightly basis for longer HTMLs, and potentially weekly for shorter ones or special offers and features.

Legal Rules

Data protection laws have become increasingly tighter over the past few years, and a new law comes into effect in 2018 that will completely shake up how HTML email databases can operate.

Always make sure you’re only emailing people that you have permission to send marketing materials to. Keep an updated database and regularly cleanse it of any emails that are bouncing excessively.

Some HTML services have built-in safety nets to help you avoid breaking data protection laws and staying compliant with guidelines, but it’s best to be proactive and make sure you’re not breaking the law. You can find out more about how to stay within the law with our article on new data protection laws. 

When you get a HTML campaign right, you’ll be reaching a huge audience who really engage with your content. Look out for feedback on social media or in email replies and even clicks on the email to see how people are responding.

Remember to follow the law and the key points for success, and your campaign will be a hit!

Formation are experts at digital marketing and provide HTML services as part of our Circle of Engagement package. Contact us today.