How to Get to Know Your Email Subscribers, According to Research

One of the first things I do every day is check my email. And I’m not the only one.

Did you know that roughly 80% of marketers have reported an increase in email engagement in 2020?

And that the number of global email users is set to grow to 4.48 billion users by 2024?

Additionally, email marketing has the highest return on investment for small businesses and is the second most effective medium for building brand awareness.

Wow. Those stats alone serve as a reminder that email marketing is not a thing of the past. It’s continuing to grow and is a major way that brands learn about and engage with their customers.

As the adage goes, email marketing is about sending the right message to the right people at the right time.

But, how do you do that?

In this post, let’s review the top strategies you can use to get to know your email subscribers according to research.

1. Use analytics.

A great way to learn about your current email subscribers is to dive into your analytics. Find out what emails perform best. Is there a pattern? What topics is your audience most interested in?

What emails do they engage with the most? What day/time are your open rates higher?

Analytics can help you figure all of this out so you can be in touch with and provide content that your audience wants.

Cynthia Price at Litmus says, “If emails could talk, you could learn a lot about your subscribers. Oh, wait. They do. Open rates, click-through rates, and other standard email metrics all give you signals. They’re interested. They’re not. They’re done.”

But how do you optimize other things like templates? Or apply what you learn in your email program to other channels?

Price explains, “With analytics that go beyond opens and clicks. When you know which email clients your subscribers use, you can optimize the experience for them. For example, what if the majority of your subscribers are on mobile and using Dark Mode? You’ll want to incorporate that into your design strategy and QA & testing process. Or let’s say you know an email has a high forward or print rate. You might have a possible viral piece of content on your hands. Don’t miss out on insights like these—see what your subscribers are telling you.”

Ultimately, monitoring your metrics will help you identify what your audience is interested in.

2. Participate in social media listening.

Did you know that 37% of consumers find purchase inspiration from their social media channels?

Paying attention to what your audience is doing on social media will help you learn more about your consumers so you can understand the content that they want to see.

Think, “What are they interacting with on social media? What type of information are they looking for?”

With this information, you can learn what content your audience really enjoys.