For several years, there was a rumor going around that email marketing was dead. However, the truth is that this method of marketing has remained an extremely effective way to reach potential customers and convert them into real buyers. If you put time and effort into creating an email list, it gives you the ability to reach this audience any time. After all, your customers and prospects are just feet away from their mobile devices at all times.

When you use email marketing, take advantage of all it has to offer. You can gather a large amount of data that can be used to evaluate overall performance. Then, you can make improvements to help improve unsubscribe rates, spam complaints, click-through rates, and open rates. The question is, what can you do to improve your email marketing performance?

How to improve your email marketing

Here are seven tips to help you improve your email marketing efforts.

1. Verify and scrub your established email list regularly

There’s no question you can gather a large amount of data, including alternative data, by having an email list. However, if it isn’t accurate, what good is it? You have taken the time to create an email form and curate names and addresses of interested individuals who have opted in, right?

That’s great. Unfortunately, it’s not always accurate. The fact is, when someone is adding their email address to your list, it is possible that they have made a mistake, have provided a fake email completely, or they have changed to use a new email address.

When this happens, it can have a negative impact on the delivery performance of your emails. They can bounce. Go right to a receiver’s spam folder. Or you can be considered a “spammer.” To avoid this outcome, ensure you run your list through a scrub and verify service regularly. This will help ensure you are always working with an accurate list. It’s important your emails reach the proper destination.

2. Segment your email list

When you segment your email list, you can achieve open rates that are much more favorable, along with better click-through rates. When you send messages to certain groups in your list, then your audience is going to find that your message is much more relevant, which is going to ensure your results are improved significantly.

Regardless of your industry or type of business, you are going to have subscribers who are interested in various offers such as special events, news, and coupons. When you segment your list, it allows you to give your subscribers what they really want and are looking for.

3. Personalize emails to each person on your list

Consider the number of promotional emails you receive daily. The average person receives 121 emails per day – that’s a lot. The people on your email list aren’t any different.

You should understand, if someone is going to open the email you send, they are probably going to wind up deleting it before they scroll down. The only way to keep this from happening is by grabbing their attention.

You can do this by personalizing the beginning. All you have to do is to start with a simple, “Hi (person’s name).” This simple greeting can engage a person enough that they continue reading to see what you have to offer.

4. Create a double opt-in list

There are some businesses that decide not to create a double opt-in list because they believe that this additional step may serve as a repellant, which will cause their list to shrink. However, if you have a smaller list that’s full of people who are more responsive to your emails, you have an asset that is much more valuable than a massive list that has hardly anyone who opens the emails you send.

5. Fill your email subject line with emojis

If a person takes the time to opt into your email list, it means that they are truly interested in what you are offering. The double opt-in solidifies their interest in what you have to offer.

Emojis are everywhere. There’s a reason for this. They offer an effective and fun way to communicate with others. Just look at the last message you received on your phone. How many emojis are in the text? Remember, the email you send will be one of many in your recipient’s inboxes. By using various emojis in your subject line, you can stand out and achieve a higher open rate.

6. Test several different deployment times

The absolute worst thing you can do when it comes to your email marketing design is to email your list ad just assume that everyone will automatically read it. Make sure you experiment with several deployment times. Begin broad. Send your message to half of your list early in the day and then the rest in the evening. From this point, you can see which one has the strongest metrics and then you can begin to experiment with different intervals for deployment.

7. Create a custom responsive email template

Most of your email list subscribers will open the email you send using their mobile device. This means it’s important that you choose a newspaper template that is responsive. There are several service providers that offer responsive templates so you can deliver your message without issues across any and all devices and through any screen size.

Take it a step further. Use a custom template for each email. This will help you stand out. The cost for this is low and it will give your email marketing efforts a look that is much more professional.

Is your email marketing campaign up to par?

If you haven’t implemented the tips to improve your email marketing, now is the time to make some changes. This is going to help ensure your efforts are effective and that you achieve the desired goals with your emails, regardless of how big or small your list may be.

This guest blog article was written by Kevin Gardner. He works as a business consultant for Bustech Solutions where he helps companies integrate technology to improve performance. Follow him on Twitter @kevgardner83.