Email. We get mountains of it (the average worker receives 121 emails per day), and while we may be annoyed at cleaning out our inboxes or reaching our quotas, we also know how important it is to business success.

In fact, more than 80% of marketers credit email as their most vital channel for customer acquisition. Bottom line: Email is not going away any time soon and you need to be able to create compelling emails to persuade your potential buyers.

So, how can you make sure you’re using this channel effectively to connect with leads and get more sales? Here are 5 tips for leveraging email to generate sales in 2019:

1. Integrate email with other business efforts

Email campaigns shouldn’t be standalone pitches to secure business. Instead, they should integrate seamlessly into an omnichannel strategy, ensuring your potential buyers receive consistent communications, whether they’re hearing from you via phone, email, website or social media.

Using social media retargeting can build synergy with your email campaigns. By connecting email lists with LinkedIn, you can benefit from repeat exposure to potential clients.

And the reverse is also a good option — you can prospect for leads via social and online browsing, then collect their email addresses and reach out with information that’s beneficial to them.

2. Use customers’ online queries to speak directly to their questions

Research how potential customers are coming to your site. Google Analytics and other data-combing tools can help you see if there are common queries that are hitting your site, or if frequently-searched terms in your industry may indicate content opportunities.

You can then use that knowledge to make your email campaigns speak directly to potential buyers. Analyze the questions they’re asking online to determine what specifically says “value” to them, then use that information as a roadmap to highlight benefits to customers rather than simply listing features of your product.

As a customer, it’s refreshing to receive information that fits your needs and that adds value, rather than just reading through more routine sales copy. Creating content that answers questions before they’ve even asked you directly — that’s a surefire way to increase interest from potential clients.

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3. Personalize and segment

Personalization is not just a “nice-to-have” anymore. For three-quarters of savvy business people, personalization of email content is expected.

And personalization pays off. For example, an email with a personalized subject line is 26% more likely to be opened, and personalized promotional emails produce 29% higher unique open rates and 41% higher click-through rates.

Personalization means more than just adding a name to a subject line, though. True personalization means thoughtfully crafting communication to fit your buyers’ situation — looking at commonalities within your data to address them properly and show your attentiveness to your buyer’s needs and journey.

It takes time, yes, but the increased success generated from personalization (sometimes up to a 10% lift)  can pay for itself. Segmentation of your email audiences — whether by demographic, technical expertise or decision-making level can also improve your chances of moving to the next level.

Segmented email campaigns can generate up to a 760% increase in revenue, because you’re putting yourself in the shoes of your audience and are better able to address their issues and concerns.

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4. Grow trust

Successful email campaigns are about building mutually beneficial relationships rather than just pushing a product. Potential clients want to know that you’re an expert in your field, and that you understand the challenges their business is facing before they even consider buying from you.

In a nutshell, if your email is all marketing, it’s all wrong. Your focus should be on building relationships, on presenting a help-first attitude that’s about sharing information, solving problems and creating a good customer experience.

One of the best ways to advance trust is by creating and sharing high-quality, user-focused content. 68% of people feel positively about a brand after reading content from that brand, likely because they believe the content is provided to benefit and help them in the long run, rather than just as a crafty trigger for sales.

By emailing clients and sharing content that resonates with them, you’re increasing their trust, deepening your relationship and paving the path for strong sales in the future. That’s because your client will know they can turn to you for knowledgeable advice — after all, you’ve demonstrated it while building the relationship.

Leverage the trust you create by providing value, and use it to build a relationship.

5. Test and test again

If you’re using a strategy in which you invest time into a relationship, then you should also invest time into making your communications resources the best they can be.

That means diligently testing your emails and perfecting them.

There are a multitude of ways to test, from trying out different subject lines to including unique calls to action. Even trying something as small as adding an emoji to your subject line can potentially affect your email’s success; in fact, 56% of brands using emojis in subject lines have higher open rates.

You can also test to see whether you get better open and click-through rates during different times of day. Statistics show that a 2 pm send yields the highest open rate, but you may want to test for your own industry to account for any variations.

Finally, testing content like visuals, whether images, embedded video or infographics, may lead to interesting results. Visuals are processed 60,000x faster than text, so using a creative visual to convey information on a complex topic may help ensure potential clients aren’t overwhelmed or bogged down by reading through details and choose to abandon your email altogether.

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