You’ll often see them pass by. Email messages in which a promotional code tries to seduce the reader. Everyone agrees that it can greatly increase the conversion. Who doesn’t like a little benefit? The thing is that there are some basic rules you need to master to get the best results out of your promotional email campaign. You’ll find our tips below:
1 Replacing the promo codes with the traditional coupons that we can cut out of magazines like real coupon queens. Those traditional coupons can almost always be recognized by the returning characteristic shapes. You should use that recognition as a benefit in your email messages. Use a promo code and use a code or special link further down your email.
2 Make sure your readers see your promo code from the first sight. So incorporate an announcement in your subject line or use the first line of your body text to clearly state that your email is offering a promo code. That first line is also visible in mobile devices and most web-based e-mail applications as a preheader. For people who are waiting on a deal this is just the incentive they need to read.
3 Place your promo code at the bottom of your email. You’ve already announced it, so you know that your contact knows it’s there. If the offer grabbed their attention, they will look for it. And therefore completely read your email. Or at least scan through the entire post to find the code. Provided you play a bit with your sub titles you can still offer them a good story.
4 Apply the kiss principle. A promo code should be easy to remember. SpringDiscount25 works better for short-term memory than 1403AZW25. Not that the reader really needs to remember it, because obviously there is a link under the promo code that leads to a landing page where the field is already pre-filled. It’s just difficult if your (future) customer wants to browse through your product range first. By providing a code that is easy to remember, they will be more likely to continue to the shopping basket and fill it in.
5 Limit your promo code in time. You will often see that even in the promo code itself the limitation is included in a textual way. AUGUST14 is only valid in that month and that year. It meets the basic principle that if you use a bit of pressure, your conversion rate is higher. That generally applies in email marketing. But it also prevents someone who is cleaning is inbox a year later from feeling disappointed. Unless you just choose to let your code be valid until the next purchase.
6 In that case it could be a good idea to use personalization in your key. This is possible when you want to give a discount on products that need recurring purchases, like ink cartridges in a printer: there is a logical next purchase. It does allow for a casual finder of your code – an email that was forwarded to a friend – to make use of the discount. It could be a strategy. You can also link the code to a specific contact. You do that by putting a link below or to connect the use of the code to a login. In any case, you can quickly recognize the large users.
7 Maybe you should create a separate channel for promotional campaigns in your email marketing. We diversify in so many ways that a simple straightforward approach is also possible. You probably have customers who aren’t interested in a newsletter with lots of content. But an email with a discount code they probably do want to receive. So, why not use two opt-in forms, or a form with preferences? One for the newsletter and one for discounts. Department stores nowadays diversify their promo post in that way. So you can definitely steal that strategy for your own email marketing.
8 Make it exciting. Often the exact reduction is announced in the promo code or in the text above it. You can also work the other way around. You let the reader click on a promo code to find out how high the discount is. It gives you additional opportunities. First, by clicking, your reader jumps to a landing page where you can provide extra information. Furthermore, you can turn it into a game. You can display Discount A by default, but only by chance we raffle off Discount A-plus. Often consumers are looking for the highest discount. And finally, you can vary the percentage discounts which you give away, depending on how the promotion is running. Less discount over time is in line with the principle of urgency. Or you can apply the principle of aircraft seats, but in reverse. The more people use the promo code, the harder your discounts can drop…
9 Don’t make it too complicated. Each coupon in an advertisement has its fine print. They often talk about an additional shelf life, but also a set of conditions to which the discount is subject. With email marketing a lot of your success has to do with impulse of your readers. If your promo code – like the example in this blog – is followed by a very complex explanation is about what, where and when is allowed, your contacts will quickly jump to the following email. You can list additional conditions on the order form.
10 Avoid elements that are too graphical. Yes, a Call to Action requires a button, a promo code doesn’t. Because it is part of the message of your email. Because it is text that a reader should remember as he or she goes shopping. Moreover, if the images in the e-mail client aren’t displayed automatically, then you need to use the promo code in the alt tag as well. That makes personalized discount codes more difficult. No, promo codes just need to have larger fonts. Possibly with an extra color or background. It will at least benefit recognition!
